Head of Platform Technology

Job Introduction

We’re looking for an exceptional Head of Platform Technology to help us make a difference to our planet.

As our Head of Platform Technology, the job may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in the office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and the location advertised will be your contractual place of work.

Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week. Our people are at the heart of what we do and we'll do our best to agree a working pattern that works for everyone.

Whilst this is a temporary position for 2 years, there is potential for it to develop into a permanent position.

World changing work

From science to technology, from meteorology to management, and from planning to communication, our expertise helps us stand out as the authority on weather accuracy and climate prediction. We help individuals, industries and government to make better decisions to stay safe and thrive. This is the Met Office. This is who we are.

• We’re a force for good - focusing on our environmental and social impact
• We’re experts by nature - always learning and developing to do things better
• We live and breathe it - putting our purpose at the heart of decision-making
• We’re better together - understanding partnerships and inclusivity make us greater
• We keep evolving - pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers

Your world of expertise

The Met Office's technology teams are relied upon to deliver trusted IT services to it’s customers so that they can make better decisions to stay safe and thrive. 

Your key duties

• Provide strategic leadership for the area, inspiring the team to deliver high quality services that enable the Met Office to achieve its goals
• As a member of the Operational Technology senior leadership team, lead by example, setting clear and consistent standards for staff management, staff development, workforce planning and change management
• Ensure effective financial and risk management processes are employed to manage the relevant IT capabilities within agreed budgetary and risk tolerances
• Adopt and embed relevant good practice, both technical and organisational, that ensures the area meets the current needs of the wider organisation and that plans and resources are in place to meet agreed future ambitions
• Embed a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging teams to challenge existing ways of working and to seek improvements that have tangible benefits for themselves and their customers
• Work with peers and partners to undertake horizon scanning of industry trends, determining their applicability to the Met Office and developing plans to adopt these
• Embed a secure-by-design culture into the teams, ensuring that we are positioned to protect our services and capabilities from cyber threats

Why join us

Our work is life-changing, often life-saving and always life-enhancing. The Met Office is accredited as a 'Great Place to Work UK 2023' and in addition has achieved a place on both the UK's 'Best Workplaces in Tech' and 'Best Workplaces for Women' lists.

As our Head of Platform Technology, your total reward package will be up to £92,530 annually, which includes:

• £64,846 base pay
• An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 27%
• Recruitment Retention Allowance (RRA) you will be paid £3,800 per annum as a market supplement to reflect the demand for your skills. Whilst in post, you will be paid this market driven allowance from April 2024 until September 2025 in your monthly pay
• Annual Leave starting at 27.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising to 32.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) after 5 years and option to buy or sell up to 5 days per year of annual leave

Essential Criteria, skills and experience:

1. Professional qualification or chartered accreditation in technology or associated experience relevant to this post (experts by nature)
2. Experience of leading large multidisciplinary and diverse teams, empowering autonomy, fostering active collaboration and delivering significant outcomes.  Including utilising a range of resourcing options (We're better together)
3. Financial literacy – proven track record of managing a significant budget (measured in £millions) within agreed limits and experience of budgeting and forecasting processes
4. Excellent change management skills, including a proven ability to work collaboratively with stakeholders to agree a clear vision for the future, gain buy-in to this from the wider team and drive towards realisation of that vision (We keep evolving)

How to apply

If you share our values, we’d love to hear from you! Click apply to begin your application. Please complete your career history and provide evidence against each of the essential criteria in the supporting statement questionnaire. We recommend candidates use the CARL method (Context, Action, Result and Learning) for presenting evidence of experience and skills.

Closing date 11/08/2024 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 19/08/2024. You will hear from us once the closing date has passed.

How we can help

If you are considering applying and need support to do so, please contact us via careers@metoffice.gov.uk. You can request adjustments either within your application or by contacting us. Should you be offered an interview, please be aware there may be a selection exercise which could include a presentation, written test or a scenario-based activity. You can select in your application to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme. To be invited to interview/assessment under this scheme, your application must meet the essential criteria for the role.

We understand that great minds don’t always think alike and as an equal opportunities employer we welcome applications from those with all protected characteristics. We recruit on merit, fairness, and open competition in line with the Civil Service Code.

We can only accept applications from those eligible to live and work in the UK - please refer to GOV.UK for information. We require Security clearance, for which you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years to be eligible. You will need to achieve full security clearance within your first 6 months with us.