IT Manager

About Unicard

As the leading provider of software solutions for public and private sector transport management and smart ticketing, for over 20 years Unicard has been trusted by millions of passengers to get them where they need to be. Today, our solutions can be found throughout the UK, processing several billion transactions a year.

Since we started in 2003, a wide range of local authorities, transport operators and hardware manufacturers have depended on our capabilities in strategy, design, development, testing and delivery to help deliver passenger transport services every day. We support a wide variety of customers, from simple single-user and concessionary travel programmes to complex multi-modal and multi-operator configurations. Examples include:

• We deliver our cEMV tap on tap off solution delivering London style ticketing to Transport for Wales rail network
• Our technology powers Transport for West Midlands trailblazing Swift integrated ticketing system, one of the largest and most well-respected schemes in the UK, and the largest after Oyster in London
• We are trusted by 58+ local authorities to deliver their vital concessionary travel programmes more than 25% of the market
• Over 30% of all ITSO card terminals in the UK run on Unicard software
• We have over 3.5 million cardholders currently under management, with transaction values in the tens of millions annually

Employing approximately 115 people across the UK and Bulgaria, our in-house research, strategy and development capabilities give us an affordable, well-managed ability to develop market leading technologies and affordably maintain existing products. As a small-to-medium-sized enterprise, we pride ourselves on our reputation for outstanding products, technical support, delivery capability and high levels of customer service.

About the Role

This is very much a hands-on management role to administer infrastructure systems and lead the IT team in meeting departmental KPI targets to achieve internal and external SLAs. This role requires knowledge and experience to recommend improvements ensuring Unicard scales and meets growing needs.

The role involves overseeing a geographically distributed IT team across three locations (two in the UK and one in Bulgaria), requiring excellent organisational, technical, and communication skills to ensure alignment and efficiency.

A good candidate will need to demonstrate ownership, responsibility, and a strong willingness to drive the team forward and manage performance. This is a dynamic and technically focused leadership role, combining hands-on expertise with strategic oversight to manage and enhance Unicard's IT infrastructure and security systems

The role will be responsible for designing, administering, and maintaining critical IT systems, ensuring they meet compliance and security standards aligned with leading industry frameworks (e.g., ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, ISO The role involves proactively identifying and implementing infrastructure improvements to support Unicard's scalability and evolving needs while balancing project delivery with business-as-usual (BAU) operations.

Accountabilities

The IT Manager will be responsible and accountable for:

• The performance and effectiveness of the IT Team across the UK and Bulgaria.
• Leading planning/resources sessions.
• Timely delivery of IT and security related activities.
• Maintenance/support of infrastructure and security posture.
• Ensuring systems align with current and future business requirements and goals including security and data protection standards.
• Ensure IT assets management and processes comply with industry standards and regulatory requirements (e.g., ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials plus, GDPR).
• Identify, assess, and manage risks related to IT and security operations.
• Promote a culture of security and awareness by educating employees on IT policies and best practices.
• Establishing and maintaining robust incident response and disaster recovery plans to ensure rapid recovery from disruptions and minimize business impact.

• Plan, manage, and execute the seamless migration of applications and services from on-premises infrastructure to AWS.

• Role Requirements/Dimensions
  
  The IT Manager role will require following duties and knowledge:

• Knowledge of modern security practices and standard such as ISO IEC 27001 and CE+

• Preventative measures to ensure reliability of Unicard systems and products.
• Working against strict service levels and ensuring tasks are prioritised accordingly.
• Deep technical knowledge of IT infrastructure, networking, and Database Management.
• Manage spending and cost, ensuring work is planned and budgeted accordingly.
• Create, update renew company/departmental policies.
• Align work practises to ITIL and ISO standards.
• Planning and resourcing any project related work.
• Ensure the asset register and suppliers lists are up to date and audited.
• Knowledgebase creation and administration, allowing the team to self-serve similar issues/tasks.
• Create detailed root cause analysis to identify and manage problems in accordance with ITIL.
• Create clear, to the point major incident reports that highlight caused of incidents and mitigation steps to prevent re-occurrence in the future.
• Communication with customers/suppliers/partners either in person, via email or over the phone.
• Recommend new technologies and ways of working to assist Unicard with its continual improvement directive.

Typical Outputs

• Deliver regular and detailed reports on the performance, efficiency, and productivity of the IT and security team, identifying areas for improvement.
• Report of performance and availability of Unicard systems.
• Establish key working relationships both across technical teams and with customers.
• Preventing major incidents and implement mitigations of repeat failures across the systems and infrastructure.
• Collaborate with IT and Service teams to manage support cases, system restarts, and scheduled maintenance, ensuring minimal disruption and optimal performance.
• Active presence within the Unicard risk committee, managing, prioritising potential risks with the support from other teams including senior management.
• Ensure the smooth and efficient operation of all IT systems, including hardware, software, and networks.
• Streamlined backups checked off and reported on daily/weekly/monthly.
• Oversee the effective management of local and cloud-hosted systems, ensuring all certificates, licenses, and configurations are current and compliant.
• Decisive and planning to ensure value is factored into to all decisions.

Required Personal Skills

• Professional and presentable
• Effective communication; verbal and written.
• Excellent time management
• Collaborative / Team player
• Positive and proactive
• Dependable and flexible
• Holds a valid UK drivers licence and owns own car
• Ability to work well under pressure
• Attention to detail and focused
• A desire to keep learning and driving new technologies
• Able to travel abroad
• Confident decision making
• Situational awareness
• Appetite for growth and development

Required Professional Skills/Experience

• IT background (min 5 years)
• IT Management Background (min 2 years)
• IT Web/Application Hosting
• Windows Server 2016+
• Team performance reviews
• KPI and SLA management
• Office 365 admin (Azure AD, Exchange, Group Policies, MDT)
• Enterprise networking
• SLA driven
• ITIL qualified
• Virtualisation

Desired Professional Skills/Experience

• Windows and Linux
• AWS/Azure administration
• PowerShell/Command Line
• IAM
• Database administration
• Cloud DNS management
• Security conscious (PKI, PCI, CE+, ISO 27001 ISO22301, ISO20001, Enterprise Risk Management etc,)

What we offer

• Competitive remuneration package
• Company funded Healthcare plan
• Life Assurance
• Company pension
• Hybrid working
• 2 days per annum paid volunteer days
• Modern working environment and friendly atmosphere
• Knowledge sharing (working with experienced professionals)
• Autonomy and trust in decision making
• Office in a central location
• Regular team building and office events
• Career development
• Charitable organisation

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