Head of Cloud Platforms, Infrastructure and Security at University of the Built Environment

Reading, England, United Kingdom -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

01 Jul, 26

Salary

60000.0

Posted On

02 Apr, 26

Experience

10 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Cloud architecture, Cybersecurity leadership, Infrastructure management, Strategic leadership, Incident response, Vulnerability management, Azure, M365, Identity and access management, Networking, Disaster recovery planning, Budget management, Vendor management, Team leadership, Risk management, Communication skills

Industry

Description

JOB DESCRIPTION Employment status and working hours Permanent, full time. Full time hours at the University are 35 per week with the standard working pattern Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00. Organisation structure Chief Operating Officer, Technology. Your line manager will be Kevin Wilkinson, Director of Technology. Place of work flexibility The majority of your working week will be spent at our office in Reading and the rest at your home*. The exact split of days/hours is negotiable but must include a minimum of three working days each week in Horizons on the core days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). The office closes on Fridays. You can attend the office on Mondays if you have worked the three core days. Working from home is only possible if your environment is suitable. High level summary of job role As Head of Cloud Platforms, Infrastructure and Security you will be a key part of the Technology team and Chief Operating Officer department. You will provide strategic and operational leadership for the University’s cloud environments, infrastructure, networks, and cybersecurity functions. You will ensure these foundational technologies are secure, reliable, scalable, and cost‑effective, enabling the delivery of high‑quality IT services that support teaching, learning, research, and professional services. Specific job role accountabilities and responsibilities Technology platform leadership Own and deliver the cloud, infrastructure, and security strategy, ensuring alignment to institutional and digital strategy. Own and lead the design, engineering, and lifecycle management of Azure, M365, Google, identity, networking, compute, CCTV, access control, AV, storage, and monitoring platforms. Embed secure‑by‑design, privacy-by-design and resilience principles across all platforms. Cybersecurity oversight Lead on cybersecurity operations, incident response, vulnerability management, threat management, and compliance activities with support from external partners. Ensure alignment with relevant regulatory requirements (UK GDPR, DPA, OfS, Ofsted expectations etc). Operational excellence Oversee technical operations, ensuring stability, capacity, and performance across infrastructure and cloud services. Embed a proactive fault identification and remediation approach. Support service continuity, disaster recovery planning, and major incident response. Capture and share statistics and uptime for all services to provide visibility and confidence to stakeholders. Collaboration and governance Work closely with the Head of IT Service and Associate Director - Development and Enterprise Systems to ensure seamless service delivery, aligned roadmaps, and effective service transition. Provide expert technical input into change enablement, architectural governance, and project delivery. People and vendor management Lead and develop teams across cloud, infrastructure, networking, and cybersecurity. Manage vendor relationships, cloud consumption, licensing, and technical contracts. Risk and compliance Maintain technology risk registers and ensure appropriate mitigation strategies in place. Lead testing and assurance activities for Disaster Recovery (DR), security, and platform resilience. Other duties Undertake any other related duties commensurate with the scope and level of the role. Some out of hours may be required to support upgrades/changes along with occasional travel to other University sites in the UK. Other important features of the job role Line management responsibilities: Yes, and the number of direct reports is four. Budget responsibility: Yes. In this role you will liaise with the following: All staff groups including Associate Lecturers, students, 3rd party suppliers, and contractors. PERSON SPECIFICATION E = Essential person requirement; D = Desirable person requirement How the person requirement will be assessed: A = Application; I = Interview; T = Test or other assessment Please be aware that as part of onboarding processes, we will seek original documentary evidence of the relevant academic and/or professional qualifications which you include within your job application. This is all part of our comprehensive pre-employment screening which also includes checking your identity, right to work, criminal record history (basic disclosure), and three years employment history. Qualifications and training Degree-level qualification or equivalent professional experience in Information Technology, Engineering or related discipline (E, A). Relevant cloud architecture certification (e.g., Azure Solutions Architect); security certifications (CISSP/CISM/CCSP) or demonstrable equivalent experience (E, A). ITIL Foundation or demonstrably equivalent service leadership capability (E, A). Previous experience Significant experience developing a high performing Cloud engineering and infrastructure team in higher education or similar complex organisational environment (E, A, I). Significant experience in digital transformation, cloud adoption and embedding cloud platforms into business operations (E, A, I). Deep knowledge of Azure/M365, identity and access management, networking, compute/storage, backup/DR, monitoring and automation (E, A, I). Practical cybersecurity leadership: vulnerability and threat management, incident response, identity security, security tooling oversight and risk-based controls (E, I). Skills, knowledge, and aptitudes Ability to run reliable and resilient business critical platform and infrastructure services aligned to industry best practices (E, A, I). DR/BC