Network Manager - Grantham, Lincs - £32,798-£36,371 full time - Closes 06-May-2022

[sonofsanta]

Well. Here we are. As mentioned in other threads, I'm moving on from my school after 12 years, and thus my role as Network Manager at Kesteven & Grantham Girls' School is vacant. Details & application form available on our website, but for your convenience:

 

IT Network Manager

 

• Network Manager - Advert (PDF)
  
• Network Manager - Job Description (PDF)
  
• Network Manager - Letter to Applicants (PDF)
  

We're a single-sex (but trans-inclusive) selective 11-18 academy, the sole school in our academy trust. On-roll numbers are around 1200 kids, and we've been oversubscribed every year I've been here; we're one of the top schools in Lincolnshire, and on some results days in the country, and that's based not only in our selective (grammar school) nature but also our value-added scores: our Progress 8 in 2019 was +0.91, as per the letter on our website. We take bright kids in, sure, but we challenge them and push them to achieve their best. The best part, though, is that we not only help them thrive academically but personally: the House system and the activities that run through it (panto, choir, dance, baking etc.) really does produce rounded and mature kids. I've always taken huge pride in our sixth formers leaving as decent people, and they're honestly great company, if a bit free with helping themselves to the biscuit tin.

 

The atmosphere is honestly unlike any other school: damage to ICT suites is almost unheard of, they don't give a monkey's about hacking the network, and the air of self-motivation is honestly a little unsettling--gods know I was never this committed to my studies at school. There's a staff body of about 80 teachers and 50 support staff, and the unity and cohesiveness amongst them is the starkest difference to other schools: the sense of equality between teaching staff and support staff is remarkable, and you'll not feel excluded or looked down upon.

 

It's a hard place to leave. After 12 years I'm still probably only average in terms of tenure: there's a large cohort of teachers who've been here twenty years or more, and a not-insignifcant proportion of ex-students who've come back to work here. One ex-Head of Art (now part time) has done, what, 45 years? He's been here so long they've ended up building him two new Art blocks in that time. No-one ever wants to leave, and those that do end up coming back as supply (or, in one Sixth Form admin's case last month, after only a week at their new job).

 

The network is about 550 desktops on wires, because I've always believed in Keep It Simple, Stupid--I'm the stupid, after all. Win10, Hyper-V server stack, SCCM, Office 365, Bromcom, Unifi wireless, Smoothwall etc.; we're not doing anything unusual or fancy, I've always done it the consistent and reliable and affordable way. It's worked out pretty well, if I say so myself. It's not perfect (there's only so many hours in a day), and there'll be a list of "this is stuff you need to get round to", but it's in pretty good shape. We're not in the RBC, we've rolled our own leased line for a lot of years, so you are the be all and end all of IT here.

 

There's two full time techs you'll be line managing (senior tech + tech), and both know their onions; no shenanigans with a new apprentice every year. The office has air-con AND daylight! A kettle AND a fridge! Senior management are a decent bunch who've always given me authority along with my responsibility, and trusted my word. Work/life balance is good: there's a longstanding resistance to emails out of hours, and everyone is strongly encouraged to stick their out of office on in holidays. No competitions for who can send the latest email here, and they've shown me a lot of flexibility through all my personal troubles and travails these last few years, with plenty of compassionate leave for hospital appointments, funerals etc. Oh--speaking of, it's 27 days holiday a year at this pay grade, with +5 once you've done 5 years. No overtime pay at Grade 9 I'm afraid, but you do get TOIL, but honestly, overtime is a rare occurence--mostly just parents' evenings now, and that odd day where something has gone wrong at 3:30pm and needs fixing before the morning.

 

I have rambled enough. I love this school, and you will too; it's only personal circumstance that is forcing me out. If you want to know any other questions, feel free to ask here or via PM. I'm technically finishing July 3rd, so the hope is that the right candidate can start in June and we can have a week or two of transition before I go on holiday ahead of starting elsewhere, and I'm starting on my Big Doc of Documentation for you now.

[sonofsanta]

Bump! This closes on Friday, and there's no internal candidate, so it's wide open. Looking like interviews will be the Friday after. Yes, that date.

[sonofsanta]

And one last bump before it closes tomorrow. I have been doing site tours for applicants if you wanted to come round for an hour or two before (or after, given the deadline) applying. There are biscuits.