• Duration: Permanent

• Salary: Circa £52,000 per annum

• Job Level: Level 3

• Hours: 35 hours per week. Other flexible arrangements will be considered.

• Disclosure Level: Basic. This role involves no direct or indirect work with children.

• Reports to: Head of Technology

• Location: Working from home and at 1 Westfield Avenue, London E20 1HZ

At the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK), we pull together to achieve the best possible results for children in danger around the world.  We believe in an inclusive workplace and in the power of fulfilled colleagues who share the same values and goals, enjoy their work and are motivated to do their utmost for children. 

Our work is guided by the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which recognise the universality of children’s rights.

ABOUT THE TEAM

The ICT Team is part of UNICEF UK’s Information & Technology department, which is responsible for technology, data management and data analytics work to support our fundraising, and UK and international programme activities. We support a modern, largely SaaS-based IT environment without the burden of hard-to-maintain legacy systems. Key systems currently in use include Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Salesforce, Unit4, Snowflake Datacloud and Asana.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Applications Specialist is a technical role, responsible for proactively supporting and maintaining core business applications, managing application patching cycles, and coordinating software deployment. The role also supports oversight of UNICEF UK-wide systems, including those outside of ICT, tracking compliance requirements such as Cyber Essentials Plus. This is a hands-on role suited to someone who enjoys working across both technical delivery and light governance in a small, collaborative team alongside an outsourced IT operations partner.               

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage day-to-day support, maintenance, and patching of key business applications.

• Package application updates and coordinate deployment including via Microsoft Intune.

• Track and schedule patching activities in line with SLAs and change management processes.

• Liaise with third-party vendors and the outsourced IT operations team to coordinate updates, resolve issues, maximise the benefit received from the suppliers (under application support contracts) and challenge underperformance when it occurs.

• Mange the procurement, allocation, and renewal of software licenses to ensure compliance and optimal usage across the organisation.

• Maintain a register of UNICEF UK-wide systems, including those outside of ICT, engaging with system owners as needed.

• Maintain a map of our data architecture.

• Ensure compliance with UNICEF UK policies and Cyber Essentials Plus, including monitoring and reporting on adherence to Cyber Essentials Plus controls and organisational security policies across UNICEF UK-wide systems.

• Support internal and external audits by maintaining accurate compliance records.

• Contribute to service improvement, including through automation where possible.

• Ensure consistent availability and performance of UNICEF UK’s applications and data through close collaboration with users, suppliers, and in-house IT staff.

• Maintain the applications roadmap, planning for upgrades, enhancements, and responding to new business opportunities.

• Evaluate and streamline the portfolio of applications in use, identifying opportunities to consolidate or retire redundant systems to improve efficiency and reduce complexity.

• Oversee our data storage and retention strategies to ensure security, availability, and value for money.

• Constantly update your own knowledge of developments in applications, data management, AI or other developments - translating that knowledge into benefits for UNICEF UK.

• Evidence successful business continuity arrangements for selected applications in line with organisational priority activities.

• Lead on the management of a number of critical applications including SharePoint, providing advice to non-IT colleagues who have been assigned local management or “super-user” responsibilities.

• Identify skills gaps and provide training to colleagues in selected application management functions.

• Contribute to IT planning, incident responses and emergencies.

• Demonstrate and model a commitment to our shared values, behaviours and inclusive practices (known as Our Shared Commitment) in all aspects of your work.

BEHAVIOURS, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

This section contains the essential behaviours, experience, knowledge and skills needed to be effective and successful in this role. All criteria in this section are essential.

Supporter driven and mission aligned

• Is committed to children and their rights and motivated to work towards creating a better world for every child. 

Communication

• Able to communicate convincingly with stakeholders, presenting technical information clearly and distinguishing what is relevant for each target audience. Communication must be accurate, succinct, timely and appropriate for the purpose and audience.

Results Focused

• Never loses sight of the purposes of the applications we use, how they drive business value, and their strategic alignment. 

Security Focused

• Understands the importance of maintaining the security of our systems and data, UNICEF’s reputation and the confidence of our colleagues, our supporters and the general public.

Analytical

• Makes rational judgements based on researched facts and does not take every piece of information at face value without considering the context.

Relevant experience

• Experience supporting and patching enterprise applications in a business or public sector environment. Experience with Microsoft InTune is required.

• Competence with Microsoft Intune (packaging, deployment, basic troubleshooting).

• Strong organisational skills and ability to manage own workload to meet deadlines.

• Excellent communication skills and ability to work with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Good understanding of current cyber security threats and how to protect applications against harm.

• MD-102: Microsoft Endpoint Administrator Associate certification or equivalent.

• Familiarity with cyber security frameworks (e.g. Cyber Essentials Plus).

• Understanding of AI tools landscape and considerations around responsible AI use.