Director of IT for Discovery Schools Trust (86BC)
Discovery Schools Academies Trust Ltd, Leicester, LE4 1EZ10 days remaining to apply
Start date details
September 2025
Closing date
4 August 2025 at 5pm
Date listed
22 July 2025
Job details
Job role
- IT support
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern
- Full time
Contract type
- Permanent
Full-time equivalent salary
- £53,723.00 - £59,217.00 Annually (FTE)
Director of IT for Discovery Schools Trust (86BC) job summary
Director of IT
Discovery Schools Academies Trust Ltd
Salary: Grade 14 Pay Point 39-42
Hours: Full Time, 37 hours per week and 52 weeks per year
Contract Type: Permanent
Working Pattern: Monday -Friday 08:00-16:00 with an unpaid lunch break.
Location: NSPCC Training Centre, Beaumont Leys, with travel to Trust Schools and external Organisations as required
About the Role
The Director of IT will play both a strategic leadership role and also be deeply technical. This role is responsible for delivering the Trust’s IT strategy, underpinning the Trust Pedtech Strategy. This position oversees the development, implementation, and maintenance of robust IT infrastructure that support teaching, learning, and administrative functions. The Director ensures compliance with data protection and cybersecurity standards, manages vendor relationships, and contributes to innovation in education and pedagogical technology. Collaborating closely with Trust Pedtech Lead, Trust leadership, school heads, operations teams, and external partners, the role demands a forward-thinking approach to digital transformation, budget management, and staff development to enhance operational efficiency and student outcomes.
Job Purpose:
The main purpose of the role is to ensure that the Trust infrastructure and end user compute is resilient, secure, stable, efficient, and scalable. IT must be the solid foundation required for the successful delivery of the Trust Pedtech strategy, meet KCSiE requirements, and DfE standards.
Main Duties and Responsibilities:
- Support the CTO in providing clear vision and strong, effective leadership in developing, implementing, maintaining, and reviewing the Trust-wide IT strategy
- Line leadership of the technical IT team
- Monitor and report upon the resilience of infrastructure
- Maintain professional working relationships with key external partners to ensure return on investment from contracts, and efficient procurement
- Lead specific IT projects across the Trust and be accountable for showing the impact of these projects
- Lead the IT integration of schools joining the trust
- Own IT team skills matrix and CPD program
- Own IT communications such as status page and planned engineering works
- Work closely with the Trust Pedtech team to ensure projects and strategy milestones are appropriately resourced
- Attend central team meetings, headteacher networks, etc., as required
- Work with the CTO to commercialise the IT service, making available for other Trusts and Schools
- Keep abreast of national initiatives and expected standards through training, research and attendance at events
- Provide support to external service users as appropriate
- Develop knowledge and expertise in AI technologies and how they can be used to raise outcomes for children and reduce workload for colleagues.
School Support:
- Lead the implementation of change across the Trust to ensure consistency of standards
- Ensure schools have equity in the systems and infrastructure they are provided by the Trust
- Enable integration of all schools as wholly as possible into Trust systems and processes
- Facilitate the sharing of good practices.
- Provide support for new schools through a period of change
- Provide emergency leadership support for a Special School in crisis as required by the Trust.
