Senior Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Specialist

The Senior ICT Specialist (Operations) role(s) will attract a candidate with an interest in developing a career in areas such as supporting and managing Irish Prison Service ICT infrastructure (Networks/Communications and/or Windows Servers) and associated services using a broad set of leading technologies and solutions, which may include a hybrid of cloud and on-premise infrastructures; end user support, in maximising their use of ICT and digital services.

Role Description (not exhaustive)

The successful candidate(s) will be responsible for assisting in the management of the IPS ICT Section reporting to an Assistant Principal Officer. The ICT Section comprises of ICT Software Development, ICT Operations and ICT Cyber Security, and consists of Civil Servants and Third-Party Contractors.

These teams are responsible for the delivery of all aspects of ICT infrastructure, telephony, Cyber Security and ICT Systems including (among other things) desktop hardware and software, Mobile Device Management, networks, Cyber Threat Detection & Response solutions, backend servers and virtual machines, Oracle and SQL Databases and Systems, email, helpdesk, onsite engineers and backups. The IPS has a number of bespoke ICT systems including an Offender Management System and a Healthcare System.

The successful candidate(s) will be encouraged and supported to undertake further education, training and certification so as to build their technical and professional expertise. Indeed, continuous professional development and certified training are key elements of the ICT HR Professionalisation Strategy for the Civil Service.

The appointee(s) will play a leading role and be involved in some, or all, of the following activities:

• Design, implement and support of a wide range of ICT/Digital Infrastructures across a broad set of leading technologies serving internal and external service users;

• Play a lead role in ICT Service management and delivery for the organisation;

• Promote the effective use of ICT and digital services to support the business of the organisation and in particular to promote world class delivery of digital IPS services;

• Demonstrate and maintain a broad knowledge of technology solutions, current trends and techniques and proactively pursue new technology developments;

• Develop test strategies, test cases and carry out appropriate testing;

• Lead and mentor your team to maximise performance;

• Take responsibility for ensuring issues are resolved or escalated to the proper resources to resolve in a timely manner with minimum disruption to the operational areas;

• Critically evaluate and analyse business information, translating business requirements into design options that are (i) cost effective (ii) efficient (iii) sustainable and reusable, (iv) comply with standards and (v) enhance business processes;

• Participate in the development and implementation of relevant ICT-related standards, policies and procedures, as required, and ensuring these are adhered to and built upon;

• Create and maintain comprehensive technical documentation;

• Show leadership in ensuring a focus on continuous improvement and quality service delivery;

• Manage issues and risks and drive progress to ensure project timelines are met by your team;

• Work with and support business units to help identify ICT needs;

• Explain complex technical information to a non-technical audience;

• Work within, and across, Departments and agencies, and functions as may be required to deliver on projects which have a cross functional relevance;

• Undertake such training and development, by yourself and your team, as may be required to ensure that you stay up to date with the technologies in your area of operations;

• Accurately capture policy proposals which often may have a technology focus;

• Research a topic and summarise findings;

• Manage in the procurement of ICT services and products as well as vendor and contract management;

• Participate in governance and oversight of digital and ICT solutions and proposals;

• Undertake other duties as may be assigned from time to time by your Manager.

ICT Operations is also responsible for:

• Managing the Network Team or Wintel Team or Helpdesk Team/Field Engineers, allocating resources effectively.

• Developing and supporting end-to-end ICT infrastructure and operations solutions across a broad set of leading technologies.

• Managing ICT services provided to end users, such as hardware, office productivity applications, email, online collaboration, fixed voice and video-conferencing, network access to the internet and online services, etc.

• Designing, implementing and supporting a wide range of ICT/digital infrastructures across a broad set of leading on-premises and cloud-based technologies.

• Supporting the technical design for new solutions, ensuring systems adhere to agreed design standards and meet both business and technical requirements.

• Developing test strategies and test cases, and carrying out appropriate testing when introducing new solutions.

• Support the operation of the network by monitoring and analysing network performance, and identifying areas for improvement.

• Ensure high availability, performance, reliability and security of the Irish Prison Service’s WAN/LAN/WLAN network infrastructure.

• Maintain accurate documentation of network architecture, configuration changes, and incident logs.

