Staff Vacancies

Status: Full-Time
Salary: Circa £48,000
Contract type: Permanent
Start Date: April 2024
Upload Details: Senior IT Support Engineer JD
Date Posted: 15 April 2024
Position Details:

About Us

Established in 1974, David Game College is an inspected boarding/day school, QAA reviewed and OfS registered  independent FE/HE College with a reputation for quality and academic excellence.  With an expanding course portfolio and growing student body we now require an     enthusiastic, hard-working and experienced Senior IT Support Engineer to join the College IT team.

About you

You will support the IT Manager in ensuring the highest professional service standards are provided in the College in relation to all aspects IT support to both students and staff and across all of its further and higher education provision.

The Job

We operate a multi-VLAN network and use pfSense as a firewall.  The main college network is linked to our next-door Boarding House over a wireless bridge. Experience with pfSense or OpnSense is essential.  We need someone with solid networking knowledge at all layers, able to configure the firewall, switches, test/terminate ethernet circuits and troubleshoot connectivity issues.

Hands-on experience of VPN technologies – in particular OpenVPN – and sound understanding of networking security (such as public key authentication) are essential.  We use VPN tunnels for site-to-site connections, behind reverse proxies and for road warriors. Experience with Wireguard is desirable.

We use IIS applications with a Microsoft SQL Server backend running on Windows servers. These systems need the ability to manage MSSQL server databases, using SSMS to create scheduled and ad-hoc backups and restores, implement IIS (.NET) code upgrades and migrations.  A basic grasp of the SQL language is essential.

The College runs various Linux servers (mainly Debian, and occasionally RHEL clone distributions) as on-premises (KVM) virtual machines on small Linux DRBD clusters and in the public cloud.  We are looking for demonstrable Linux server system administration skills to deploy VMs, configure, monitor, upgrade and migrate services.  Knowledge of Apache and NGINX for web  app hosting (PHP with MySQL/MariaDB) and reverse proxying is essential.

We operate a Shibboleth IdP server to manage single sign on for our Higher Education community.  Familiarity with LDAP, Shibboleth and basic understanding of Apache Tomcat running in a Java environment is a plus.

Experience of setting up SMTP smart hosts (e.g. Postfix) is desirable.

Experience of Moodle deployment, migrations and upgrades is desirable: candidates familiar with managing PHP applications on Apache and NGINX should be able to adapt their knowledge.

We have around 150 IP CCTV cameras with multiple NVRs and may occasionally need to add or replace some of them.  Exposure to IP CCTV systems would be an advantage.

The College has on-premises Windows Active Directory domain controllers running on bare metal servers synchronised with hybrid Azure AD tenancies.

Desktop clients typically run Windows. In addition, we use Apple computers for art and design teaching. All classrooms and lecture halls are fitted with AV projection. The role includes Windows and Mac OS client desktop rollouts, upgrades and end-user support, as well as user account management.

• Deploy, configure, secure, monitor and migrate Linux servers and services
• Configure, support and monitor the network
• Support Windows servers, including MSSQL, IIS and AD services
• Support the Microsoft Office suite, Microsoft Teams and Office 365 platform
• Support for Google Classroom and Adobe Creative Suite
• AD SAML SSO integration and deployment
• Install and configure Windows and Mac computer systems, network equipment, printers and scanners
• Diagnose hardware/software faults and solve technical problems either on the phone, using remote support software or face to face
• Ensure security updates are
• Monitor and maintain computer systems and networks
• Set up new users’ accounts and profiles, ensuring that they know how to log in and deal with password issues, inducting new staff and student users, as part of the on-boarding process
• Maintain records of software licenses
• Manage stocks of equipment, consumables and other supplies
• Identify internal training requirements
• Troubleshoot email delivery issues and work with service providers
• Plan and undertake scheduled maintenance upgrades
• Account administration for students and staff on all platforms
• Solving access problems
• Support students and staff with their own devices on site
• Maintain and troubleshoot classroom Audio Visual equipment
• Basic repairs and replacing parts on PCs and laptops: for example, power supplies/ batteries, fans, hard drives, RAM, etc.
• Obtaining replacement or specialist components, fixtures or fittings
• Deal with specialist consultants and developers as needed
• Any other ad hoc duties the role may reasonably require

NOTE: The above responsibilities are subject to change at the discretion of the College and shall include other reasonable responsibilities as the College may with from time-to-time assign.

Benefits and wellbeing

Working at David Game Higher Education

Community, Support, Facilities and Resources for staff

DGHE is a leading independent higher education institution committed to academic excellence located in the heart of the City of London. We are strongly committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and dedicated to attracting and retaining the best possible staff. Our staff enjoy a range of benefits and facilities, aimed at fostering a sense of community, enjoyment and fulfilment while working with us.

Core benefits/services/facilities on offer:

• Generous annual leave of 25 days plus college closure days plus public holidays
• Contributory pension scheme
• Salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme
• Interest-free travel season ticket loan
• Free eye tests and contribution to cost of frames
• A range of staff training and development activities
• Other benefits as listed below.

These include:

Health and Wellbeing:

• Employee Assistance Programme via ‘HealthAware’ (EAP): available 24/7, 365 days a year for staff (and their immediate dependents) supporting general wellbeing and mental health. Free Financial, Legal, Medical advice and other family/work matters are available via the Helpline for staff and their dependents – including CBT counselling
• My Healthy Advantage: wellbeing and wellness App (free via EAP)
• TogetherAll: a 24/7, 365, anonymous peer-to-peer site supporting mental health, available to all staff using their DGHE email address
• Access to Work(AtW): support if you have a disability or health condition. You can speak with the staff adviser confidentially if you need advice/support in applying for the AtW, or want to know more about it.
• Learning Differences/SpLD (dyslexia/dyspraxia/ADD/ADHD): Staff are offered free, confidential screening for learning differences with follow-up advice and guidance on next steps. This includes screening for Visual Stressand guidance about using AtW to obtain support
• Canteen and staff coffee rooms on-site
• Gym on-site
• Quiet Room
• Regular free staff socials
• Fabulous location in the heart of the City and historical Roman London, Tower of London and The Gherkin just a 5 minute-walk
• Easy commuting: Liverpool St, Fenchurch St, Moorgate train stations less than 10 mins walk, Aldgate underground half a minute walk, Aldgate East and Tower Hill underground 10 mins walk, as is Tower Gateway DLR, and the area has many excellent bus services within 2 minute-walk.

Financial Benefits:

• Ride2Work SchemeDGHE works in partnership with https://www.bike2workscheme.co.uk/ offering the Government approved ‘Ride2Work Scheme’. The scheme recognises that commuting to work by bicycle will save you money in addition to helping you become healthier and happier
• Interest-free travel season ticket loan
• TOTUM cards (formerly NUS Extra): staff are eligible to apply for this using their DGHE email address – access to many discounts, including 10% shopping at Co-op
• Eligibility for Costco membership
• Apples Product Discount: Anybody who works in the education sector qualifies for a discount on Apple computers. It’s not just limited to students, teachers and lecturers, but also covers all other staff members. Offers appear on a regular basis.

Development and Training:

• CPD opportunities (Continuing Professional Development): support for relevant training and conferences, including financial and mentoring support for Academic staff applying forAdvance HE (Higher Education Academy) Fellowships
• DGHE Partner Institutions: academic staff teaching on courses with our partner institutions (University of Gloucestershire and Buckingham New University) are able to access their own in-house training programmes free
• E-Learning resources, free on the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) around wellbeing and other topics of interest common in higher education environments

Apply

Please send a cover letter and CV to jobs@dghe.ac.uk