Job Title:INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER

Job Title:INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER

Job Title:INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER

Team:Central Services

Reports To:Director of Finance & Central Services

Key Relationships: All Managers

Background

Cardinal Basil Hume founded the Centre in 1986; we offer a diverse range of services for homeless young people, families in need and the local community on one site. The Centre enables people to gain the skills and support they need to overcome poverty and homelessness.

We have a person-focussed approach which encourages us to recognise that each human being is different with complex needs and so our response needs to be multi-layered. Therefore we offer six principal service packages: residential services for homeless young people; family services for children and families; housing, welfare rights and money management advice; employment support; learning and skills (English, IT and Adult Learning); and immigration advice and advocacy.

The Centre takes the Benedictine ethos of our founder seriously, ensuring that we offer a non-judgemental welcome and a stable and safe environment for people in need to seek help and support.

With an annual income in the region of £2.7 million, there are currently 62 staff members. In addition, the Centre benefits from the generous and diverse contribution of volunteers; there are currently some 130 active volunteers.

Our IT systems are increasingly important in supporting all the work of the Centre including our work with clients. Our client database underpins the work with clients by front-line staff as well as providing key management information. Our website is both a portal for clients to learn about the Centre’s services as well as a key tool for relating to donors and recruiting new supporters, and for providing information on the issues facing the Centre’s clients. Other key business systems include the Fundraising Database, Accounting System, HR database, Rental and Maintenance systems and all underpinned by the IT network.

Summary of key IT systems:

  • Network (Microsoft Server 2008/2012)
  • VMWare & Hyper-V Virtualisation
  • Client Database (Homeless Link’s INFORM – based on Salesforce)
  • Fundraising database (THANKQ)
  • Accounting database (Iris’s EXCHEQUER)
  • Payroll system (Sage 50 Payroll)
  • HR database (Sage 50 HR)
  • Rental system (WRAPP – MS Access based)
  • Maintenance system (JAMM – MS Access based)
  • Appointment Booking Systems
  • Website (CMS: Wordpress)
  • Microsoft Office 2010 & Windows 7

The Centre’s IT ‘literacy’ has vastly improved and developed in the last two years in particular. However there is still both need and opportunity for greater development to ensure the Centre is maximising the potential of IT to further enhance its response to client need and to achieving its key organisational objectives as outlined in the Business Plan.

Key Purpose

To lead, co-ordinate, manage and develop the Centre’s Information Systems, both technically and in how they are used within the Centre, to ensure they effectively and efficiently support achieving the overall mission and purpose of the Centre and in providing excellent service to all the Centre’s clients.

Key Tasks

System Development

  • Develop the overall strategy for Information Systems and Technology to support, inform and underpin the Centre’s overall business development.
  • Review the use of the existing systems and be responsible for developing them and ensuring they meet the needs of the organisation, preparing business cases for the introduction of new systems.
  • Promote best use and ownership of the IT business systems to ensure users have the knowledge to operate the systems as effectively and efficiently as possible.
  • Assist staff with any necessary cultural change through the implementation of new IT business systems to enable them to use more effective and appropriate tools to make their working life better and to use their time effectively.
  • Participate in project/working groups to identify, develop and implement new ways of using IT to meet business need and to be proactive in identifying new ideas of using IT to enhance the business processes and procedures.
  • Source as well as deliver appropriate training to groups of staff.
  • To work with the Senior Management Team (SMT) to prioritise and promote IT solutions that will be the most effective in delivering the Centre’s Business Plan.

System Maintenance

  • Be responsible for the change control and systems upgrade planning of the various software releases in partnership with users and suppliers.
  • Ensure IT systems are robust, resilient and secure including overseeing computer security, back-ups and anti-virus updates
  • Ensure the Centre has appropriate contracted support for IT systems and that they are used appropriately and efficiently
  • Review and manage user calls relating to business system queries and faults either directly or through the various supplier support systems.
  • Be the main point for administering Centre’s IT systems, setting up new users, problem solving and resolution, and answering user queries relating to the systems and provide daily ‘housekeeping’ tasks, which may well be delegated to trained volunteers.
  • Manage the Centre’s IT Budget.
  • Carry out IT inductions for all new staff and volunteers.
  • Ensure that the Centre’s domain name registrations are kept up to date and software is appropriately licensed.

