Your new companyThis is a highly successful and forward-thinking further education organisation with a reputation for excellence, innovation, and student achievement. Supporting thousands of learners across multiple campuses, the group continues to invest significantly in its people, technology, and facilities to ensure an outstanding experience for both staff and students. With ambitious plans for digital transformation and infrastructure modernisation, this is an exciting opportunity to join an organisation where technology is recognised as a key enabler of success and where your contribution will have a genuine impact across the business. This newly created role will report directly to the Head of IT and the successful candidate will be joining a well-established and experienced team of IT specialists where they will have the opportunity to further develop their own skills and experience.Your new roleAs Infrastructure Manager, you will take ownership of the college's core IT infrastructure, ensuring the stability, performance, security and future development of critical systems across the college. A key focus of the role will be the management, support and ongoing enhancement of the college's VMware environment, making proven VMware vSphere experience essential. You will lead on the administration of virtual machines, storage platforms, backup technologies and disaster recovery planning, while proactively monitoring performance, capacity and availability to ensure a resilient and highly available infrastructure. You will also play a central role in infrastructure life cycle management, delivering upgrades and improvements that support the college's long-term digital strategy.Alongside infrastructure responsibilities, you will help oversee the College's enterprise networking estate, including HPE/Aruba switching and Cisco Meraki wireless technologies, whilst ensuring robust security controls are maintained across both on-premises and cloud environments. You will be responsible for managing security updates, patching, identity and access management through Microsoft Entra ID and Azure AD, and responding to vulnerabilities and emerging threats. Looking ahead, you will support several strategic technology projects, including the migration from on-premises Exchange and file storage to Microsoft 365, helping to deliver a modern, secure and collaborative digital workplace. As a senior technical lead, you will act as an escalation point for complex issues, work closely with stakeholders and third-party partners, mentor junior engineers, and drive best practice across the IT function. Please note, this role is on site 5 days a week in the Stoke-on-Trent area, with 1 primary site and occasional travel required to others within the group, which are all local.What you'll need to succeedTo succeed in this role, you will need to have significant experience working in an IT infrastructure environment, supported by strong hands-on expertise in VMWare vSphere, ideally across versions 7,8 or 9. You should also have some experience of administering M365 and working with Windows Server, Active Directory, DNS, DHCP and SCCM with experience working in networking being advantageous. You will be a proactive and forward-thinking infrastructure professional with a genuine passion for technology and a desire to stay ahead of emerging trends. With a commitment to continuous learning and professional development, you will be motivated by the opportunity to enhance your technical expertise while helping to shape and support a modern, resilient IT environment. As the role requires travel between multiple sites, a full UK driving licence and access to your own vehicle are essential.What you'll get in returnIn return, you will be joining a highly successful and ambitious organisation in a newly created role that offers genuine scope for growth and opportunity as the position evolves. You will become a valued member of an experienced and supportive IT team, working closely with colleagues across the organisation and benefiting from the guidance and support of the Head of IT. Working in the further education sector, you'll enjoy an excellent benefits package, including membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme, 43 days' annual leave (including bank holidays), access to an Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice scheme, subsidised gym membership, and a range of additional employee benefits. The organisation is also committed to investing in its people, offering ongoing training and development opportunities, including financial support for professional qualifications and certifications that will help you grow both within your role and throughout your career.What you need to do nowIf you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job you accept the T&C's, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers which can be found at hays.co.uk
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