Senior Infrastructure Operations Engineer - Planning Inspectorate - SEO
Government Digital & Data -
The Infrastructure and Platforms Service is responsible for delivering and maintaining the underlying structure required for the digital solutions that enable The Planning Inspectorate to achieve its objectives.
Our digital platform portfolio has undergone a significant transformation, with a strong focus on cloud-based services in Azure/M365, supported by Microsoft Surface and Apple iPhone client devices. We collaborate with various partner organisations for telephony, hardware support, and help desk services.
Job description
As a leader in our dedicated team of Infrastructure Engineers, you will:
- Nurture and develop your team, fostering a collaborative environment that promotes inclusivity and continuous improvement.
- Be a technical subject matter expert, keep up to date with technology changes and share your knowledge with colleagues.
- Play a crucial role in providing a high-quality service to our users.
- Be an excellent problem solver, leading incident management, prioritising and resolving issues, and collaborating with suppliers and cross-functional teams to deliver optimal solutions.
- Be at the forefront of maintaining and enhancing the security, reliability, and performance of our systems.
- Focus on providing our users with fully functional devices, seamless access to essential applications, and the necessary tools to carry out their jobs effectively.
- Communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels, including bringing your technical expertise to project teams.
In a typical week you will plan the team’s workload, including your own, and carry out line management duties.
You will work proactively with Service Managers and Architects on the roadmap for the Service and you will be involved in cross-departmental meetings to understand workstreams and manage resources accordingly.
You may need to respond quickly to problems or incidents using both your technical and interpersonal skills to investigate, communicate, and resolve issues, delegating tasks to the team as required.
You will also be part of an on-call rota, typically being on-call for one week in six, with occasional out of hours working, usually at the weekend as part of the regular patching cycle.
Salary
Salary range for the role is £45,219 - £49,462 plus a DDAT allowance of up to £12,181 based on Capability and base salary, our assessment of your skills and experience against the Civil Service DDaT Framework. This allowance is subject to an initial review within six months of taking up the post and thereafter an annual review in line with departmental allowances policy and could therefore be increased, reduced, or withdrawn at any time, any reduction or withdrawal will be after the appropriate contractual notice is given.
Working hours:
Standard working week is 37 hours, flexible working hours policy available. Part time at 29 hours or above, flexible working hours policy available.
The Planning Inspectorate has a long and proud history in ensuring a fair planning system for England. The work we do has a significant impact on people’s lives, the communities where they live and the economy.
We want our colleagues to be able to work more flexibly and more collaboratively, exploring new and innovative ways to improve the way we provide services.
For further information on the Planning Inspectorate, please visit our careers page at Civil Service Careers
Office Attendance
This role is contractually based at Temple Quay House, Bristol which is currently out of use due to undergoing refurbishment work. In the interim, we have the use of alternative office space in very close proximity to Bristol Temple Meads railway station. We recognise and value the mutual benefits of hybrid working and have a flexible approach to in person attendance, which can vary dependent on the requirements of individual business units - the details of which can be discussed with candidates if invited to attend an interview.
Person specification
Essential Criteria
- Problem-solving experience
- Excellent communication, customer engagement, and inter‐personal skills.
- Experience of Microsoft Azure management including but not limited to; configuring environments for additional services, building and commissioning additional services, virtual machines, maintaining a secure environment and patch management.
- Experience of managing and maintaining a Microsoft 365 environment including but not limited to; policy management and deployment, security, and application deployment.
- Experience of IT service management tools (preferably ServiceNow).
- Experience of implementing and managing monitoring tools.
- Experience of working within Service Level Agreements and ITIL processes, and an awareness of key change management processes.
- The post holder will be expected to manage and participate in a 24/7 on-call rota for out of hours support for critical infrastructure. With a full team in place this equates to being on-call for one 7-day week in six. An on-call allowance is provided.
Desirable Criteria
- Experience of Active Directory / Entra ID, Windows Server 2003 – 2025, and Group Policy administration.
- Relevant professional qualification (e.g., ITIL Practitioner, Microsoft Certificates).
- Knowledge of Cyber Security issues and how to reduce the risk of malicious attacks.
- Knowledge of the Government’s Digital strategies and codes of practice, including Data Protection regulations.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Leadership
- Delivering at Pace
- Managing a Quality Service
- Changing and Improving
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Service Monitoring
- Enhancing Technology Platforms
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £45,219, Planning Inspectorate contributes £13,099 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
- Flexible working options, including flexi-time, part-time, compressed hours and home working if suitable for the role.
- A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity.
- 25 days annual leave increasing by 1 day per year up to 30 days after 5 years, plus 1 privilege day to mark the King’s birthday. In addition to the normal bank holidays.
- Generous family friendly policies.
- Fast and modern IT kit which utilises Windows 10 and Microsoft 365, enabling seamless working from home and collaboration across teams.