General

  • Participation in monthly supervision meetings and an annual appraisal with your line manager
  • Compliance with the Centre’s policies as contained in the staff handbook and taking part in Centre wide activities as required.
  • Undertaking training identified as beneficial and in agreement with your line manager
  • Delivering core work flexibly and undertaking other duties as required including working occasional anti-social hours including evenings and weekends for which TOIL will be available.

Person Specification:

The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate:

Qualifications

  • HNC Computer Studies or equivalent.
  • Evidence of continuing professional development, having gained or working towards professional qualifications in Information technology topics.

Competency (Knowledge, abilities, skills, experience)

  • Experience of IS strategic planning and implementation.
  • Experience of developing IT systems to support business processes.
  • Excellent problem solving skills to manage user queries, faults, issues and expectations in a collaborative and constructive way.
  • Experience of managing a network and software upgrades.
  • Experience of database and website development.
  • Experience of advising various levels of staff on technology and data management issues.
  • Experience of managing technical support contractors.
  • Excellent oral communication skills to enable effective and confident discussion with stakeholders.
  • Experience of training and working with users to enable them to use systems appropriately and efficiently.
  • Experience of budget management and delivering best value.
  • Advanced Excel skills and data analysis skills would be advantageous.
  • Understanding of and commitment to the requirements of safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.

Work-related Personal Requirements

  • Commitment to the Centre’s mission and values and empathy with our clients.
  • Self-motivated to work alone taking sole responsibility for a workload but also work as part of a team.
  • Good negotiation skills to mediate and facilitate when problems arise.
  • Ability to organise and prioritise own workload.
  • Ability to work flexibly and to meet deadlines.
  • Ability to maintain confidentiality.
  • Reliable, trustworthy, motivated, enthusiastic and proactive.

Other Work Requirements

  • Ability to work flexibly and attend outside normal work hours when necessary.
  • Willingness and ability to work with and supervise volunteers.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

Salary: £36,194 p.a.

Holidays: 24 days, rising to 26 after one year’s service, and 28 after two years

Notice Period: 2 Months

Pension: The Centre provides an auto-enrolment pension scheme and will match employee contributions up to a maximum of 6%.

Probation Period: 6 months

A Season Ticket Loan is available.

The Centre is an Equal Opportunities Employer.

The Centre requires all its staff and volunteers to respect the ethos of the Centre and to be in sympathy with its aims and objectives. A commitment to respecting and implementing the Centre’s Equal Opportunity Policy is also expected.

The Centre requires its staff to recognise the valuable role that volunteers play in the work of the Centre and to welcome and support volunteers with whom they work.

The Centre requires all its staff and volunteers to undertake an enhanced DBS police check.

Our Founding Ethos

The Centre takes the Benedictine ethos of our founder seriously, ensuring that we offer a non-judgemental welcome and a stable and safe environment for people in need to seek help and support.

“Each person matters; no human life is redundant. Every individual must be given the opportunity to live a life in which his or her basic needs are provided for and in which, so far as is reasonably possible, their full potential is realized.”

Cardinal Basil Hume OSB

Our Vision

The Centre strives towards a society where every individual will have a safe place to live and where their right to develop is respected and supported.

Our Mission: Turning Lives Around

The Cardinal Hume Centre enables people to gain the skills and support they need to overcome poverty and homelessness.

Our Values

Integrity: we strive to be true to our founding ethos and to living out our vision and mission; we are accountable to all our stakeholders.

Respect: we seek to be non-judgemental, to listen, and acknowledge each other’s worth and to put people at the centre of our work.

Inclusiveness:we promote equality of access to our services and support each client to access the same life opportunities as everyone else.

Compassion: we will demonstrate our care for each individual who comes to the Centre in the quality and consistency of the services we offer to them.

Empowerment: we will provide holistic support to our clients in helping them to identify their needs and in making informed choices about their lives

Collaboration: we will work together with others who share our values, seeking partnerships to augment and complement our service offer.

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