planning and test execution; measurable RTO/RPO approaches where applicable; readiness reporting (E, A, I). Budget ownership across licensing, contracts and cloud consumption; forecasting and cost optimisation; vendor governance (E, A, I). Strong line management of multi-disciplinary engineering/security teams; workforce planning and development (E, A, I). Risk-based security posture management; evidencing controls; operating within institutional risk frameworks and tolerances (E, A, I). High level of personal integrity and a commitment to maintaining confidentiality, trust, and compliance (E, A, I). Troubleshooting and problem-solving skills and methodology (E, A, I). Organisation and time management skills (E, A, I). Effective communication skills including ability to convey complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences (E, A, I). Understanding of higher education connectivity and resilience needs such as on a campus or via remote learning etc (D, A, I). Knowledge of safeguarding, KCSIE (Keeping Children Safe in Education) and how this applies to delivery of IT services such as networking etc. (D, A, I). Other requirements or special requirements Alignment to the University’s core values of Passion, Integrity, Excellence and Support; all employees are expected to demonstrate our values at work (E, I). Commitment to delivering positive outcomes for our students; we want our students to be successful (E, I). You must be prepared to undertake mandatory online training should you be appointed including Data Protection, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, Prevent, and EDI (E, I). Occasional business travel to other University sites (E, I). PAY AND BENEFITS Salary: Salary circa £60,000 per annum. Holiday: 26 days paid holiday (rising to 28 with service) plus paid bank/public holidays plus up to five paid closure days (typically between Christmas and New Year); all per holiday year Full Time Equivalent. Our holiday year runs from 1 August to 31 July. We also have a holiday buy and sell scheme in place. Sometimes the University does not need to close for five days per year and any balance (for example one day), can be used as a paid Wellbeing Day to take time out for your own physical or mental health. Pension and life assurance: Pensions auto-enrolment to the People’s Pension which is a default salary sacrifice scheme. You may opt out of salary sacrifice but remain in the scheme, or you may choose to opt out altogether. We provide life assurance (death in service) cover as standard to all employees. Family-friendly policies: Policies in place for all types of family-friendly statutory leave with enhanced pay available from day one of employment for some leave types. Access to Tax-Free Childcare (Government scheme). Wellbeing: Full access to the Employee Assistance Programme as well as the Thrive Mental Wellbeing app. Several employees are trained Mental Health First Aiders and can support staff. We have a wellbeing policy and we focus on five pillars of wellbeing. Sustainable travel: Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice schemes. Parking: We have locked sheds for bicycles. For cars, for Horizons based roles, we may in the future be able to offer parking on site however you must not assume this will be possible. Every now and then we may have a spare parking space become available and you can ask to join the waiting list. The University is keen wherever possible, to encourage staff to commute as sustainably as possible. Other health related benefits: Employer-funded Health Cash Plan (Simplyhealth) and voluntary dental insurance (Unum). Other valuable benefits: Charity giving options available including one voluntary paid day, per annum. You will have access to Microsoft Office 365 applications for personal use. You will have access to range of lifestyle discounts and everyday savings. We offer learning platforms including LinkedIn learning. On the Join the team page of our website, you will find the full list of employee benefits. APPLICATIONS - THINGS TO CONSIDER For an informal discussion about the role please contact Kevin Wilkinson on 0118 467 2428 or email k.wilkinson@ube.ac.uk. For any other enquiries please contact HR on 0118 467 2454 / 2433 or email recruitment@ube.ac.uk Did one of our employees recommend you? If you apply on the recommendation of an existing employee, please make sure to mention their name within your application. We're passionate about sustainability and we have a five-year strategic plan: We expect job seekers to be curious about who we are and what we do. We point you towards a couple of resources about who we are and sustainability. Closing date and next steps We will receive applications until the advert closes on Thursday 16 April at 17:00. We will not consider late applications. Our ATS does not screen applications, we humans do. Applications may be reviewed prior to the closing date and occasionally, you may be invited to interview ahead of the closing date. Interview details First stage interviews are scheduled for Friday 24 April. Dates for second stage interviews will be advised to you later in the process. We'll ask you to tell us about any dates you cannot make, up to 4 weeks from the closing date; this helps us to plan interviews should you be shortlisted, prior to contacting you. Interviews are normally carried out over Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Depending on the job role and place of work, your interview may be at our Reading or London office. Please be prepared for a two-stage interview process, held on different dates. As part of the interview process, you will likely meet a member of the Senior Leadership Team. Note for internal candidates If you are an existing employee, we request you inform your current line manager of your intention to apply for this role.

Responsibilities

The Head of Cloud Platforms, Infrastructure and Security provides strategic and operational leadership for the university's cloud, network, and cybersecurity environments. They are responsible for ensuring these foundational technologies are secure, scalable, and cost-effective while managing technical teams and vendor relationships.