ICT Director

[MattGibson]

Hi Guys,

 

Recently I'm seeing more and more jobs opportunities for ICT Director, personally I thought this was another name for a Network Manager but it seems not.

 

Reading on the Educational IT Jobs Forum, it seems that it's a higher role to the Network Manager and they have more involvement with LMT and Governors. Personally if I was the network manager I'd feel they would be over-seeing all of my work and taking some of my roles away from me...

 

What are you thoughts on this new position and will all schools go this way?

[RabbieBurns]

we have 5 in our department. The ICT Director goes to all the meetings with the SLT and the board, fights for our budgets, and is the one accountable in the department.

 

That leaves the rest of us to get on with our job of actually managing the network / systems.

 

edit: its not new out here, its how most IT Departments are structured I think.

[SimpleSi]

A NM job can cover a wide range from IT Director to being the job name of the senior tech in charge of the network.

 

Even I consider myself a Network Manager at times when I'm specifiying/deploying new ICT purchases for 16K

 

I'd expect an IT Director to be responsible for purchasing/budgets and speak manglement but not actually get involved in changing a printer cartridge whereas a NM should at least know where they are kept and how to replace a projector

 

Si

[Butuz]

I do Assistant Technician right up ot IT Director.

 

Nice to have a varied job.............. or is it???

 

Butuz

[srochford]

I think jobs like that are more likely in bigger schools and colleges than small schools. It's often also an indication that ICT is seen as important to the school. I think @simplesi gets the description about right (although our IT Director did get involved in grovelling under the tables for one of our new ICT installs last summer!)

[RabbieBurns]

I think jobs like that are more likely in bigger schools and colleges than small schools. It's often also an indication that ICT is seen as important to the school. I think @simplesi gets the description about right (although our IT Director did get involved in grovelling under the tables for one of our new ICT installs last summer!)

 

quite possibly re the size..

 

all the schools with an ICT Director I know of are big schools, with IT budgets over 6 figures.

[GrumbleDook]

The ICT Director is usually expected to have more experience / expertise with project / change management, awareness of educational need / requirements (or the ability to decipher it) and an understanding of development / innovation in IT and Schools. If you have seen the Becta Technical Competencies it is the mythical level E (only ever shown at one event) and is meant to be either the bridge with SLT or, ideally, part of SLT.

[maestromasada]

whose job is it or altering/creating/develping a network security policy, NM or ICT Director? I ask this because I've got a new business analyst coming to my school and I don't know if I should do the policy or he should do it... hold on... is this called reversive delegation?

[pcstru]

I do Assistant Technician right up ot IT Director.

 

Nice to have a varied job.............. or is it???

 

Depends if your salary is that of the technician or the director :-)!

[MattGibson]

Well I'm currently a Network Manager and I was wondering whether to take an opportunity like this (should one come up). By the sounds of it there's probably just as much work to do (if not more!) roles are slightly different with a more senior insight. Decisions......Decisions.....

 

Would you guys go from a NM to Director?

 

Thanks for your replys so far.

[srochford]

whose job is it or altering/creating/develping a network security policy, NM or ICT Director? I ask this because I've got a new business analyst coming to my school and I don't know if I should do the policy or he should do it... hold on... is this called reversive delegation?

 

Both :-)

 

The ICT director will get involved in looking at high level strategy; the network manager (or other tech person) will look at how you actually configure firewall rules, set policies, enforce ACLs etc

[mthomas08]

Just another job title for dogs body?

Steve our head boss of us 3 goes to all the meetings with the Govs, he organises the budgets, his title is IS Manager. He still like me does a ton of dogs body jobs and run arounds, I am the NM and we have a technician who is a part of the afternoon shift "Lazy".

 

My job title started out as technician, network officer, some thing else then NM. Personally it is just a title, but good for the CV. I am only 27 and already I feel like I am 1 step away from that sort of a position, Steve and both the head have told me that if Steve retires they both have faith in me taking over.

 

So yeah I would agree with others Director is more involved in the Govs, they change from School Governors to Directors I believe (when we become an academy). So IT Director to me deals with the HIGH up people instead of dealing with the LOW end people so much? Where as IT Manager spends the days kicking technician heads in

[Butuz]

Depends if your salary is that of the technician or the director :-)!

 

Well it sure aint the Director

 

Butuz

[Soulfish]

I've recently made the move from NM to IT Director. As everyone's said there is much more involvement with the entire management team and decisions that are made.

 

I'll let you know for sure what the differences are once I've done the role for a few months!

[Pete10141748]

I'd be intrigued to know what the IT Director job starts to involve Soulfish, and if it is indeed based on the higher-up management side of things and doesn't involve doing much on the support side.

 

As I'm the only IT guy at this place (job title: ICT Manager) I do everything from replacing waste toner bottles / projector lamps to giving staff training to lesson support to installing new kit to writing policies to liasing with management each week about the progression of ICT within the school and (currently) am looking over the building plans and working with the contractors to sort out what data points / electrical cabling needs to go where, source furniture for the IT rooms, etc. Also responsible for budgets / purchasing, and I am certainly the 'accountable' one for anything with a plug one it!

 

Only thing I don't do is speak directly to Governors about things, but I think that management just like to keep me out of that loop and so I often have prepare written things which the BURSAR or Head then pass to Governors to save them from trying to explain something they don't understand anyway!

 

So I think, really, that I cover most aspects of IT Technician, IT Manager, Network Manager, and ICT Director to boot.......

Edited March 22, 2011 by Pete10141748

[john]

I've recently made the move from NM to IT Director. As everyone's said there is much more involvement with the entire management team and decisions that are made.

 

I'll let you know for sure what the differences are once I've done the role for a few months!

 

Stop Posting from Egypt Soulfish your supposed to be enjoying your Holiday before the new Job

 

 

Back to the point I went for a job as IT Director, didn't get it unfortunately..... but it was very much more with the SLT, Governors, Stakeholders etc and ensuring IT is a completly cross-curricular thing. I'm hoping I can make that role within my existing establishment now.

[GrumbleDook]

I'll try and see if I can dig out and get permission to share my old job description, if folk would find that helpful.