IT Director

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Cardiff, South Glamorgan, United Kingdom

Job Description\n

Salary: HG20T Up to £156,000

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Job Type: Full-Time, Permanent

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Location: Cardiff, UK

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Hybrid working: 2-3 days in office

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About the IB

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The International Baccalaureate provides world-class educational services to over 6,000 schools across 160 countries. A career with the IB is not just a job; it's an opportunity to work with an innovative world leader in education services where we empower our employees to thrive and make a difference.

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About the job

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The IB is undertaking a major digital transformation, reshaping the digital landscape of our ecosystem to enable our learning community to flourish in the AI age. As Director of IT, you will define and lead our enterprise technology, infrastructure and security operating model, transforming a complex global IT function into a resilient, secure and scalable technology platform that enables innovation and growth. Reporting to the Chief Digital & Data Officer, you will lead a department of approximately 60 technology professionals and play a pivotal role in delivering reliable, secure and self-service technology capabilities across the organisation .

Responsibilities\n

Lead the transformation of IB's global IT operating model into specialised , domain-aligned teams with clear accountability and ownership.

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Provide strategic leadership across infrastructure, cloud operations, security, identity management, corporate systems and IT service management.

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Drive service reliability, resilience and operational excellence across critical enterprise technology platforms.

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Establish and embed modern security, identity and risk management practices, including oversight of AI‑related technology risks.

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Build and evolve self‑service infrastructure and platform capabilities that improve developer experience and organisational agility.

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Lead the Quality and Test Engineering function, embedding automation‑first and shift‑left quality practices across technology domains.

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Own technology estate modernisation , technical debt reduction, vendor strategy and cost optimisation initiatives.

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Partner with executive stakeholders across the organisation to align technology strategy with business priorities and transformation goals.

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Lead, coach and develop high‑performing technical leadership teams and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Qualifications\n

Extensive senior leadership experience leading enterprise IT, infrastructure or technology operations functions within large, complex organisations .

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Proven track record of transforming operationally focused IT functions into resilient, secure and scalable technology organisations .

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Deep expertise across cloud infrastructure, infrastructure‑as‑code, networking, hosting, identity and access management and site reliability practices.

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Strong knowledge of cyber security, governance, compliance and emerging technology risks, including AI‑related considerations.

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Demonstrated experience designing and operating modern IT service management and support models.

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Experience influencing senior executives and leading large‑scale organisational and technology transformation programmes .

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Proven ability to build, lead and develop high‑performing technical teams and leadership communities.

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Strong commercial acumen with experience managing substantial budgets, vendor relationships and technology investments.

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Knowledge of modern quality engineering, automation testing and continuous delivery practices.

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Flexible benefits allowance equivalent to 1.5% of Annual Salary to spend on benefits or as addition to salary

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10% employer pension contribution with a 3% employee contribution

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Enhanced family friendly benefits

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30 Days annual leave, plus public holidays

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Life assurance 4x annual salary

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Flexible working hours (core hours are 10am-12pm and 2pm-3pm), 37.5 hours per week

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Opportunity & Belonging

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We are committed to building a working environment that values respect, diversity, and compassion. The International Baccalaureate is proud to be an equal opportunities employer, and we welcome applications from all qualified applicants. As a global employer, we adhere to all relevant employment legislation in the countries in which we operate, and we're happy to provide any reasonable support or adjustments as needed to ensure applicants can fully participate in our recruitment process.

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