Detailed job description and main responsibilities

1. Availability and Capacity Management

Standards and Procedures: Ensure the effective implementation of technical standards and procedures for system availability and resilience.

Regularly review and update these standards to meet the evolving needs of the Trust.

Capacity Planning: Identify potential capacity issues, monitor system performance, and take proactive steps to ensure systems can handle current and future workloads. Implement scaling strategies to avoid disruptions in service availability.

Remedial Action: Initiate timely corrective actions to address capacity issues or system failures, ensuring minimal downtime and a seamless user experience.

2. Development Process Optimisation

Process Efficiency: Identify and lead opportunities for process optimisation within the DevOps lifecycle, focusing on automation and reducing manual interventions.

Utilise industry best practices to improve development workflows and systems integration.

Solution Implementation: Guide the team in implementing process changes and optimisations, ensuring alignment with Trust goals and enhancing system efficiency and user satisfaction.

3. Information Security

Security by Design: Design and implement solutions with security controls embedded from the outset.

Ensure all systems and services are engineered to mitigate security threats and comply with data protection and security policies.

Access Control: Oversee the security and integrity of systems by managing user access rights, monitoring potential threats, and implementing disaster recovery procedures.

Ensure compliance with Trust policies on data protection.
Devops Specialist

4. Systems Design and Integration

Systems Design: Lead the design and development of systems that handle medium to high levels of risk and complexity, ensuring they meet the Trust’s operational and business needs.

Select and apply the appropriate design standards, tools, and methods for each system.

Integration: Coordinate integration activities across systems, ensuring seamless operation between various platforms.

Collaborate with developers, system administrators, and other stakeholders to ensure successful integration testing and deployment.

5. Programming and Build

Software Development: Lead on the design, coding, testing, and documentation of programs or scripts with medium to high complexity.

Ensure the use of the right development standards and tools for each project.

Prototyping: Actively engage in team-based prototyping activities, iterating design patterns and working closely with end-users to validate prototypes.

Choose appropriate prototyping methods for the task at hand.

Root Cause Analysis: Perform root cause analysis for production errors, developing software solutions to address issues and prevent recurrence.

6. Service Support and Reporting

Service Delivery: Provide expert support for the Trust’s digital services, ensuring that service levels are maintained.

Manage the release management platform, keeping it up to date and producing operational and service performance reports.

Reporting: Work with key stakeholders to discuss and improve service reporting processes, ensuring that operational delivery reports are accurate, timely, and provide valuable insights.

Add commentary to reports to help interpret the data for non-technical audiences.

7. Development and Innovation of Information Systems

Systems Performance: Monitor and manage system performance, capacity, and growth.

Provide advice on necessary upgrades and hardware/software replacements to ensure system reliability and performance.

Innovation: Stay up to date with new technologies, researching and evaluating their potential impact on Trust systems.

Make recommendations on the adoption of emerging technologies that could benefit the Trust’s infrastructure and services.
Devops Specialist

8. Communication and Relationships

Complex Communication: Communicate complex and highly technical information to both technical and non-technical audiences, including senior management, clinicians, and administrative staff. Translate technical jargon into clear, accessible language to ensure understanding and collaboration.

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with user researchers, developers, infrastructure teams, and other DDaT colleagues to ensure a collaborative approach to system design, development, and support.

Represent user needs internally, prioritising user-focused outcomes and facilitating productive discussions around system design and functionality.

9. Financial Responsibility

Budgeting and Cost Management: Work with the DevOps Manager to manage the financial aspects of the DevOps team, including budgeting for hardware, software, and infrastructure costs.

Ensure that projects and solutions are delivered in a cost-effective manner, without compromising on quality or performance.

Vendor and Contract Management: Negotiate and manage contracts with external vendors, ensuring value for money and alignment with the Trust’s technical and operational requirements.

Work closely with suppliers to ensure SLAs are met and services are delivered on time and within budget.

10. Physical Resources

Infrastructure Management: Lead the commissioning, configuration, and maintenance of network and server infrastructure.

Ensure all systems are physically and logically secure, maintaining an accurate inventory of all digital assets, including hardware and software.

System Upgrades: Plan and implement hardware and software upgrades to maintain system performance and reliability.

Manage database migrations and upgrades as required to ensure system growth and performance needs are met.

11. Training and Mentoring

Knowledge Transfer: Provide training and mentoring to team members and other Trust staff, ensuring technical knowledge is shared across the team.

Actively contribute to the professional development of the DevOps team through formal and informal training sessions.

Technical Leadership: Lead by example in maintaining high technical standards, encouraging continuous improvement and innovation within the team.

Offer guidance and support to less experienced colleagues to ensure the successful delivery of technical solutions.