IS Senior Manager (Collaboration & AI)

The University 

At Durham University we are proud of our people. A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other. We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things professionally and personally.    

Across the University we have a huge variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, which is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally. We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University. Further information about the University can be found here .

The Role and Department 

The role will lead a Collaboration & AI team responsible for the delivery of effective IT platforms and solutions to the University and is part of the wider Information Services collection of teams, which underpins the delivery of customer focused information systems and services.

Specifically, the post holder will be responsible for:

·         Providing expert and authoritative advice and guidance on all aspects of Collaboration & AI team technology solutions and processes.

·         Identifying and assessing new and emerging collaborative and AI centred software technologies that improve organisational productivity levels through increasing levels of automation, good workflow design and the optimal and secure use of data.

·         Leading the planning, design, implementation and control of solutions that will enable effective operational systems, products or services, and which support a positive User Experience (UX)

·         Reviewing proposed solutions to ensure they comply with security, usability and accessibility criteria, as defined by the organisation or by the wider sector.

·         Evaluating existing components or systems to determine organisational requirements and ensuring final solutions comply with organisational architecture and data principals.

·         Leading the development of user cases and new methods to accelerate organisational technology adoption levels as well as ensuring complete and accurate documentation of associated processes for different stakeholders.

·         Leading the ongoing maintenance and enhancement of the team’s associated environments, providing guidance and oversight on configuration, set-up, and availability

·         Leading the development and implementation of automation scripts, for operational and analytical improvements.

·         Ensuring security and privacy requirements are considered across all aspects of the service provided, with particular emphasis on anticipating and mitigating risks, associated with the wider use of AI or other emerging collaborative technologies.

·         Creating technology roadmaps that align organisational plans with emerging technology solutions.

·         Working closely with other departments within DU to support and identify service improvements to enable increasing digital skills capability across the university.

·         The development of associated organisational policies, standards, and guidelines. The Computing and Information Services (CIS) has an annual operational budget in excess of £12m, multi-million-pound programmes of change within year, and approximately 185 staff. The Senior Leadership Team report directly to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) with the following portfolios: Strategy and Change; Operations; Information Systems, and Cyber Security. CIS work with departments across the university to provide academic, teaching and administrative services that underpin the day-to-day activities of the whole organisation. Details of the Digital Strategy and ongoing work can be found at Digital Strategy - Durham University .

CIS is a friendly, but demanding department, where much is expected and can be achieved by competent, self-motivated individuals who are demonstrable in their teamwork ability. The department works in a hybrid capacity depending on the job role and individual personal requirements.

Information Services (IS) is responsible for the provision of a wide range of end-user and customer facing technology services, ranging from: enterprise level applications; student record management systems; web, internet and intranet technologies; data and analytical services; integration services; collaborative services; identity and access management; artificial intelligence solutions, and; other immersive technologies.

CIS is committed to developing our talent and where appropriate, there will be an opportunity for the successful candidate to develop further by being sponsored to undertake an L4(HNC/FdDeg), L5/6 (HND/BSc) or L7(MSc) qualification, in a specific topic area such as: Cyber Security, DevOps, Data Analyst, Software Engineering, UX, AI, etc.

Further information about the role and the responsibilities is at the bottom of this job description.  
  
Working at Durham   

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits:

·         30 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year – a total of 42 days per year.    

·         The University closes between Christmas and New Year 

·         We offer a generous pension scheme, as a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled into this University Superannuation Scheme (USS). 

·         No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered.  We have ple parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies.  

·         There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally.  There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University.  All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.   

·         Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state-of-the-art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.  

·         On site nursery is available and access to holiday camps for children aged 5-16 throughout the year.

·         Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).  

·         The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community.  

·         Discounts are available via our benefits portal including money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions.   

·         A salary sacrifice scheme is also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits.   

·         If you are moving to Durham, we can help with removal costs and we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools.  If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.  

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion

Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work. As a university equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It’s important to us that all our colleagues are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.  
  
We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. If you have taken time out of your career, and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role. 

What you need to demonstrate when you apply/Person Specification  
  
When you apply it is important that you let us know what skills/experience you have from a similar role and/or what skills/experience you have which would make you right for this role. Further information about the role and responsibilities is at the end of this job description. Where a criteria has an asterisk* next to it, it may be given additional weighting when your application is considered.    
  
Your application should cover the following criteria:  

Essential Criteria 

Qualifications/Experience 

1.    Five GCSE’s at least Grade C or level four including English Language and Mathematics

2.    Experience of collaborating with external suppliers or sector partners to define, deliver and support solutions, systems and services.  

3.    Proven experience of delivering specialist Microsoft 365 and AI centred services within a fast pace and demanding IT environment.

