There’s been quite a flurry of OU job ads out recently in the IT and analytics areas… Here’s a quick round-up:
- Head of IT Development (Curriculum Planning, Finance and HR) (£46,696 – £55,758): “We are looking for a Head of IT Development to manage the Curriculum Planning, Finance and HR team within IT Development.
“You will manage a team of 15-20 Analysts and Developers, and will have responsibility for the utilisation, skills and development of staff within the team. They must be able to demonstrate leadership and management skills and the ability to drive change to completion. The Head of IT Development also has responsibility for the relationship with business partners using our Curriculum Planning, Finance and HR systems, liaising with stakeholders on a regular basis and takes overall responsibility for the delivery of the IT Development project portfolio for their business area.” - Head of IT Testing, Information Technology (£46,696 – £55,758): “We are looking for a Head of IT Testing to establish and lead a new IT Testing function within IT Development.
“The post holder will assess current testing processes, tools and environments then produce and implement an overall testing strategy. The Head of IT Testing will be accountable for the quality of testing for all projects delivered by IT Development. They must be able to demonstrate leadership skills and the ability to drive process and culture change into a busy and challenging environment. The IT Development team deliver a diverse range of projects including multi-million pound systems transformation programmes, large package upgrades and enhancements and key strategic business change projects.
“Applicants should preferably hold recognised IT Testing qualifications and will be fully conversant with best practice project management and IT development methodologies. They must have demonstrable experience of managing IT testing on large software programmes and of successfully creating and managing IT testing functions.” - 3x Business Systems Analysts, Information Technology (up to £39,000): “We are looking for experienced systems analysts to work in the Development section of the University’s IT Department, to support and enhance existing business applications and work on business change projects.
“The University has recently approved a multimillion pound 3 year systems redevelopment programme. IT Development is tasked to deliver this major change programme while continuing to support the existing estate primarily its in-house systems.
“We need to strengthen our existing 30 strong analyst team with additional experienced analysts. While this will involve a significant amount of in-house development, we expect to increase the use of off-the-shelf software, so experience of package configuration and support would also be useful.” - IT Project Manager, Information Technology (£36,862 – £44,016): “We are looking for one IT Project Managers to work within a new IT Project Management function within IT Development, reporting to the Head of IT Project Management.
“You will be responsible for the successful delivery of all projects assigned to them and must be able to demonstrate leadership skills and the ability to drive change to completion.” - 2x Senior Business Improvement Analysts, CIO’s Office, Information Technology (£36,862 – £44,016): “The Higher Education sector is undergoing substantial change; with restructuring of funding provision and increased competition driving the need for an increasingly customer-centric, agile and efficient service. As a result, we are expanding the Business Process Improvement team whose role is to work with business partners to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and transform processes.
“We are looking for experienced BPI Analysts with a background in process change and business transformation. Taking problem / ambition statements from our business partners across the organisation, you will work with them to develop future state processes and the roadmaps to implement those changes.
“Knowledge of process analysis techniques and the Lean methodology is essential. You should also be a confident, experienced facilitator and communicator (used to dealing with senior and board level executives) with strong influencing & negotiation skills and enjoy working in a collaborative environment.” - Systems Analyst, Information Technology (up to £39,000): “We are looking for experienced systems analysts to work in the Development section of the University’s IT Department, to support and enhance existing business applications and work on business change projects.
“The University has recently approved a multimillion pound 3 year systems redevelopment programme. IT Development is tasked to deliver this major change programme while continuing to support the existing estate primarily its in-house systems. We need to strengthen our existing 30 strong analyst team with additional experienced analysts. While this will involve a significant amount of in-house development, we expect to increase the use of off-the-shelf software, so experience of package configuration and support would also be useful. A good knowledge of structured development methods, including process and data analysis, is also a prerequisite. You should also enjoy working collaboratively, have a flexible approach and a keenness to develop your professional skills.” - Information Analyst (£29,972 – £35,788): “We are seeking someone to join our small team of information analysts, providing data and analysis to inform strategic and operational planning, decision making and external reporting requirements.
“A key part of the role is the preparation and provision of analysis to support student recruitment forecasting and target-setting, as well as providing wider management information and reports in support of institutional and unit planning.
“If you are interested in joining us, you should have a first degree (or equivalent) in a subject with a strong mathematics and/or statistics component and have experience of data manipulation and reporting using SAS, SPSS or a similar analytical tool.” - Learning and Teaching Librarian, Library Services (part-time, £29,972 – £35,788 (pro rata)): “We are seeking a qualified Librarian to join our professional team. You will provide specialist support to module and programme teams in the implementation of the Learning and Teaching Strategy, as well as supporting research activity. You will provide information and support to students and tutors, assist in the development and delivery of information skills training and assist in collection management.
“You will be confident with new technologies and have the ability to excite and engage users in developing information skills and resource-based learning activities to enhance the Open University curriculum. You will understand the pedagogic use of resources and technologies and aware of the issues around digital scholarship.” - Comms and Relationship Manager (SocialLearn), Knowledge Media Institute (KMi) (£36,862 – £44,016): “The Open University’s Knowledge Media Institute has an opening for a Comms and Relationship Manager on the SocialLearn Project.
“As the project moves into a new phase where we will be actively building new user communities, the need to develop partnerships will be a key success factor. Also crucial is the need to build an active user base drawn from both internal and external communities. We are, therefore, looking to acquire the services of an experienced professional to develop and manage the various audiences and stakeholders that will either have an interest in SocialLearn or the potential to engage with the system as users or developers.” - Research Associate (SocialLearn): Social Learning Analytics & Recommender Services, Knowledge Media Institute (KMi): “The Open University’s Knowledge Media Institute has an opening for a Research Associate: Social Learning Analytics & Recommender Services. The SocialLearn project is investigating the future of online social learning, and draws on expertise from across the OU [www.open.ac.uk/sociallearn].
“Your responsibility will be to use your understanding of analytics and recommendation engines to improve the SocialLearn user experience.”
For more information about the SocialLearn project, see: SocialLearn beta, blog
For how IT fits into the OU structure, see the OU Administrative Substructure Org Chart [PDF]
Courses
If you’re looking for related qualifications/career enhancement pathways, see also:
– CIO Executive Council Pathways
– Course – Network security: “With organisations increasingly dependent on their information systems, there is a greater need to ensure that the underlying network infrastructure being used by these systems is secure. As a leading Cisco Academy, this course includes the Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA) Security course and provides a foundation for preparing for the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) qualification.”
– undergrad courses in Computing/ICT (register now to lock in cheaper fees;-)
– undergrad qualifications in Computing and ICT (register now to lock in cheaper fees;-)
– postgrad qualifications in Computing and ICT, postgrad courses in business, postgrad qualifications in Technology and Technology Management
As an OU employee, being able to register on OU undergrad courses for free has been a traditional perk… (“Staff Fee Waivers can be used for any taught course that the University offers: this includes Openings, Arts, Science and Technology Short Courses and Residential School Courses. PGCE/ITT courses are not covered unless you have special approval from your Head of Unit.”) I assume this will continue to be the case when the new fees regime kicks-in…?
OUseful.Info, the blog... 
Tony, the Staff Fee Waiver is a contractual benefit in the Terms and Conditions of staff employment, so wouldn’t be that easy to get rid of (although not impossible).