Head of IT and Digital Infrastructure

The Opportunity:

This is both an exciting and an important time to join us. In November 2026, we will welcome a fourth school into the Trust, increasing our annual turnover from approximately £35 million to £50 million. As we grow, so too does the scale and complexity of the infrastructure and services needed to support our schools effectively.

Over the past two years, we have been developing our approach to infrastructure across the Trust, with a stronger focus on professional standards, consistency, resilience, strategic planning and the quality of the service we provide to our schools. We are now at the stage where that direction needs to be translated into more mature and consistent systems, processes, controls and ways of working across our IT environment. Our continued growth makes this both an important priority and a significant opportunity for the person joining us.

The successful candidate will inherit an environment with different levels of maturity across its systems, infrastructure, documentation and service management arrangements. They will need to develop a clear understanding of the existing technology estate, identify risks, dependencies and priorities, and establish structures required to support a secure, resilient and increasingly standardised Trust wide environment.

What we offer:

To support the achievement of our education mission, we recognise that our strength lies in the talent and dedication of our staff and we will prioritise recruitment and retention strategies that attract high performing people who align with our shared ethos and reflect the communities we serve.

We are continuously working to introduce initiatives or make changes which support them both professionally and personally. Some of the initiatives we have recently introduced are a new Health and Wellbeing Cash plan for staff and their dependents; a generous discretionary leave scheme; and we have made changes to the performance review process ensuring a strong focus on continued professional development.

We offer great flexibility and the successful candidate will have the opportunity to work from home during term-time, as well as more frequently during non-term time periods when the schools are closed.

Our commitment to you:

Professional growth and personal wellbeing are central to our approach. We will provide continuous learning and development opportunities that will help staff thrive and progress their careers.

We will uphold a culture that promotes kindness, collaboration and recognition, ensuring an open, safe, supportive and inclusive environment where all individuals feel heard, valued and are empowered to contribute to our mission.

The successful candidate will:

This is not simply a role overseeing an established IT operation. The successful candidate will be comfortable assessing what is already in place, identifying gaps and risks, establishing appropriate standards and controls, and translating these into practical and sustainable ways of working. Some areas will require improvement and standardisation, while others will need to be developed more fundamentally.

The Head of IT and Digital Infrastructure will be central to that work. We are looking for someone who can lead a reliable and responsive operational service, while also helping us build the secure, resilient and scalable digital environment the Trust will need for the future.

Just as importantly, this is a people leadership role. You will lead and develop our school-based IT teams, building capability, accountability and a strong service culture. You will need to be technically credible, while also able to look beyond individual technologies and understand how people, processes, systems and infrastructure need to work together to support a complex and growing organisation.

Key responsibilities for the role include:

• Supporting the Chief Infrastructure Officer in providing strategic oversight of the Trust's IT and digital environment.
• Providing operational leadership to the Trust's IT function and digital environment, ensuring secure, reliable and high-performing systems that support education and operations across all schools.
• Leading the development of a consistent, scalable and efficient digital infrastructure and service model, aligned to Trust priorities and school improvement.
• Working with the Chief Infrastructure Officer in ensuring that core technology and data systems enable effective decision-making, organisational assurance and continuous improvement across the Trust.

Key Application Dates:

• Shortlisting Date: Monday 12 October
• First Stage Interview Date (online): Monday 19 October
• Second Stage Interview Date (in person): Tuesday 3 November

Sponsorship:

We are not able to offer sponsorship to non-settled individuals for a Skilled Worker Visa.