Technical Manager

Location: Balliol College

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 10 November 2025

Salary: £47,865 - £57,115 depending on skills and experience.

Specific Hours: 37.5 hours per week. Core hours are 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday

Technical Manager

Salary 
£47,865 - £57,115 depending on skills and experience.  This is a Grade 8 role, though suitable candidates stepping up from a support role will be considered and, if appropriate, the role and salary may be adjusted to grade 7.

Contract 
Full-time, permanent.  This role is shared across two colleges: Balliol and Trinity (60:40)

Location 
Balliol College, Oxford, OX1 3BJ & Trinity College, Oxford OX1 3BH

Department 
IT

Reports to 
ICT Director

Hours
37.5 hours a week

Holiday 
6 weeks (30 days), plus bank holidays, during a complete holiday year, five of which are taken during the Christmas period when the College is closed.  The College reserves the right to require staff to work on bank holidays during full term, receiving a day in lieu. 

Probation
12 months

Notice period
1 month on either side (during probation)
3 months on either side (after probation)

Balliol College

Situated in an historic site in central Oxford, Balliol has been a hub of learning and community since its foundation in 1263. As one of the larger colleges within the University of Oxford, it is home to roughly 860 students, with undergraduates making up just under half of the student body. The College also employs over 80 Fellows, 50 lecturers, and about 180 support staff, with Dame Helen Ghosh as its current Master. While academic excellence is at the core of Balliol’s mission, visitors are often struck by the College’s informal and welcoming atmosphere. Beyond its walls, Balliol has an active and engaged global community of over 8,000 alumni and donors. 

Further information about the College is available at www.balliol.ox.ac.uk.  


Trinity College

Trinity College was founded by Sir Thomas Pope in 1555 and is one of Oxford’s smaller central colleges, occupying a beautiful site in central Oxford. The college has a student body of 300 undergraduates and 120 postgraduate students and a Governing Body of 48 fellows covering almost all academic disciplines active in Oxford.

ICT Department

The ICT Department provides local IT services to the colleges and forms part of a larger collaborative group with a number of other Oxford University Colleges.   This collaborative group works together to provide best in class services to the group and shares a central data centre for all its processing and storage requirements.    

Purpose of the Post

The Technical Manager will be responsible for assisting the Director of ICT with the provision, management and availability of all IT Services within Balliol and Trinity and the wider collaborative group.  

This role specifically will support Balliol and Trinity colleges in all areas of IT activity within the Colleges including: software and hardware support; maintenance of the physical network (both wired and wireless); maintenance of College servers and systems; maintenance of the College’s computer rooms; maintenance of College CCTV systems; maintenance of College telephone systems; liaising with external companies and contractors providing software and hardware solutions; maintenance of and compliance with IT policies in College; and supporting the College’s web based activities.

There is also the potential of working at the other collaborative college sites and the post-holder must therefore be able and willing to travel between sites as required – all sites are accessible on foot from Balliol and Trinity. 

The role would suit someone currently working in a server/network infrastructure support role, who has strong technical skills and who is looking for a step up in terms of size of environment and/ or responsibility.

 Job duties and responsibilities:  

The main duties are included below.  This is not an exhaustive list and may be amended in line with College needs. 

  • Monitor the physical VMware environment to ensure it meets College requirements for performance and availability
  • Ensure smooth running of college networks, servers and other key systems
  • Monitor the network for any hardware, server, application or service failure
  • Deploy any new IT equipment such as servers, PC’s, printers, switches or WAP’s as and when needed
  • Configuration of WiFi access points to enable client access and assist with on-boarding of clients
  • Configuration of Core and Edge Network Switch port configuration for network access and patching of clients for network access
  • Manage storage to ensure capacity is available to store College data and backups
  • Firewall management and network access rules
  • Implement the College Information Security Policy technical controls
  • Provide IT support to all members of the college, conferences and visitors
  • Install and maintain operating systems and application software
  • Upgrade and maintain computer hardware
  • Monitor potential security issues and remediation of threats
  • Create and maintain operational, systems and user documentation
  • Purchase software and ensure compliance with licensing agreements
  • Ensure adherence to relevant IT policies and standard

Person Specification - skills and experience

Essential

  • Significant experience in a systems administration and/or infrastructure support environment working with small to medium size organisations
  • Experience in maintaining resilient and secure web services (e.g. SSL certification)
  • Excellent understanding and working knowledge of: Active Directory, DNS, SQL, DHCP, Group Policy administration, and PowerShell
  • Experience in managing enterprise class switches and firewalls
  • A sound understanding of IP Networking including VLAN and NAT implementations
  • Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills to deal with a wide range of ICT customers, including the ability to provide clear explanations, both in person, on the phone or in writing of technical aspects in plain language understandable by all
  • The ability to prioritise work effectively while working under pressure
  • A proactive team player; confident and diplomatic
  • The desire and ability to provide a highly customer-centric service in a constantly changing and fast-paced environment

Desirable

  • Administrative experience of a VMware (or equivalent) virtualised server environment
  • A working knowledge of the University of Oxford and the Collegiate environment
  • Experience of providing IT support in a Further/Higher Education environment

Employee Benefits

  • Staff meals
    A free two-course lunch is available in the Hall, when the kitchens are open.
  • Pension Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS)]
    This is a contributory pension scheme, with contributions from both the employee and the College. Further details are available here.
  • Travel
    Interest-free ticket loans enabling the purchase of bus passes and annual rail season tickets to Oxford. Discounted travel is available on some services.
    Cycle to work scheme offering discounted rates on bicycles and accessories.
    Electric vehicle leasing scheme (salary sacrifice - eligibility criteria apply).
  • Healthcare
    Free flu jabs and eye tests for computer/VDU users
    Free use of the College’s onsite gym and the University swimming pool
    Preferential rates for other University sports facilities and the Nuffield Health gym on Woodstock Road.
  • University Club: 
    Free membership of the University Club, which offers food, drink and accommodation in an exclusive space for staff, postgraduates and alumni.
  • Learning and personal development
    In addition to training organised by the College, resources are available from the University.
  • Visitor access
    Free visitor access to the 45 colleges and halls of the University, the University’s Libraries, Botanic Gardens, Arboretum and Museums.
  • Employee discounts
    Available at local and national retailers and online services using exclusive discount codes for University staff and with a TOTUM (formerly NUS) card.
  • Balliol nursery 
    A day-time nursery on Rawlinson Road, subject to availability. Subsidised rates are available for Balliol staff.

Application procedure

Informal enquiries: Candidates wishing to have an initial conversation about the role should in the first instance contact Christopher Thompson, IT Director christopher.thompson@balliol.ox.ac.uk

Written applications: Applications should be made by midday on 10 November 2025 online at https://www.balliol.ox.ac.uk/careers. Early applications are encouraged.

Interviews: Candidates selected for interview will be notified as soon as possible after the closing date. First stage interviews will be held between 18-20 November.

Right to Work: Shortlisted candidates will be expected to supply original documentation proving that they have the right to work in the United Kingdom (UK).

Equal Opportunities: Both Colleges are equal opportunities employers. All applicants are asked to complete a separate confidential Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form to help us fulfil our duties in this regard. Applicants should let us know if they require reasonable adjustments for any part of the recruitment process.

Data Protection: Personal data is processed in accordance with the Colleges’ Privacy Policies which are available at https://www.balliol.ox.ac.uk/privacy-policy and Policies and Reports | Trinity College Oxford

 

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