Digital and Technology Manager- Microsoft 365

The mission of the King Edward VI Foundation (the “Foundation”) is to make Birmingham the best place to be educated in the UK. A progressive, influential educational charity, King Edward VI Foundation’s reputation is underpinned by a long and distinguished history. King Edward’s School was established in 1552 by King Edward VI, part of the early growth of secular education in England. In the late 19th century, our five grammar schools and King Edward VI High School for Girls were an early step in extending secondary education for girls and boys.

The 21st century has brought the formation of the King Edward VI Academy Trust, a means of expanding from our original five grammar schools to a current family of eleven academies and two independent schools. Six of the academies are selective; five are comprehensive, some serving Birmingham’s most deprived communities. To serve the city’s children, we recognise that we need to provide a diverse range of schools: independent as well as Academies, selective and also comprehensive. And we believe that those schools need to be accessible to all, regardless of ethnic, religious and social background.

The further development of digital practices and use of technology is integral to the above, and the purpose of this role is to nurture and support this development via the organisation’s Single Central Enterprise Platform (SCEP), among other priorities. The SCEP, running on Microsoft 365, provides a solution to the organisation for collaboration and communication.

We are looking to appoint a well-qualified, experienced and highly motivated individual to join the central Digital and Technology team and fulfil this critical position to manage the organisation’s Single Central Enterprise Platform (SCEP), running on Microsoft 365.

Our schools have achieved great things by managing their individual digital initiatives, particularly during the pandemic. Now it is time for all parts of the organisation to work collectively in advancing and joining up its digital infrastructure and thereby contributing to the Foundation’s work towards achieving its objectives and realising its mission.

The person appointed will have extensive knowledge of using and configuring the latest M365 technologies in addition to managing, configuring and administrating a shared tenancy for a complex organisation, InTune, Sharepoint, Teams, OneDrive, Outlook and more. Experience of working in an educational environment is desirable. The person appointed must be committed to promoting and safeguarding the welfare of the students at the school.

As a central support service, our working model must be driven by the needs of our schools. Therefore, please be aware that staff are required to take the majority of annual leave during non-term time.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Principal responsibilities and duties

• Be the central point of contact for all matters relating the Microsoft 365 Single Central Enterprise Platform (SCEP).
• Be responsible for Exchange, End point manager, SharePoint online, Power Apps, Power Automate, Intune, O365 security compliance, DLP.
• Monitor M365 and react accordingly to any data or cyber-security concerns.
• Be responsible for ensuring that administrative rights of users are monitored and controlled appropriately.
• Ensure effective change controls are implemented to allow the multiple organisations of the organisation to co-exist within a shared environment.
• Responsibility for ensuring that the organisation’s email protection solutions are monitored and that any held/delayed emails are released within a timely manner.
• The backup of M365 is automated using an external solution, however the post holder will be responsible for monitoring this service to assure compliance and disaster recovery readiness in the event of a critical incident.
• Create policy documents for consumption across the organisation.
• Ensure that the M365 SCEP meets and maintains compliance with the DfE’s Digital and Technology standards for schools and colleges.
• Work closely and collaboratively with our schools, in particular the school-based technical leads to ensure the M365 SCEP meets operational needs.
• Provide additional capacity to the Digital and Technology team with migrating schools to the M365 SCEP on an ad-hoc basis to
• Work or support any work undertaken with any third-parties as required to deliver the responsibilities listed above.

As a central support service, our working model must be driven by the needs of our schools. Therefore, please be aware that staff are required to take the majority of annual leave during non-term time.

General responsibilities and duties

• To develop a clear understanding of the Foundation’s vision, mission and strategic aims and to actively support these.
• To remain up to date with the Foundation’s policies, procedures and code of conduct and always uphold these.
• To remain committed to the safeguarding of all of our students.
• To identify and undertake relevant training to enable continuing professional development, where resources allow.
• To prepare for and proactively engage in the performance review cycle with your line manager.
• To attend appropriate internal and external meetings, as directed by your line manager.
• To undertake such other duties as are agreed as being in keeping with the general nature of the job and its grade.

The successful candidate will be required to fulfil an enhanced DBS check.

This job description reflects the current requirements of the post. As duties and responsibilities change and develop due to changes in organisational and other circumstances, so the actual duties and responsibilities will vary from the particulars of this job description. Job descriptions will be updated or amended from time to time to reflect such changes.

Person Specification

Knowledge and experience

Essential

Extensive knowledge of using and configuring latest M365 technologies

Experience and knowledge of managing, configuring and administrating a shared tenancy for a complex organisation, InTune, Sharepoint, Teams, OneDrive, Outlook

Experience of managing organisation wide IT projects and engaging with key stakeholders with the aim of standardisation, unification and simplification

Experience of contributing to a process improvement or change project

Experience of managing contracts with suppliers

Knowledge of infrastructure, software solutions, Microsoft Server technologies, networking, security and storage systems

Demonstrable experience of working in an IT /technical management environment within an educational organisational setting

Desirable

Education sector experience

Prior experience of working within a similar role

Practical experience of cloud migrations

Experience with wider infrastructure technologies

Skilled at providing training and support

Qualifications

Essential

University degree in computing or related or equivalent work experience

Desirable

Current and relevant Microsoft Certification

Competencies & Skills

Essential

• Demonstrable experience of supporting a shared M365 environment
• Technical IT skills
• Strong communication skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Demonstrates a strong commitment to providing excellent customer service
• Task delivery, accuracy, detail and completion
• Good project management skills; systematic approach to problem solving
• Demonstrable good written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work well under pressure
• Strong ability to work as a part of a team
• Aptitude and attitude appropriate for development within the role.
• Ability to deliver quality support and to deliver at pace
• Flexible and proactive (ability to drive change)
• Ability to influence and persuade others

Training & presenting skills

Ability to work flexible hours

Experience using Microsoft Learn to assimilate required knowledge

Desirable

Training & presenting skills

Ability to work flexible hours

Experience using Microsoft Learn to assimilate required knowledge

A full job description and an application pack for this post, can be found at: https://www.schoolsofkingedwardvi.co.uk/foundation/job-opportunities/