Director of ICT

The Director of ICT is responsible for all aspects of ICT in the school and leads the development and implementation of the school’s ICT strategy. This includes managing ICT systems, infrastructure and support as well as the use of ICT in teaching & learning. In carrying out this role they are expected to: Strategy, Training & Budgeting 1. Liaise with the Senior Team and other relevant stakeholders to devise, evaluate, refine, and implement the school’s ICT strategy. 2. Ensure staff are aware of the school’s ICT strategy and its aims. 3. Lead the Digital Steering Committee and ensure that other appropriate stakeholders are consulted on the implementation of ICT strategy and policy across the school. 4. Plan and manage the ICT budget as required by the Senior team, guiding purchasing decisions and investments, establishing good relationships with suppliers (and potential suppliers), and ensuring that the school receives competitive quotations. 5. Ensure that all ICT resource purchases (both hardware and software) are evaluated and approved to be aligned with school policy and strategy. 6. Plan and implement an ICT professional development strategy that equips all staff to make effective use of ICT resources as appropriate to their role(s). 7. Contribute to the student and staff induction processes to ensure that new members of the school community are informed of systems, credentials, etc and receive induction training in the use of the school’s adopted hardware and software systems. 8. Stay abreast of new developments in technology by attending technology learning conferences, participating in online educational communities, reading current technology literature, and testing new hardware and software. 9. Produce reports for the Principal, governing body and other stakeholders as required. Systems, Infrastructure & Technical Support 10. Ensure that all of the school’s adopted ICT systems and resources are regularly evaluated to ensure their continued effectiveness and efficiency. 11. Ensure that all staff are aware of, and make effective use of, the school’s adopted ICT systems and resources. GOL-F03 Job Description Template Version 1.0 12. Ensure that the ICT support team effectively manages all aspects of the school’s ICT systems and infrastructure, and provides outstanding support to all stakeholders, by: a. adopting a ‘service mentality’ in all of their dealings with staff, students and parents; b. maintaining excellent communication between the ICT Department and other stakeholders; c. maintaining a 24/7 rota for dealing with emergency issues as they arise; d. as far as possible, keeping all systems up-to-date, active and accessible to all users at all times; e. following the school’s appraisal procedures within the department; f. identifying any professional development needs for the ICT department and recommending certifications/qualifications if required; g. implementing a systematic ICT maintenance programme that minimises the likelihood of failures in hardware and software, and resolves them quickly when they occur; h. maintaining a ticketing system to ensure that technical support is recorded, assigned, monitored and delivered in a timely and effective manner; i. carrying out any planned upgrades/maintenance on the school network or other resources at times that minimise the impact on the school community; j. communicating any planned upgrades/maintenance on the school network or other resources in a timely manner; k. providing oversight and strategic management of the school’s ICT hardware, including : i. carrying out periodical school-wide ICT hardware audits; ii. maintaining an asset system to manage the hardware life cycle, from procurement and deployment/redeployment to disposal; iii. maintaining and configuring servers, storage network and virtualization iv. maintaining and configuring student devices for use in classrooms; v. maintaining, configuring and distributing devices issued to staff; vi. maintaining and configuring network printers and MFC devices (including configuring staff and student devices to work with the print server); vii. maintaining and configuring other network devices and infrastructure, including access points, wireless controller, backbone and firewall; viii. maintaining and configuring SMART boards, projectors, sound and video mixers; ix. maintaining and configuring the PABX Telephone System; x. maintaining a hardware replacement schedule that is aligned with the school’s ICT strategy and parameters established by the board; xi. ensuring that the network is operational during access hours and appropriate back-up protocols are implemented. l. providing oversight and strategic management of the school’s software, including : i. ensuring that appropriate licences are in place for all software systems used by the school; ii. maintaining and configuring the school’s management information system, admissions system and all reporting and assessment systems; iii. maintaining and configuring the school’s resource/room booking system to ensure equitable access for the school community; iv. maintaining and configuring server software (including, but not necessarily limited to: Windows Server, Apple Server, Ubuntu, VM Workstation, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Active Directory, Open Directory, DNS, DHCP, Forticlient EMS); v. maintaining and configuring workstation operating systems (including, but not necessarily limited to: MacOS, iOS, Windows, Android); vi. maintaining and configuring productivity software (including, but not necessarily limited to: Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft Office/Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox); vii. managing print queues, quotas and associated policies; viii. overseeing software deployment and management across staff and student devices (using Meraki MDM, Apple Configurator, Munki, Apple Remote Desktop); ix. effectively and efficiently managing student, staff and parent accounts for all adopted ICT platforms. 13. Ensure that the ICT Department and all of the school’s ICT systems comply with all data protection protocol and regulation, including: a. ensuring that network and server solutions meet local and international needs related to data protection and security; b. developing, implementing and monitoring school policies and practices for data protection, safe internet use, e-mail, cyber security and ICT resource management; c. working with vendors to ensure that ICT systems adopted by the school comply with local and international legislation; d. conducting regular security audits and taking appropriate action to minimise the vulnerability of the school’s ICT systems and resources to data theft/breach. 14. Responsibility for oversight of all network and systems operation within the school Crisis Management Handbook and specifically: a. Comply with policies and procedures relating to crisis management, child protection, health, safety, welfare, security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person. b. Actively support the school and its policies. Teaching, Learning, Enrichment & E-Safety 15. With the Junior School and Senior School Technology Coordinators, ensure that educational technology is promoted and used effectively to support teaching and learning in the school, in line with the NLCS ethos and the ICT strategy. 16. Identify excellent practice in the use of educational technology to support teaching and learning, and promote ‘digital champions’ to share their expertise. 17. Identify new and emerging technologies which are proven to enhance the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and advise the Senior Team on their deployment and use. 18. Consider frameworks for school-wide assessment of digital strategy and capability (eg. NAACE/ISTE) and implement as appropriate. 19. Lead the school’s e-safety provision, working with the academic, pastoral and safeguarding teams to ensure that all stakeholders are aware of online threats and educated as to how to avoid them. 20. Ensure that the sections of the safeguarding policy and related documentation that relate to e-safety are regularly reviewed and updated as appropriate. 21. Deliver parent information sessions on e-safety, the use of technology and other matters related to ICT. 22. Liaise with Curriculum Coordinators and Heads of Department to provide technical and AV support for lessons, enrichment sessions, internal events and community events, as required. Safeguarding 23. Abide by the school safeguarding policy and keep abreast of any changes.