• Assist in planning network upgrades, replacements, and new network implementations.

• Provide regular reports to senior management on network performance, issues, and improvement initiatives.

• Ensure high availability, performance, reliability and security of the Irish Prison Service’s Windows Server/Citrix infrastructure.

• Foster collaboration within the team and with other teams and business units across the IPS as required to deliver on projects which have a cross-functional relevance.

• Critically evaluate and analyse business information, translating business requirements into network design options that are (i) cost-effective (ii) efficient (iii) sustainable and reusable, (iv) comply with standards, and (v) enhance business processes.

Who We Are Looking For:

We are looking for candidates who are enthusiastic, logical and imaginative and who want to further their ICT career as part of the Civil Service delivering world class ICT and digital services on behalf of the State.

We are seeking candidates:

• Interested in working in a diverse environment potentially working with cross-functional and cross-organisational teams;

• Interested in contributing to the design and delivery of quality public services supporting citizens, businesses, and public servants in their engagements with the State;

• Who takes a thorough and structured approach to organising tasks and solving problems and who can deliver on time against project deadlines;

• Who can establish and maintain good working relationships with others, identify their needs and be receptive and responsive to their queries;

• Who are confident and persuasive and able to explain complex ideas to a non-technical audience in a structured and concise manner with the ability to influence the choice of appropriate solution;

• Who can keep up to date with emerging technologies and is always eager to learn new skills;

• Enjoy working in an environment where there is ongoing and significant change and opportunities for new learning and experience;

• Have a commitment to developing yourself, and any staff you may be assigned, through training, professional development and on the job experience;

• Be a self-starter with the ability to multi-task and prioritise within tight deadlines.

The above is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently the post holder(s) may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

Entry Requirements

Essential Requirements

Candidates must, on or before Thursday 26th March 2026, have:

A. A qualification at Level 7 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) major award (i.e. ordinary degree), or higher, in a relevant computing or computational discipline and at least 2 years directly relevant *ICT hands-on experience from your employment to date.

OR

B. A qualification at Level 8 on the NFQ major award (i.e. honours degree), or higher, with computing/computational modules taken in the final year and at least 2 years directly relevant *ICT hands-on experience from your employment to date.

OR

C. A level 6 NFQ major award qualification, or higher, in a relevant computing or computational discipline and at least 3 years directly relevant *ICT hands-on experience from your employment to date.

OR

D. At least 1 professional qualifications in a relevant area of ICT (See page 6 for a range of examples) and at least 5 years directly relevant *ICT hands-on experience from your employment to date.

Candidates must also have the necessary knowledge/capability to:

• Quickly and effectively acquire a deep understanding of the policies and dynamics of the sectors concerned and be immediately effective in the post;

• Become familiar and effective with regard to IPS organisational structures.

*Relevant experience should include your experience in enterprise architecture, technical infrastructure design and delivery, including cloud, technical support, ICT service management, ICT operations and server support etc.

Desirable

In addition to the above, the following are desirable but not essential requirements:

• Hold a clean driver’s licence;

• An understanding of Government policies and objectives in the areas of ICT, Shared Services and public service reform;

• Understanding of policy issues facing a central Government Department in a rapidly changing complex environment;

• ICT-related professional certificates / accreditations including project management, business analysis, etc.

Professional qualifications

Professional qualifications considered appropriate for digital and IPS ICT-related roles in the Civil Service can include, but are not limited to, industry recognised disciplines such as:

Infrastructure & Operations and Networks - Cisco (CCNA/CCDA or higher), HPE and Aruba, Juniper, Brocade, Check Point, Citrix, Microsoft Certifications (e.g. MTA or MCP), Palo Alto, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, Oracle, VMWare, Nutanix, Fortinet, Linux, etc.

Please Note

Attendance at courses, without completion of an appropriately assessed examination and validated qualification, will not be considered as valid qualifications.

It is the candidate’s responsibility to provide details of certification achieved and demonstrate how these align with the requirements set out in the “Entry Requirements” section above.

In addition to the above, candidates must also be able to demonstrate the Key Capabilities identified for effective performance at this level – Higher Executive Officer.