Position Details
IT Services
Discipline: Dubai Operations
University of Birmingham, Dubai campus
Salary: Competitive
Grade 6
No. of positions: 1
Full time
Location: Dubai, UAE
Closing date: 16th December 2024
University of Birmingham Dubai
Having established ourselves in Dubai International Academic City in 2018 we have now moved to our new state-of-the-art campus which opened in Sept 2021. These posts represent an excellent opportunity to join an ambitious World Top 100 University as we continue to grow our long-term strategic mission in Dubai, the UAE and the wider region. Our campus reflects the very best of Birmingham through our presence in Dubai.
Background
Professional Services Ethos
Our ethos as a Professional Services team has been developed in line with the principles of being a Birmingham Professional. In particular here in Dubai this means that all Professional Services colleagues seek to collaborate effectively to ensure the needs of the whole campus community and our stakeholders are met. It also means that we work constructively together to provide a flexible range of service and support that adapt to the changing needs of the Campus as we grow. There are specific focal points in the academic cycle when all Professional Services team members will be expected to contribute regardless of their primary role, for example Welcome or Graduation.
In addition, the duties listed below are illustrative of the general nature and level of responsibility of this post which is likely to change over time in response to the needs of the Campus and as you develop your experience and skills. You will have the opportunity to develop and may also need to specialise your duties further, over time, in agreement with your manager.
In order to contribute to the success of the team and the University’s vision for the Dubai Campus the Professional Services team will be seeking to continue to recruit and develop colleagues who display:
- a high level of intellectual aptitude;
- strong agility and a portfolio of skills that can adapt to meet changing circumstances;
- an innovative and creative mindset; and
- both an enterprising and entrepreneurial nature to support our growth and pursuit of excellence.
Role Summary
The IT Services team which sits in the Operating & Developing Campus Services team are a key part of the Professional Services support for the University’s Dubai campus. This area of professional Services support delivers and maintains the campus environment in which students, staff and visitors can be taught, study, work and connect. The service provides the infrastructure and services that enable the campus to support the breadth of activity that makes a University community and supports an excellent student, staff and visitor experience. This includes a whole range of campus services from IT, AV, Lab support, health & safety and building management to managing contracts for the provision of IT service support, facilities management, security, catering and transport. The team will work closely together in a flexible way to support the needs of the campus and to address day to day issues in a timely manner.
The post holder will provide second line support for technical services at the University. This could include end user related issues or work on server support issues. Using their knowledge and expertise they will analyse complex client and server issues, identify the cause and using your judgment to find solutions to restore function as quickly as possible, in line with University C&IT Standards. This may involve short term measures to bring the equipment back online, and to identify a longer-term plan to fully resolve the issue, designing and implementing procedures to prevent further failure. You will be working closely with, and in support of, the IT / AV Service Delivery Manager, ensuring that IT services are delivered in an efficient, effective and consistent way.
You must be able to communicate complex IT technical problems and requirements in an understandable fashion to non-technical staff, including Department managers, academic and administrative staff. In order to flexibly use resource you may be given the opportunity to work elsewhere in the department or wider University.
Main Duties
General
- Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
- Actively manages equality, diversity and inclusion through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenging unacceptable behaviour.
- Undertake continuous personal and professional development.
Job Specific Duties
- You will be responsible for determining your own priorities for your workload, and for ensuring you co-ordinate with other team members to meet overall IT / AV priorities.
- Proactively liaising with members of other technical teams to aid in the timely resolution of IT / AV faults, ensuring resolution details are recorded for future reference.
- Troubleshooting problems, some of which may require in-depth knowledge, and developing and implementing solutions on own initiative. You will need the skills and experience to work on your own initiative, to assess problems and judge the appropriate solution.
- You will use your in-depth knowledge to be fully conversant with all areas of desktop and server support including Windows desktop and networking operating systems, Microsoft applications and other best of breed packages / AV support.
- Developing specialist knowledge in one or more areas within the team. This will allow you to provide training to others (including customers), and ensure all job-related knowledge is documented and available to all colleagues. You will write articles for the IT / AV Service Desk Knowledge Base, and/or developing server skills where appropriate.
- Making an important contribution to the collective knowledge of the team by staying up to date with new technology, and maintaining an up to date overview of hardware and software relating to teaching and learning at the University.
- You may be required to occasionally cover for colleagues offering first line support.
- Undertaking such other duties as may be required from time to time in furtherance of the work of IT / AV Services.
- Responsibility for managing and supporting client devices (hardware and software) for users on campus, including for high profile academic and professional services staff.
- Obtaining quotes, specifying, and making recommendations for the purchase of equipment, software or services, in conjunction with senior team members where required. To make recommendations on a Value for Money basis whether to repair, upgrade or replace hardware and software in line with overall strategy and standards.
- Liaising with external companies and contractors to ensure prompt and adequate service, resolving issues as appropriate.
- Initiating approved disposal mechanisms for redundant hardware.
- Playing a key role in the planning and delivery of important projects, e.g. the rollout of replacement staff PC’s, visiting members of staff, analysing and specifying requirements, assisting with PC procurement, and installing and configuring PC’s to customer requirements in accordance with IS standards.
