Senior Network Engineer London, England
Job description
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Type of role
Information Technology
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Contents
Location
About the job
Benefits
Things you need to know
Apply and further information
Location
About the job
Job summary
This team play a crucial role within UKHSA technology and are responsible for all workplace platforms and infrastructure with a special emphasis on High Performance Computing. You will be part of a specialist team ensuring seamless system performance across the agency using the latest technologically advanced equipment.
This role will be office based at Nobel House
Job description
Responsible for supporting the delivery of technical excellence in their field of network specialisms and assisting the Senior Specialist Engineer in ensuring that all systems are optimally configured to provide a high-quality service to UKHSA users.
They may be required to supervise the activity of junior staff, but will mainly be responsible for undertaking the configuration, management and maintenance of all hardware and software components of UKHSA’s network infrastructure.
The role holder is responsible for delivering a consistent level of availability and performance for their specialist systems and, where necessary, to work with other specialist engineers and ICT team members to deliver this. They will respond to incidents and outages and take necessary steps to secure the service and minimize disruption to the UKHSA business areas.
They will act as a point of expertise for their specialist area and will provide advice, guidance and training as required, especially where this improves or enhances the service provided to end users
Person specification
Key Responsibilities
- Assisting the Senior Specialist Engineer to ensure that any hardware, software, operating systems or associated technology is designed, procured and delivered in the most efficient and cost-effective manner and that all resources are used in such a way that maximizes the benefit to UKHSA.
- Work in a collaborative manner with other ICT colleagues to deliver tasks successfully.
- Plan, configure, manage and maintain all hardware and software components of specialist area to deliver optimum system availability to users, and ensuring all supplier provided patches and upgrades to the operating system, database, tools and utilities are applied in a timely manner.
- Maintain the security and integrity of all systems related to specialist area including managing all user access rights and implementation of backup regimes and other disaster recovery procedures.
- Providing technical and administrative support for specialist systems, including the production of system specification documentation and the production of relevant procedures and protocols.
- Monitoring and managing system performance and capacity growth, providing advice on necessary upgrades and replacement of hardware and software so as to maintain the reliability of the systems. Implement hardware changes and upgrades and database upgrades and migrations to maintain system performance and growth capacity.
- Ensuring compliance with UKHSA ICT and other relevant policies.
- To maintain awareness of technical developments and research new technologies with a view to providing advice to the Senior Specialist Engineer on suitable deployment strategies for UKHSA.
- To conduct such work as directed by the Senior Engineer or Team Manager consistently with departmental standards and to agreed timescales.
- Responsible for maintaining own specialist skills with appropriate professional training.
- To provide the Senior Specialist Engineer or Team Manager with estimates of effort and timescales for tasks as required.
- Carry out support and service to all customers during the agreed working hours, including any out of hours working.
- To comply with departmental and UKHSA requirements for the reporting of all absences.
- Provide a level of work that adheres to the high standards and best practices in line with the SLAs as agreed with UKHSA Users.
Essential Criteria:
- This is a role that demands detailed knowledge and considerable experience of specialist technologies. Therefore, each candidate must be able to demonstrate qualification and expertise in multiple integral technologies as indicated on the list below.
- Extreme Networks and Cisco network equipment.
- Network routing and TCP/IP protocols.
- Palo Alto Firewalls..
- CheckPoint Firewalls.
- Extreme Networks (or equivalent) wireless access point technologies.
- VPN deployment and configuration.
- CESG requirements for the implementation, management and administration of secure networks.
- Familiarity with CESG Good Practice Guidance.
- Understanding of network security principles and practises, data encryption and remote access technologies.
- WAN/LAN/WLAN Architectures.
- Application deliver controllers and/or load balancing technologies.
- Must have previous experience of undertaking a specialist role and of managing systems for a large user base.
- Ability and experience to speak credibly and authoritatively to technical and non-technical audiences and assimilate technical language quickly and effectively.
- Experience with monitoring a network infrastructure to optimize performance and support capacity planning.
- Clear communicator with excellent writing, report writing and presentation skills; capable of constructing and delivering clear ideas and concepts concisely and accurately for diverse audiences
- Evidence of excellent customer service skills and a commitment to improving services and performance for end users
- Ability to analyse and interpret information, pre-empt and evaluate issues, and recommend and appropriate course of action to address the issues.
- Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands.
Desirable Criteria:
- Experience with Network Function Virtualisation and Software Defined Network architecture.
- Skills for communication on complex matters and difficult situations, requiring persuasion and influence
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Working Together
- Managing a Quality Service
- Delivering at Pace
Benefits
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Selection Process Details
STAGE 1 - APPLICATION & SIFT:
This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
Please submit your application including CV and supporting statement (maximum 500 words)
Your application should set out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Your Supporting Statement should explain how your personal skills, qualities and experience meet the essential skills for this role.
The CV and Supporting statement will be marked separately and you must pass both to move through to interview.
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview.
STAGE 2 – INTERVIEW
All candidates who are successful at the sift stage will undertake a single video interview with Technical assessment and presentation.
All applicants that progress to interview will be assessed on an interview using Behaviours elements of Success Profiles. Technical, knowledge and experience will also be tested at interview
Behaviours:
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Working Together
- Managing a Quality Service
- Delivering at Pace
Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.
Unfortunately, late applications will not be considered.
Option 2 – Across Civil Service
This vacancy is open to all Civil Service employees and employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) who were appointed on merit following a fair and open competition; or were appointed to a permanent post through an exception in the Civil Service Commissioners' rules.
If we receive a large volume of applications we reserve the right to do a pre-sift on CV’S before completing a full sift which will include sifting on the personal statements’
Reserve List:
Candidates who pass the interview criteria but are not offered a post will be kept on a reserve list for 12 months and may be contacted if similar roles become available.
If you are interviewed for the post and do not meet the required threshold for the specified grade, your application may be assessed against a similar, lower grade role and you may be offered the post should one be available.
UKHSA offers hybrid working for its employees – this means that whilst the role will be based in one of our UKHSA offices, there will be opportunities for an element of working from home. The balance between home and workplace working is to be agreed with the line manager, determined primarily by business need and in line with departmental policy.
Some business travel will be required to other UKHSA offices. Business travel between base location and any other UKHSA offices will be covered under the UKHSA Travel and Expenses policy.
Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas. Relocation expenses are not available.
Further information
The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email: [email protected].
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website here.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
- relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
- certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals
Working for the Civil Service
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
Apply and further information
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