Head of Technology

Job Information

Head of Technology 

Salary: £73,511 - £82,100

Location: County Hall, Morpeth

Background

This position is 1 of 3 new, senior roles that have been established in our Digital and IT Department to help us achieve our ambitions of transforming our council and county.

Our Technology ambition is to provide modern, cost-effective, secure, and reliable technology platforms, enabling our services to deliver the best experiences to all our customers. 

Our 3 corporate priorities are:

-tackling inequalities

-achieving value for money

-driving economic growth

We will ensure we pass on a healthy, clean, and sustainable environment to future generations. Each of our three priorities has a part to play in responding to the Climate Change Emergency

Achieving our ambition will demand a focus on people, culture, governance as well as digital, data and technology.

It’s a great time to join Northumberland County Council, as we embark on an exciting and bold transformation journey, to do the best for our residents, customers, our staff, and the county.

About the role

You will be responsible for establishing and implementing our technology strategy.

You’ll lead on horizon-scanning, investing in emerging technologies and managing the technology life cycle, from procurement, through contract management and refresh.

This includes technology infrastructure modernisation, cybersecurity, cloud strategy, IT operations and technology innovation.

Working closely with the Head of Data, the Head of Digital and the Director of Digital and IT, you’ll help build and lead a team of technology professionals as well as being an influential member of the Digital leadership team. 

You will help improve our approach to service management, providing reliable technology services to our colleagues across the organisation.

You’ll lead on reducing downtime and improving reliability as well as exploring approaches to reducing our costs to provide technology services.

Also, you will be responsible for our cyber security function, helping to protect our organisation against the threat of attack and ensuring we have practices in place to secure and recover our data and systems.

Full details can be found in the attached job description and person specification.

About you

You’ll be able to demonstrate a good understanding of modern and legacy technology, from networking, cyber security and cloud infrastructure to desktop and telephony systems.

You will be passionate about technology and how it can play a pivotal part in transforming the lives of our residents, and service users - and you will understand that any technology transformation needs to be driven by user-needs.

You’re collaborative by nature and firmly believe that a collaborative approach will ensure organisational buy-in. 

You work well in a matrix structure, be comfortable with ambiguity, staying calm where things are hard or unclear, and still be able to perform well under pressure and drive progress in an inclusive way. 

You will be comfortable working with senior stakeholders and be able to bring to life our ambitious plans for changing the way the council manages and uses data, bridging service and organisational boundaries.

You are someone who cares deeply about building great teams and who wants to see others succeed. 

This opportunity is not just about taking on a brand-new role or working with a great team, it is about wanting to make a real difference for the people who live, visit and work in the county. This is a brilliant opportunity for someone looking to use their experience to deliver in a role with a true sense of purpose. 

Be inspired and supported. Be a life changer. Be Northumberland.

So, if you’re passionate about what you do, and what we do, we want to talk to you!

More information about working for Northumberland County Council can be found here 

Application Process:

Please click on the apply link, and once registered, you will be asked to upload your CV and provide a supporting statement. Initial shortlisting will be based on the information provided.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. If you wish to notify us of your eligibility for this scheme, please email hrrecruitment@northumberland.gov.uk or ring 01670 623930 with your name and the job title you have applied for and one of the recruitment team will ensure this is factored into the shortlisting process and kept anonymous. If you have a disability and would prefer to apply in a different format, please see the alternative methods below.  This information will be treated as confidential and will only be used to check that you meet the essential requirements of the post.

Alternative application format:

British Sign Language: northumberlandcc-cs.signvideo.net

For those with speech difficulties or hearing loss: Text relay service dial 018001 01670 623930