Vacancy: Director of Technology Operations
An exciting opportunity has became available for the role of Director of Technology Operations.
Reporting to the Director of Newcastle University IT (NUIT), this leadership position is accountable for the University’s IT Systems through the life-cycle phases of plan, analyse, select, design, develop, implement, support, maintain, evolve and retire.
Meet our Director of NUIT - Andy Grossett
Thank you for taking the time to look at this important opportunity. We’re genuinely excited about this role and the impact it will have.
The Director of Technology Operations leads a broad portfolio of services supporting more than 36,000 users, 24 hours a day. These teams are critical to the day‑to‑day running of the University and play a major part in enabling our students’ and researchers’ success.
We’re looking for someone who is calm under pressure, focused on delivering excellent service, and committed to continuous improvement in the eyes of our customers. This includes driving automation, AI and knowledge‑led approaches so that our support becomes less reactive and more value‑adding.
Technology Operations also leads major investments across the University—from our new network to ERP upgrades, cloud migrations and the development of our student digital experience. You will work closely with colleagues across the institution to build a truly digital campus and support new ways of learning.
You may already be operating at this level, or you may be an experienced leader across multiple technology towers ready to take the next step. Either way, you will be confident engaging with senior stakeholders and able to explain complex technology opportunities in clear, accessible language.
We are continuing to develop the maturity of our processes, so we welcome someone who leads from the front, models excellent practice, and brings fresh perspectives. We value diversity of thought and experience and want someone who will help us shape the future of NUIT.
If this sounds like you, I’d be very happy to have a conversation. I look forward to hearing from you.
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About the role
Delivering and supporting IT solutions that meet the current and future needs of the University, our Technology Operations team ensures our core platforms, business applications and academic technology solutions are stable and resilient while delivering effective service delivery to customers.
Technology Operations provides the delivery capability for projects but also the day-to-day support of these key systems. This results in 90,000 interactions with our 24x7 service desk every year. Those that cannot be resolved at the desk are passed to our teams in End User Support, Infrastructure or Applications. There are currently no outsourcing agreements in place and therefore Technology Operations has skills across all of our services. A key focus will be to improve the end user experience through shift left, automation and consolidation of services.
Introduction to Newcastle University
Newcastle University is a thriving international community of 29,600 undergraduate and postgraduate students from over 140 countries worldwide, studying at our main campus in Newcastle and at Newcastle University in Singapore and Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia.
Ranked in the top 150 of world universities (134th in the QS World University Rankings 2022 and 146th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022), we aspire to be a people-focussed university that harnesses academic excellence, innovation and creativity to provide benefits to individuals, to organisations and to society as a whole. As a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities in the UK, we have a world-class reputation in the following thematic areas: ageing and health, cities and place, culture and creative arts, data, and One Planet.
The University’s main campus is located in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, the cosmopolitan capital of the North East of England. The city enjoys a worldwide reputation for the quality of its cultural and social life.