SKA MID - IT Manager at NRF National Research Foundation

About the position

Postion Summary:
The SKA-MID IT Manager is responsible for the provision of IT services to SKAO staff, mainly in South Africa, but also other SKA sites when conditions require it. They work in conjunction with the IT teams in Australia and the UK to provide a single Service Desk providing support across multiple time zones and countries, supporting staff and the wider SKA community. The IT Manager is responsible for developing and sustaining a team of IT technicians that is capable of meeting organizational IT needs and objectives. They will work with other SKA IT teams and managers to develop, implement, and support IT infrastructure and services, including universal support and operations standards for IT within the SKAO and regions. Furthermore, they will be expected to drive the adoption of the Help Desk and support the other IT Managers, within the Observatory, to meet SLA's They will cooperatively manage the asset lifecycle for hardware and software assets. With the team, they will implement, maintain, and support the business network and its governance, according to appropriate SKAO prescripts. They will liaise with the Head of Information Technology to maintain strategic alignment and with the IT Service Manager and Site Reliability Engineer to agree prioritisation of service delivery activities and work on continual service improvement.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop the SKA-Mid IT capacity and policies Manage Information Infrastructure, Technology and SystemsEstablish, maintain and monitor IT resilience, availability and security policies, processes and implementations for SKA-MidSupport the delivery of the array deliveries of the SKA Project in line with the Observatory objectivesBusiness Support Systems Budgets, procurement and asset management

Minimum Qualification:

• Diploma / Advanced Certificate / NQF 6

Minimum Experience:

• 8-10 years

• Bachelors’ degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Information Systems, Computer Engineering or related fields coupled with 8 years’ relevant working experience; or National Diploma in Computer Science, Information Technology, Information Systems, Computer Engineering or related fields coupled with 10 years’ relevant working experience

Experience:

• Computer and network infrastructure implementation (L3) IT service, operations and management, including significant responsibility over Service Level AgreementsIT Team leadershipIT Architecture and GovernanceProject management IT systems engineering, application support, and user managementIT governance and securityData governance and securityIT availability, resilience and redundancy Systems analysis, design and engineeringProcurement and IT asset management

Knowledge:

• Experienced in the administration of local area wired and wireless networks
• Knowledge and experience in IT service provision
• Experience in asset lifecycle management and software asset management
• Experience in managing resources and prioritisation
• Knowledge and background with IT Service Management disciplines and Frameworks such as ITIL and Change Management
• Certification held in industry/community -recognised disciplines/technologies pertinent to the role
• Experience of Lean Agile project management
• Experience of working in a globally diverse team
• Programming/scripting experience and capability across multiple platforms
• Experience with Microsoft, Apple and Google computing devices and mobile device technologies and device management systems
• Experience with Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Online services like O365
• Experience in Cloud products such as Dropbox and Atlassian products

Additional Notes:
Competency – Essential: Helpdesk and service management Security Management Risk Management Change Management Project Management IT Procurement Asset Management Strong leadership quality Strategic thinker Problem solving skills Planning and time management Team building and collaboration Resource management Planning and design Communication and interpersonal skills NegotiationCompetency – Desirable: Linux OS ITIL 4 based on ITSM Public Cloud hosting Hypervisor technologySkills: Teamwork and Collaboration: Cooperates with others to achieve organisational objectives and may share team resources in order to do this. Collaborates with other teams as well as industry colleagues. Influence and Communication: Identifies critical stakeholders and influences them via an influential third party, for example through an established network, to gain support for sometimes contentious proposals/ideas. Resource Management/Leadership: Provides leadership that fosters an environment that encourages new ideas and provides support for the development of emerging skills. Creates trust by displaying consistency, understanding, integrity and patience. Plans, seeks, allocates and monitors resources to achieve outcomes. Judgement and Problem Solving: Anticipates and manages problems in ambiguous situations. Develops and selects an appropriate course of action and provides for contingencies. Evaluates, interprets and integrates complex bodies of information and draws logical conclusions, synthesises proposals and defends options with reasoned arguments. Independence: Assesses the risk and opportunity of identified strategies, options and actions. Overcomes problems and setbacks in achieving goals. Invariably includes consideration of value-added future impact on the bottom line when determining the optimal and efficient use of resources. Adaptability: Demonstrates flexibility in thinking and adapts to and manages the increasing rate of organisational change by adjusting strategies, goals and priorities. Additional Notes: Organisational ValuesThe SKA-Mid IT Manager will be expected to demonstrate the SARAO and SKAO’s values, and to work actively to instill those behaviours in all SKA-Mid staff in South [URL Removed] values are:Diversity and Inclusion ExcellenceCollaborationCreativity and InnovationSustainabilitySARAO’s values are:Passion for ExcellenceWorld-class servicePeople-centeredRespectIntegrity and EthicsAccountability Both SARAO and SKAO value and respect difference and are committed to building an inclusive culture by creating an environment where you can balance a successful career with your commitments and interests outside of work. We believe that you will do your best at work if you have a work / life balance. Some roles lend themselves to flexible options more than others, so if this is important to you, please raise this during your interview, as we are open to discussing flexible working opportunities during the hiring [URL Removed] NRF website provides more details on the initiatives and activities Applicants should submit a comprehensive CV by registering and apply online through the NRF Recruitment and Selection Portal. Applications should be accompanied by a letter of motivation indicating the applicant·s suitability for the position. The names and contact details of at least three referees should be provided.

Desired Skills:

• Skilled in applied field of position
• Knowledge to be relevant
• Responsible in performing duties

About The Employer:

The National Research Foundation (NRF) (wwww.nrf.ac.za) supports and promotes research and human capital development through funding, the provision of National Research Facilities and science outreach platforms and programmes to the broader community in all fields of science and technology, including natural sciences, engineering, social sciences and humanities. The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) (www.sarao.ac.za) spearheads South Africa's activities in the Square Kilometre Array Radio Telescope, commonly known as the SKA, in engineering, science and construction. SARAO is a National Facility managed by the National Research Foundation and incorporates radio astronomy instruments and programmes such as the MeerKAT in the Karoo, the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) in Gauteng, the African Very Long Baseline Interferometry (AVN) programme in nine African countries as well as the associated human capital development and commercialisation endeavours. The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) (www.skao.int) is a next-generation global radio-astronomy facility that will revolutionise our understanding of the Universe and the laws of fundamental physics. It is one observatory with two telescopes – SKA-Mid in South Africa and SKA-Low in Western Australia. South Africa is a co-host member of the SKAO, an intergovernmental organisation headquartered at Jodrell Bank (near Manchester in the United Kingdom) responsible for SKAO construction and operations globally.