4.    Significant experience of providing application and feature development and support within Microsoft 365 environments.

5.    A broad appreciation and understanding of trends and new technologies, with an ability to apply this knowledge to the design and recommendation of collaborative and AI industry solutions with clear value analysis.

6.    Experience of implementing policies and procedures and supporting service improvements

7.    Track record of management and development experience and/or an enhanced management qualification applied across a large service team or teams.

8.    Professional practitioner with specialist knowledge and expertise to influence service delivery and activities within the organisation.

Skills/Abilities/Knowledge

9.    Strong digital competence across a range of digital devices and apps including digital communication tools and, Microsoft 365 applications.

10.  Committed to continuing professional development to maintain professional recognition.

11.  Ability to solve problems and decide on and plan appropriate solutions.

12.  Extensive knowledge and experience of ensuring compliance with regulatory and organisational policy and guidelines.

13.  Ability to contribute to planning at operational and strategic levels.

14.  Excellent spoken and written communication skills including the ability to develop effective working relationships, both internally and externally.

Desirable Criteria

1.    Possess or be willing to working towards a Data Science or AI qualification, for example: Level 4 Data Analyst; Level 6 Data Scientist; Level 7 AI Data Specialist. *

2.    An understanding of the role of cognitive analytical models, NLP, knowledge representation, automated reasoning and machine learning, in enabling an AI capability *

3.    Knowledge and experience of health and safety issues and compliance.

How to apply  

To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria  required for the role in the person specification above. It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider any desirable criteria, but we would urge candidates to provide evidence for all criteria.  Please don’t forget to check if there is any weighted criteria (see above).  
  
While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.     

Submitting your application  

We prefer to receive applications online. We will update you about your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to make sure you have not missed any of our updates.  
    
What you need to submit

·         An up-to-date CV

·         A cover letter explaining what interests you about the role

·         A supporting statement which clearly  outlines how you meet each individual Essential  criteria within the Person Specification (above); when submitting evidence of each essential criteria, please ensure you use the essential criteria wording as the section heading.

Contact details 

If you would like to have a chat or ask any questions about the role, please contact [email protected]

Service Delivery/Development

·         Show a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and the University’s values.

·         Develop and apply an in-depth understanding of university policy and external developments when carrying out your role.

·         Ensure that policy and regulatory standards are met by activities and processes that are carried out in services you are responsible for.

·         Use your professional knowledge and experience to resolve problems, shape processes and activities, develop systems and provide subject matter expertise and advice.

·         Use your managerial and leadership expertise to identify priorities and shape the service to achieve the required outcomes.

·         Look for ways to continually improve services and take a lead role in the development and implementation of assigned policies, processes and standards.

·         Initiate and manage business process reviews to improve the service in your area.

·         Ensure data (commercially sensitive and/or personal) is appropriately stored and managed.

Planning and Organisation

·         Contribute to the development of operational plans relevant to your area.

·         Scope, plan and implement large scale/University wide initiatives.

·         Lead and manage major projects across the organisation, monitoring performance, providing progress reports and taking action to ensure agreed outcomes are met.

·         Assign activities within agreed operational and strategic plans to relevant project teams for them to deliver.

·         Lead the design and implementation of transformative service developments.

·          Source, design and construct software critical to service delivery.

·         Research industry trends and new technologies to determine the implications and opportunities to change how services are delivered in your area.

·         Manage and monitor health and safety assessments and security procedures to ensure compliance.

·         Allocate and monitor designated budgets, expenditure and resources.

Team Development

·         Manage and develop the people, performance and resources (of one or more teams) to ensure that a customer focussed service is provided.

·         Help shape the skills and expertise needed to deliver a professional service by recruiting, inducting and training team members and structuring the team in way that will best meet operational and strategic priorities.

·         Ensure that your team can deliver the required services by devolving and delegating responsibilities to appropriate team members.

·         Carry out regular performance reviews to provide feedback on objectives and expectations and identify any development needs.

·         Handle most HR issues and support the welfare and wellbeing of your team referring more complex issues to specialist services or more senior managers.

Communication/Liaison

·         Influence University policy, standards and governance by leading operational business meetings, working groups and sub-committees.

·         Provide professional guidance and advice when managing complaints, referrals and specialist services.

·         Build and establish contacts and networks with key stakeholders, internal and external staff, suppliers, contractors and industry specialists.

·         Create positive working relationships, including internal and external networks, using your networks to increase your knowledge and skills, swap information with peers and positively influence the University’s reputation.

·         Represent the service and University at promotional events.

·         Any other reasonable duties.

   
Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Privacy Notices - Durham University  which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.    
   
When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.