The University of Sheffield
Deputy Chief Technology Officer
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Senior Engineering Manager – IT Services
The University of Sheffield
About the University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities, and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.
We offer a fantastic range of benefits, including:
- A highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more)
- A generous pensions scheme
- Flexible and hybrid working opportunities
- A commitment to your development and wellbeing
- A wide range of retail discounts
- Recognition awards for outstanding contributions
Explore our full benefits at Sheffield Benefits and join us to become part of something special.
Overview
In this role, you will lead the engineering functions within IT Services, with particular accountability for the student records system, associated platforms, and infrastructure teams.
Reporting to the CTO, you will be accountable for:
- The technical quality, reliability, and modernisation of systems
- The university’s core student records system, enterprise systems (primarily SAP), integration services, web platforms, DevOps, networks, and platforms
You’ll work closely with Architecture and Product teams to:
- Translate product roadmaps into technically sound, well-engineered solutions
- Ensure development teams deliver to agreed standards and timelines
This position is critical as IT Services transitions to product-led delivery. You will need to:
- Drive technical modernisation while adapting teams to collaborate effectively with Product and Architecture functions.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
Leadership and Strategy
- Define and communicate the technology vision for development, integration, and operational technology across the university.
- Own and deliver the technical roadmap, ensuring alignment with product delivery for digital services.
- Lead, manage, and mentor Heads of Enterprise Systems, Development, Networks, and Platforms.
- Set clear technical direction for these teams and ensure resource allocation supports goal achievement.
Technical Modernisation and Delivery
- Drive the modernisation of the university’s technology estate, including:
- Strategies for legacy system modernisation
- Adoption of cloud-native architectures (where applicable)
- Embedding modern software engineering practices
- Collaborate with Architecture to define and maintain technical standards, including:
- Code quality
- Security
- Testing and operational readiness
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Collaboration with Product and Architecture
- Work with entire product teams to ensure:
- Technical feasibility and effort estimates are accurate for roadmap planning and prioritisation
- Delivery teams can execute against agreed plans and timelines
Engineering Excellence and Operations
- Establish and improve engineering practices to enhance:
- Deployment frequency
- System reliability
- Time to value
- Ensure operational health of systems via:
- Incident response support with Service and Infosec --maintaining service continuity
Integration and Data Governance
- Work with Architecture to manage the integration landscape, ensuring reliable and governed data flows between:
- Student-facing systems
- Enterprise platforms
- Third-party services
- Define integration patterns for current operations and future flexibility.
Governance and Workforce Strategy
- Establish technology governance processes that balance:
- Delivery pace with university governance requirements
- Ensure stakeholders receive visibility on technical debt, platform risks, and modernisation progress.
- Lead the technical workforce strategy, including:
- Skills development
- Recruitment
- Succession planning
- Foster a culture of continuous improvement and engineering excellence.
Leadership in IT Services
- Serve as a member of the IT Services Extended Leadership Team, supporting strategic objectives.
- Work collaboratively with executive leaders to drive shared outcomes.
Ethical Responsibility and Compliance
- Commit to making ethical decisions and embedding the University sustainability strategy in working activities.
Additional Responsibilities
- Perform other duties as commensurate with the grade and remit of the post.
Person Specification
The University of Sheffield fosters a culture where diversity, respect, and inclusion are paramount. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, regardless of prior experience alignment to this role.
Essential Criteria
| Experience | Assessed At |
|---|---|
| Significant experience leading engineering teams, delivering and operating complex, business-critical systems across full software lifecycles. | Application, Presentation, Interview |
| Strong understanding of cloud-native architectures (preferably AWS), CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, and DevOps practices. Credible technical judgement essential. | Interview, Application |
| Experience with enterprise technology stacks (Java, Oracle, Salesforce, Python, SAP), ability to make sound architectural decisions. | Application, Interview |
| Strong communication skills; ability to distil and communicate complex technical concepts to varied audiences, including non-technical stakeholders. | Interview, Presentation |
| Experience managing multi-year technology programmes; ability to advocate for modernisation investments and demonstrate value to governance boards. | Application, Interview |
| Proven ability to establish credibility with senior stakeholders in federated/matrix organisations; experience working effectively alongside Architecture and Product. | Application, Interview, Presentation |
| Proven ability to translate product/business goals into actionable technical plans. Expertise in managing technical debt, platform risk, and modernisation alongside feature delivery. | Interview, Presentation, Application |
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Desirable Criteria
| Experience leading integration programmes, including API design, event-driven architectures, and data governance across organisational boundaries. | Application, Interview |
Grade and Reporting Structure
- Grade: Professorial Equivalent (Band 1)
- Line Manager: CTO
- Direct Reports:
- Head of Enterprise Systems
- Head of Development
- Head of Networks
- Head of Platforms
For more information about IT Services, visit here.
Next Steps in the Recruitment Process
- We aim to inform candidates of progression within two weeks of the closing date.
- Any support, equipment, or adjustments for recruitment participation can be requested at: it-services-recruitment@sheffield.ac.uk
Informal enquiries may be directed to: Arthur Clune, CTO | a.clune@sheffield.ac.uk
Our Vision
Find out more about Sheffield’s commitments to diversity and excellence: University Vision
The University of Sheffield is a carrier of jobs opportunities aligned with innovation, research, and its commitment to changing the world for the better. We believe in the power of varied backgrounds and perspectives to drive creativity and success.
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