Army - Defence Children Services (DCS) ICT Senior Systems Engineer - Cyprus

Are you an experienced ICT professional, looking for an exciting opportunity in a unique context? Then this role may be for you.

DCS Schools is looking for a skilled ICT Senior Systems Engineer to join our small, skilled team of ICT professionals who deliver ICT services, in an Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) aligned environment, to DCS School and Early Years settings across the globe.

Based in Cyprus, you will: provide a high quality, customer focused ICT system support to users in Western Sovereign Based Area (WSBA), and if required, to the Eastern Sovereign Based Area (ESBA) and other Rest of World (ROW) Locations; work collaboratively and creatively with the wider ICT team to create integrated processes, system development and an outstanding service to schools’ staff and students and DCS Headquarters staff. Manage the Cyprus WSBA ICT Services Team and operational IT delivery to all Head Teachers, MOD Schools and forward deployed HQ DCS staff. In collaboration with Senior System Engineer colleagues in Belgium and Cyprus, provide subject matter expertise, technical leadership and direction regarding the development, systems support and compliance of the MOD Schools Wide Area Network (WAN).

As a key player within the team, you will contribute to the delivery of outstanding ICT services to DCS staff and students across the estate.

This position is advertised as full time at 37 hours per week. Due to the nature of the work 100% office attendance is required.

Tour length is 3 years.

Defence Children Services (DCS) is a Defence delivery organisation, subordinated under Army Regional Command. Our Vision is that we Educate the Child – Support the Family – Defend the Nation. HQ DCS is UK based at Trenchard Lines, Upavon and has forward deployed staff all over the world. DCS is responsible for the education and care of children of accompanied Service and Defence entitled personnel in MOD schools and settings; provides advice and guidance in respect of education for service families in the United Kingdom and the wider world.

This is an established MOD post within Cyprus, and any Cypriot nationals (including dual nationals) will not be eligible to apply as a UKBC (UK Based Civil Servant).

Key responsibilities

The post holder’s key responsibilities and main duties are to:

• Enable the delivery of change to the catalogue of services offered by the ICT Team. Ensuring all change control processes are followed and help end users adopt new skills, behaviours and efficiencies to maximise the business benefit of improved ICT services.
• Actively maintain and support assurance process for the system. Providing technical advice and expertise to ICT Systems and Strategy Team Lead regarding specific roles and responsibilities as detailed.
• Deliver high quality support and advice by maintaining effective working relationships with key service stakeholders and users to the schools for a range of IT systems and services, many of which are business critical.
• Project manage and technically deliver all new builds/modifications/upgrades/overhauls to the System and provide leadership and guidance for System Engineers on installation, maintenance, configuration and support of servers and storage in DCS Hubs and MOD Schools and settings.
• Maintain, update and manage all technical documentation, including knowledge bases and configuration design documentation. Ensuring that all documents are current, up to date and available to maintain the System Security Accreditation process.
• Any additional duties supporting ICT System and Strategy and the wider IT support team when required.

If you need to contact Defence Business Services (DBS) regarding this vacancy, please indicate that your vacancy is being handled by Resourcing Team 1. If you experience any technical difficulties with the CS Jobs system, please contact the Support Team via the Help link.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

At application stage you will be assessed against the following:

Experience:

• CV
• Personal Statement - (maximum 1000 words) should demonstrate the relevant skills and experience that detail how you meet the essential criteria as detailed in the job advert, including examples of evidence.

Behaviours:

• Making Effective Decisions.
• Managing a Quality Service.

Technical Skills:

Infrastructure operations engineer - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework

This role is aligned to the Senior Infrastructure Operations Engineer role in the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework and we will assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Problem Management
• Continual Service Improvement

Applications will be sifted using the above that have been chosen for this campaign, but in the event of there being a high number of applications, a sift will be conducted on the lead behaviour 'Making effective decisions' only.

At interview stage you will be assessed against the following Behaviours:

• Communicating & Influencing
• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical Skills:

Infrastructure operations engineer - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework. Questions will be asked at interview stage against these two technical skills:

• Problem Management
• Continual Service Improvement

Application sifting will be scheduled to take place within 7 days of the application closing date. Interview dates are still to be confirmed. We endeavour to keep to these time frames, but these are subject to change around business needs.

DCS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all the children and young people in our care and expect all applicants to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices and hold ourselves to a high standard of effective recruiting practices with specific attention to child protection.

All appointments are subject to an interview, identity checks, criminal record checks and successful references. Where possible references are taken up before interview.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

There may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all DCS candidates that meet the minimum criteria for the job. For example, in certain recruitment situations such as a high volume of applications, seasonal demand, or peak periods, the employer may wish to limit the overall number of interviews offered to both DCS and non-DCS applicants.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected, and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigation's can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – we may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.