- Provide CPD sessions for the use of Microsoft tools for support staff in all roles
What We’re Looking For
Qualifications:
Experience:
- Successful middle or senior leadership and management experience, ideally in an education setting
- Demonstrable experience of successful line management and staff development
- Transformation and development of technical teams
- Support of user base with varying degrees of technical competency of at least 5k users
Skills & Knowledge:
- Security principles to current standards
- Incident management best practice
- Networking knowledge and skills with proven experience configuring and supporting: WAN (leased lines, FTTP, SoGEA, 5g, MPLS, VPLS, SDWAN, BGP, RO2, VPN), LAN (including wifi, layer 2 and 3 switching, VLANs), Firewalls (ideally Sophos XG, Fortigate, Smoothwall), subnetting, IP management, DHCP, DNS, authentication methods
- Backup and restoration knowledge to DfE and Cyber Essentials Plus standards
- On premises technologies including: Windows DCs, DHCP, DNS, Direct Access / AOVPN, WSUS, File Server, Group Policy
- Cloud management systems such as Intune (including Autopilot), Mosyle
- Cloud services provided in Azure / 365 (such as Entra, Purview, Exchange, Teams and Sharepoint management, SDS
- Virtualisation technologies such as: Hyper-V (including Storage Space Direct), Proxmox, Nutanix
- SNMP community monitoring tools such as Zabbix, Auvik
- Access control systems; ideally Paxton Net2 / Paxton 10
- SIP trunking and PBX configuration
- Managed print services; ideally Papercut
- 365 tenant migration tools such as MigWiz / Sharegate
- IDAM
- ITAM
- Understanding of school finances and financial management including effective procurement
- Understanding of GDPR and ability to promote compliance through purposeful configuration
- Effective communication and interpersonal skills
- Ability to inspire others and communicate a vision to all stakeholders
- Ability to build effective working relationships
- Experience of building a culture of high performance with colleagues
Personal Qualities:
- Commitment to getting the best outcomes for all pupils and promoting the ethos and values of the school
- Ability to work under pressure and prioritise effectively
- Commitment to maintaining confidentiality at all times
- Commitment to safeguarding and equality
- Ability to inspire others and themselves in challenging times
- Demonstrate resilience and perseverance in aspects of school leadership
- Be a self-reflective practitioner in all areas of leadership
- Seek and get involved with outward-facing initiatives to support school improvement
General:
- Lead and inspire effective teams committed to delivering the best possible outcomes for young people
- Provide accurate reports for the Trust CTO as and when directed
- Report directly to the board of Directors as and when required
Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification to support your application.
Why Join Us?
Professional Growth & Support
- Ongoing professional development opportunities.
- Access to learning networks and visits to other organisations.
- Supportive leadership and a highly committed team.
- Highly committed and motivated Team.
- A role which has the opportunity to make a real difference whilst having fun.
- A established Central Services Team who support schools and wider colleagues.
Work-Life & Wellbeing Benefits
- Flexible working options.
- Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
- Defined benefit pension scheme.
- Be an integral member of the team in a vibrant school.
- Create an outstanding learning environment for the success of all of our children.
- Play a significant part in continuing to develop our school.
- Be part of a wider community of Discovery Schools Trust.
- Free childcare.
Additional Perks
- Free parking.
- Cycle-to-work scheme.
- Gym discounts.
- Eyecare vouchers.
- Dental support.
- Retail discounts.
- Annual incremental pay increases within the pay scale.
Equal Opportunities & Accessibility
We welcome enquiries from everyone and value diversity in our workforce.
Applications are welcome from all sections of the community regardless of gender identity, ethnic origin, disability, age or sexual orientation. If you require assistance completing your application, please contact hrsupport@discoverytrust.org for support.
Depending on your role, occasional travel between Discovery locations may be required. A valid driving license and appropriate business insurance are necessary, and you will need to provide evidence of these documents
More about Discovery Schools Trust
Discovery Schools Trust is dedicated to improving learning and teaching by creating a culture that promotes excellence. The needs of all children are placed at the heart of all decision making regardless of the school they attend. Teaching and learning excellence are shared through learning networks, sharing of ideas and materials as well as leading practitioners between schools. Discovery has developed a school improvement system which focuses on improving outcomes for all children. It also places staff development, talent management and succession planning at the heart of achieving outstanding organisations.
Please note that interviews for this position may be made earlier than the stated closing date if a suitable candidate is identified. Therefore, we encourage interested applicants to submit their applications promptly. Early submission will not only ensure consideration for the position but also increase the likelihood of being invited for an interview. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to receiving your application.
Safeguarding Statement
We are committed to safeguarding our pupils; therefore, the successful applicant will require an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and references.
AI
While we acknowledge the advantages of AI in crafting personal statements for applications, we strongly encourage and expect applicants to personalise and tailor responses. Please note that the Trust may utilise AI checking solutions during the application review process and will be considered when shortlisting.
Apply Now!
If you are ready to make a difference in children's lives, apply today!
Further information about the job
Commitment to safeguarding
Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.
Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.
Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children
You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.
Applying for the job
This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.
CVs will not be accepted for this application.
View advert on external website (opens in new tab)About Discovery Schools Academies Trust Ltd
- Type
- Multi-academy trust
Discovery Schools Academy Trust is a multi academy trust of 13 primary schools and 2 special school dedicated to improving learning and teaching by creating a culture that promotes excellence.
The needs of all children are placed at the heart of all decision making regardless of the school they attend. Teaching and learning excellence is shared through learning networks, sharing of ideas and materials as well as leading practitioners between schools. Discovery has developed a school improvement system which focuses on improving outcomes for all children. It also places staff development, talent management and succession planning at the heart of achieving outstanding organisations.
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