IT Operations Engineer

Our client, based on two sites between Andover and Winchester, is now looking to recruit a hands-on, experienced Operations Engineer to join their team on a permanent basis. This is a hands on 2nd/3rd line technical support role to deliver high availability IT infrastructure, and to ensure continuous service to users by meeting or exceeding the performance indicators, as defined by service level agreements. The successful candidate will have extensive technical experience of Microsoft Server, Citrix, VMware, Email (Exchange), Storage and Backup solutions. You will advise on technical solutions and be able to describe and articulate complex ideas for others to learn. You will adhere to ITIL v3 disciplines and have excellent organisational and time management skills requiring minimal supervision. This is an ideal opportunity for a resourceful and highly skilled individual to join a committed team in a lively environment dedicated to providing high quality services and able to work under pressure. Duties include: - 2nd/3rd Line Technical Support for any service disruption, formulating recovery plans to return to service. - Complete daily, weekly and monthly checks on core infrastructure services including Citrix, VMware, Security updates, Backups, Audits and Test - Work as Technical project lead on the implementation of new, and upgrade of exisiting solutions. - Raise and implement Requests for Change (RFC’s) and work on specialist projects with internal teams and external contractors. - Produce and understand high quality technical documents to provide operational lifecycle support for the complex systems. - You will be expected to work from both Andover and Winchester. Regular travel between these two main sites and minimal travel to other locations will be required. Key Duties: 1. Provide 2nd/3rd line technical support for infrastructure solutions including but not limited to Microsoft, Citrix, VMware, Storage, Backup, Mobile and Cloud solutions. 2. Reporting to the Operations Manager on any service disruption and formulating recovery plans to return the service. Taking charge of a problem if limited management resources are available and reporting back any lessons learned and improvements that need to be implemented in future. 3. Produce and understand technical documents to provide operational lifecycle support for complex systems. All documents are to be maintained in the central SharePoint repository with version control. These will include system guides, user manuals, interface diagrams and Visio architecture documents. 4. Resolve calls as part of a team and identify improvements and trends to continually improve the service delivery. 5. Working with users and other IT staff to ensure we meet SLA’s and clearly communicate with minimal technical jargon on the resolution. Host workshops and training sessions to improve users/team knowledge. 6. Implement Requests for Change (RFC’s) and work on specialist projects with internal teams and external contractors. Ensure that User & System Acceptance Testing (UAT) is planned in advance and completed. Accurately assess the impact on change to the end users and take all precautions to minimize disruption and calls generated into the service desk from each change. 7. Complete routine daily, weekly and monthly checks on core infrastructure services including security updates, backups, audits, testing. Reports on service availability will be completed and reviewed with any issues reported to senior managers. Routine and emergency security patching will be deployed to ensure all threats are reduced. ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE: * GCSE English Language and Maths or equivalent. * Educated to degree level or have evidence of relevant IT operations experience. * Microsoft MCSA or similar working experience in Windows 2008(and higher) Server. * Strong knowledge of Windows Server environment, AD, GPO and WSUS. * Network, Hardware, Virtualisation, Storage, LAN/WAN and System Architecture. * Windows 7/10 Desktop deployment. * Anti-virus and malware protection. * Proven experience in PC, Server and Network Installation, reconfiguration, fault resolution, performance evaluation and improving. * Proven experience in Microsoft Server 2008 & Active Directory domain management and Citrix administration