IT Operations Controller

As an Associate IT Operations Controller, you'll join a 24/7 operations team responsible for monitoring systems and tooling that keep DWP's digital services stable, secure and available for millions of people across the UK.

You'll thrive in a fast-paced operational environment, working with vendor partners, internal teams and technical specialists to detect IT issues early, respond quickly, and help prevent service disruption. If you're someone who loves problem-solving, staying calm under pressure, and working collaboratively across technical teams, this could be the perfect next step in your IT operations career.

This role is based from either Newcastle or Manchester; the locations of our physical command centre.

Important: This is a 24/7 shift role with a 20% shift allowance. You'll be required to work 14 shifts every 28 days/nights on a 12-hour rota, rotating between days (07:00-19:00) and nights (19:00-07:00)., As our Associate IT Operations Controller you will act as the first line of defence in detecting IT service issues before they impact users.

You'll support the protection of critical DWP services used by millions of people. You will help safeguard sensitive information and maintain system integrity across complex networks and digital platforms.

As part of the User Experience Command Centre (UXCC) within IT Service Operations, you'll be responsible for monitoring infrastructure and applications across datacentre and cloud environments (AWS and Azure) using enterprise-grade tooling. You'll follow event management processes, triaging and categorising alerts, raising incidents, and providing initial diagnosis to minimise disruption. This role will also involve collaborating with internal teams, external suppliers and 2nd/3rd-line technical SMEs to drive timely resolution of issues.

Key responsibilities include supporting batch monitoring, vulnerability management and operational security activities as you help drive improvements in performance, processes and user experience. On a regular basis you'll be analysing patterns and trends, identifying opportunities for simplification with the aim of increasing efficiency.

This is a role where your actions have real impact on service stability, customer experience and the resilience of DWP's key national systems., Do you want to play a pivotal role in delivering some of the country's most important tech projects? We're recruiting innovative, curious, and enthusiastic digital specialists who want to be part of our huge transformation.

DWP Digital improves user experiences for the Department for Work and Pensions' customers and colleagues. The services we build are used by millions of people to access the support that they need at different times of their lives.

Own Your Career

The large-scale digital transformation we're undergoing requires a wide range of skills. That's why we have over 5,000 experts working on a variety of important projects, and why we're recruiting even more.

We need people with experience in engineering, data, product design, architecture and much more. Opportunities to work with us range from early talent and apprenticeships that will enable you to grow with DWP Digital, all the way up to senior roles that will allow you to shape the future direction of the organisation. Our dedication to development means you will have ample opportunity to learn and thrive at the cutting-edge of the industry., In 2022, our award highlights include our API Integration team being awarded Kong's Top Public Sector Innovation Award and the Red Hat Innovation Award. We also won the Organisational Exit from the Pandemic category at the UK IT Industry Awards and were highly commended for Digital Transformation Project of the Year. At the Civil Service Awards, we won Best Use of Data and Technology and won the cross-government award One Civil Service for collaborating on issuing cost of living payments.

• Experience working in a live IT operations environment, such as problem management, change management, incident management, monitoring, or event management.
• A background in first-line command centre, service monitoring, or incident resolution teams.
• Practical knowledge of monitoring tools such as BMC and Dynatrace (or similar enterprise monitoring tools).
• Understanding of IT infrastructure technologies, such as networks, servers (Wintel, Unix, Linux), storage platforms and databases.

Pay of £38,772, plus 28.97% employer pension contributions, hybrid working, flexible hours, and great work-life balance., We work a hybrid model - you'll spend some time working at home and some time collaborating face-to-face in a hub.

Pay:

We offer pay of £38,772 per annum

Pension:

You'll get a brilliant civil service pension with employer contributions worth 28.97%, worth up to £11,241 per year.

Holidays:

A generous leave package starting at 24 days and rising to 26 days after one year.

You can also take up to 3 extra days off a month on flexi-time. You'll also get all the usual public holidays.

We have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

• Flexible working including flexible hours and flex-friendly policies
• Time off volunteering and charitable giving
• Bring your authentic self to work with 'I Can Be Me in DWP'
• Discounts and savings on shopping, fun days out and more
• Interest-free loans to buy a bike or a season ticket
• Sports and social activities
• Professional development, coaching, mentoring and career progression opportunities

And we have an award-winning environment and culture:

• DWP recognised as 2024 Diversity Employer of the Year at the Computing Women in Tech Excellence Awards
• Diverse and Inclusive Leadership winner at Digital Leaders Awards 2024
• Commended as Best Place to Work in Digital at the Computing Digital Technology Leaders Awards 2025
• Recognised as one of the Best Public Sector Employers at the 2025 Women in Tech Employer Awards

We are looking for an Associate IT Operations Controller to join our community of tech experts in DWP Digital. We're using fresh ideas and leading-edge tech to build and maintain digital solutions that will be used by nearly every person in the UK, every day and at key moments in their lives. DWP is the UK's largest government department. We help people into work and make payments worth over £195bn a year to support and empower millions of people. The scale of what we do is extraordinary, and our purpose is unique. We'd love you to join us., DWP Digital is a growing community of nearly 5,000 digital experts leading the transformation of the UK's largest government department - the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)., However, we also recognise that a healthy work-life balance is important. That's why we've embraced a hybrid working approach that allows DWP Digital employees to spend up to 60% of their week working from home.