- Proactively liaising with other members of the team on the delivery of sub-sets of major projects, to ensure that each part of the project is completed on time and does not adversely impact on the overall plan e.g. the roll out of a new application suite to a department.
- Ensuring client desktop connectivity to the campus network in accordance with the University’s networking standards, policy and infrastructure.
- General system administration to ensure access to all networked servers and systems.
- Monitoring the performance of client devices, servers and associated services to ensure reliability and smooth operations of IT / AV systems that are required for all aspects of the work of the customer base as a whole.
- Providing 1 to 1 training and advice to users, either verbally or via written documentation.
- Support the management of the campus network in accordance with the University’s networking standards, policy and infrastructure, including the following specific tasks in consultation with the IT Services Network Team.
- Support and maintenance of network active equipment and cabling including troubleshooting of faults and application of fixes to ensure continuity of network services
- Recommend provision of additional network points and undertake IP registration of desktop and server equipment.
- Be responsible for project activities within own area of expertise, in conjunction with the work of other team members and providing written documentation and training as required.
- To manage small project teams to meet service needs when required. To include managing other project team members to ensure that each part of the project is completed on time and does not adversely impact on the overall project plan
- Providing 1 to 1 training to users and junior team members as part of ongoing internal staff development.
- Providing second line IT / AV support to staff, students and visitors, via all of the Service Desk’s supported contact methods.
- Connecting to University and personally owned PCs and Macs using remote assistance software, and resolving any issues that do not require a personal visit.
- Deployment, packaging or troubleshooting of software packages, including site licensed, commercial, free and centrally accessed software.
- Using call-logging software to refer appropriate calls to specialist staff, ensuring that users receive responses within acceptable timescales by taking ownership, monitoring and tracking calls through to resolution within the ITIL framework.
- Developing a thorough knowledge of the organisational structure and IT / AV infrastructure of the University, so as to be best placed to triage calls appropriately and understand the organisational impact of reported faults.
- Participating in Incident, Problem and Change Management in line with ITIL methodologies.
- Updating the IT / AV Services Status Page both reactively in response to service outages and proactively to advertise new services and information that would be of interest to staff and students at the University.
- Recovering data from laptops, and external devices.
- Reinstalling and configuring Windows, macOS and Linux on client devices.
- Developing specialist knowledge of supporting the IT/AV needs of the Laboratories on campus and providing basic technical cover on occasions in the absence of Laboratory technicians.
- Acting as an expert in one or more area, and coaching and training colleagues in subjects related to that expertise. Areas of expertise could include Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, mobile devices, Microsoft Office or specific processes or software applications unique to the University.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
- Extensive professional IT experience; Microsoft certifications an advantage.
- GCSEs at grade C or above, including Mathematics and English (or equivalent level 2 vocational qualifications including demonstrable examples of the required level of literacy and numeracy).
- An in depth up-to-date technical knowledge of all of the following is essential –
- Windows 10/11
- Windows Server 2016 and later
- Active Directory /Entra ID
- M365 (including EndPoint Management and ideally security)
- Specialised knowledge and support experience in several of the following areas:
Mac OS 10.x operating systems, Linux, VMware ESX, Microsoft SQL Server, IIS webservers, Ethernet, TCP/IP, DHCP, Network switches, AV and mobile devices (smartphones, tablets etc…), Azure - Ability and experience with using Power Platform e.g. PowerBI, Power Automate etc
- A good understanding of IAM concepts is essential with experience using OneIM an advantage.
- Knowledge of email and email protocols, and of wired and wireless networking protocols.
- Knowledge of security solutions for the protection against and removal of viruses and malware.
- A good up to date general knowledge on current trends in IT.
- The ability to work effectively as a member of a team towards quality service goals and deadlines.
- Excellent communication, coupled with a strong customer service orientation, and the ability to tailor responses to specific technical and non-technical audiences.
- Ability to prioritise and schedule workload in the face of conflicting demands.
- Structured and methodical approach to problem solving.
- A willingness to adopt and champion new ways of working.
- A willingness to coach and train colleagues in your own areas of expertise.
- A good working knowledge of: Mac OS X, Linux, iOS and Android
- Knowledge of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy matters, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that people are treated equally and fairly.
Also:
- Experience of writing knowledge base articles or other relevant content authoring experience.
- Knowledge of mobile devices including tablets and smartphones
- Knowledge of ITIL methodology, ideally backed up with a foundation qualification
- Knowledge and experience supporting Audio Visual Technology.
Dimensions
You will have no direct financial or staff management responsibility. The role is focused on delivery of a quality IT and AV service to staff and students, supporting servers, and working collaboratively with colleagues.
Planning and Organising
You will be working in response to more complex customer enquiries and you will need to prioritise your own workload in order to deliver on schedule and at quality.
Problem Solving and decision making
You will use your knowledge and expertise to analyse problems and identify and deploy solutions. Some issues may need you to make recommendations on the implementation of a longer term plan. You will be able to proactively suggest improvements
Internal and External relationships
You will liaise with a wide range of staff and students, and colleagues in the wider IT team in order to ensure the delivery of a quality service. You may need to liaise with external suppliers.
We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.
