Head of IT Infrastructure and Client Services Section

The IT Infrastructure & Customer Services Section is responsible for ensuring the operation, stability, security and performance of the EDQM's IT environment, while guaranteeing reliable day-to-day IT services for all users. Your Role

As Head of the IT Infrastructure & Client Services Section, you will

• lead and manage the teams, offering efficient, secure and user-centred digital services, working towards modernising and automating the technical environment, while remaining within the allocated budgets and resources;

• contribute to the EDQM's open source and digital autonomy strategy by deploying and promoting sustainable and secure open source solutions that comply with current requirements;

• concerning Infrastructure & Cloud:

• ensure the secure operation of the server (Windows, open source), network and cloud (Azure, M365) environments;

• ensure IT monitoring, performance management, updates, backups and IT disaster recovery;

• ensure identity and IT account lifecycle management;

• ensure administration of access rights and collaborate with the EDQM IT security team to strengthen compliance and reduce risks.

• concerning IT & Client Services:

• ensure the reliability of IT services and an optimal user experience;

• oversee the Service Desk and client services and the management of IT hardware;

• provide support for M365, Teams and videoconferencing, as well as on-site assistance;

• maintain documentation, the CMDB and relevant procedures;

• monitor SLAs and KPIs and take the lead on ISO 20000-related processes, primarily the management of incidents, requests, changes and problems;

• co-ordinate the escalation of information and promote continuous improvement.

• concerning DevOps, Automation & Open source platforms:

• take the lead on the DevOps strategy and provide direction to the team for the implementation of CI/CD pipelines and automation tools;

• ensure supervision of the optimisation of open source platforms (Linux, containers, monitoring);

• prioritise and provide direction on the development of scripts and tools for internal teams;

• define the observability strategy and ensure end-to-end system visibility;

• promote innovation, standardisation and the continuous improvement of the technical environments.

• a higher education degree or qualification equivalent to a Master's degree (2nd cycle of the Bologna process framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education Area) in IT;
• at least five years' experience in IT infrastructure management or in one of the other fields related to the post;
• proficiency in operating server (Windows, VmWare, open source), network and cloud (Azure, M365) environments, in particular concerning security, service continuity, backups and management of identities and accounts;
• experience managing IT projects, good knowledge of relevant processes, such as those relating to ITIL practices or ISO 20000;
• a very good knowledge of one of the two official languages of the Council of Europe (English or French) and basic knowledge of the other or ability to learn it.

You must also:

• be a citizen of one of the member states of the Council of Europe and fulfil the conditions for appointment to the civil service of that state;
• have discharged any obligation concerning national service (military, civil or comparable);
• not be the parent, child, stepchild or grandchild of a serving staff member of the Council of Europe;
• be under the age of 65 years.

Your application must demonstrate to what extent you have the competencies listed below. To help you doing so, feel free to consult our competency framework. Key competencies

• Managerial - Vision and Strategic Insight

• Managerial - Management of teams

• Operational - Analysis and problem solving

• Interpersonal - Communication

• Professional and technical expertise:

• ability to lead IT Support and Service Desk operations, monitor SLAs and KPIs, manage incidents, changes, and problems, and drive continuous service improvement.

• knowledge of digital sustainability, eco-design principles, and IT equipment lifecycle management.

Desirable competencies

• Operational - Planning and work organisation
• Operational - Concern for quality
• Interpersonal - Resilience

Who we are

With over 2500 staff members coming from all its 46 member States, the Council of Europe is a multicultural
Organisation. We all strive towards protecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law and our three core
values - professionalism, integrity and respect - guide the way we work.
The European Court of Human Rights oversees the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights in the
member States. Individuals can bring complaints of human rights violations to the Strasbourg Court once all possibilities of
appeal have been exhausted in the member State concerned.
The Council of Europe has its headquarters in Strasbourg (France) and has external presence in more than twenty countries.
See here for more information about the Council of Europe external presence.