Job Description

Salary

The starting salary will be from 64,918 to 81,790 on Grade H, depending on qualifications and experience.

Contractual hours

36.5

Package

Generous holiday allowances, flexible working, pension scheme and relocation package (if applicable).

Job category/type

IT and Digital

Date posted

08/05/2025

Job reference

R56574

IT Services

This full-time post is available immediately on a permanent basis and offers the opportunity for hybrid working - some time on campus and some from home. The on-campus need for this role is very important. The post holder will need to be on-site 2-3 days per week.

The Role

As the Assistant Director of IT Service Management you will lead the Service Management department, functions and staff to maintain user satisfaction and confidence in all our IT Services, through effective and efficient delivery and support of our agreed services and operating levels.

You will adopt and implement standard and consistent approaches for service operation to reduce the duration and frequency of service outages and be proactive to resolve incidents to restore normal service operation as quickly as possible to minimise the adverse impact on University operations and student experience.



You will be responsible for all our networking and communication services across our hybrid on premise and cloud environments. Working closely with the relevant architects as required. Also taking responsibility for the full Lifecyle management for our on-premise datacentres and the infrastructure contained within, your teams will also support the Universities cloud strategies and platforms as well as the Research IT hosting needs as required.



Lead and manage the University's IT Vendor and Contract Management functions ensuring value for money, alignment to organisational need, assuring vendor performance and providing escalation in cases of dispute.



You will develop and apply best practices for negotiating vendor contracts to maximise the value of the relationship and ensure benefits are sustained over the long run. This encompasses transforming key vendors into strategic partnerships to help contribute to the future success of our Exeter community.



Working with the security team you will be responsible for our cyber security services, covering compliance, threat, risk and identity, including our roadmap, operational management and any other technology services related to securing and protecting the universities staff, students and data. You will support our NIST framework capability improvement planned for cyber security.



Your remit also covers our IT Support function, this will include but not be limited to 2nd Line support of all end user Incidents and Service Requests, device management and configuration, along with the university's comprehensive audio-visual estate, and all other associated end user support as required. You will be responsible for all IT Asset catalogue and audit processes.



This role reports into the Director of IT Services and has a number of heads of and/or managers reporting into the role.

The ideal Candidate will:

Have educational attainment at higher education level (or demonstrable equivalent experience) and hold recognised Professional IT Qualifications to demonstrate commitment to learning Have experience and knowledge of modern data centre hosting technology and customer driven network connectivity experiences. Have enough technical ability and experience to sponsor changes, investments and support resolutions. Have good knowledge of cyber security methodologies, standards, and frameworks Have a proven ability and track record in devising and delivering complex changes, technologies and services on time, to scope and to budget Have proven ability to understand, mitigate, and manage operational risk from change Have relevant experience and organisational relationships in developing and deploying service improvement (technology, people and process) roadmaps that underpin services and products Have significant recent senior manager experience of a similar role within a complex public or private sector organisation Be an exceptional communicator with the ability to articulate complex ideas and a passion for great customer experiences Have experience of engaging with the wider external IT community on matters of service provision, infrastructure, technical architecture, and emerging technologies. Be an experienced people manager with a proven track record in leadership, driving outstanding performance, and motivating teams through effective coaching and inspiration. Have experience in the close monitoring of operating revenue and capital budgets, forecasting multiyear investment delivery plans Negotiating complex partnerships for everyone wins outcomes Be a strategic thinker with experience influencing stakeholders

Please ensure you read the and Person Specification for full details of this role.

We will be reviewing applications as they come in, so please don't hesitate in applying, as we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications.



Are you convinced, but don't find you 100 percent fit the profile? Feel free to send us your application anyway! We look forward to growing with you!

The University of Exeter

We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of research-intensive universities and in the top 200 universities in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024 and QS World University Ranking 2024). We combine world-class teaching with world-class research, achieving a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework Award 2023, underpinned by Gold ratings for Student Experience and Student Outcomes.



Our world-leading research impact has grown more than any other Russell Group university in recent years, and we are home to some of the world's most influential researchers, seeking to answer some of the most fundamental issues facing humankind today. More than 99 percent of our research is of international quality and 47 percent is world-leading (2021 Research Excellence Framework).



We encourage proactive engagement with industry, business and community partners to enhance the impact of research and education and improve the employability of our students. Read about our world leading research - Green Futures and how we are transforming education for a changing world. We are located in a beautiful part of the country and Exeter (a fast growing tech hub) is one of only a few UK cities to have been designated as a UNESCO Creative City

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

We are committed to ensuring reasonable adjustments are available for interviews and workplaces.



Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented within our working community.



With over 30,000 students and 7,000 staff from 150 different countries we offer a diverse and engaging environment where our diversity is celebrated and valued as a major strength. We are committed to creating an inclusive culture where all members of our community are supported to thrive; where diverse voices are heard through our engagement with evidence-based charter frameworks for gender (Athena SWAN and Project Juno for Physics), race equality (Race Equality Charter Mark), LGBTQ+ inclusion (Stonewall Diversity Champion) and as a Disability Confident employer.

We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and welcome applications from service people.

Benefits

We offer some fantastic benefits including:


41 days leave per year options for flexible working numerous discounts at leading retailers onsite gyms on all of our campus' and a cycle to work scheme sector leading policies around maternity, adoption and shared parental leave (up to 26 weeks full pay), paternity leave (up to 6 weeks full pay) and a Fertility Treatment Policy stunning campus environments in Exeter and Cornwall, in the beautiful South West of England

Further information

Reasonable Travel is expected for this role (for example to vendor meetings / conferences etc.).



This role will be subject to additional background screening.



For informal enquiries, please contact Nathan Burden n.burden@exeter.ac.uk