Manager, IT Operations at Edo State Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST)

The Edo State Government, led by Governor Godwin Obaseki, started the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST) programme in 2018 to stem the slide in the basic education sector in the state. Through EdoBEST, the government has transformed learning outcomes for over 370,000 children across 1,029 public primary and 232 junior secondary schools. Between 2018 and 2022 over 16,000 teachers (novice and experienced) from the primary and junior secondary school system were re-trained to be technologically supported and empowered teachers.

Over the years, the programme has developed a highly skilled teaching workforce by training, supporting and motivating teachers to succeed in the classroom. It has also ensured that school management is data and technology-driven. Since implementation, schools have become better managed and parents (and pupils) have attested to the far-reaching impact of the reform on pupils’ academic performance and behaviour.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Manager, IT Operations

Location: Benin City, Edo
Employment Type: Full-time

Technology Group

• Technology plays a critical role in enabling us to provide transformative education at a massive scale in highly resource-constrained environments.
• This is one of the key elements that gives us the ability to deliver radically impactful programmes, creating brighter futures for a generation of children across the world each day. Technology spans several key functions, including product management, business intelligence, software development and IT operations.
• Working with us, passionate technologists have a chance to directly change the world. No kidding.

IT Operations Department:

• IT Operations is responsible for last-mile delivery of technology, ensuring that everyone from school staff to executives, all have the functioning technology they need to excel at their jobs.
• It also oversees the technical infrastructure that supports and connects all of our global offices, as well as the back-office systems that power our customer care centers, finance teams, warehouses, and more.
• Within the technology group, IT Operations also holds the distinction of being the only department with a dedicated presence in each of our operating territories, meaning that is also the key conduit and primary advocate for all aspects of technology at our, ensuring the work done by the other technology departments delivers on its potential.

About the Role

• The IT Manager role will ensure the provision of superior customer service throughout the business, through the maintenance, enhancement, and efficient operation of IT functions. Additionally, the role will include responsibility for ensuring the security and integrity of IT operations and systems, as well as the line management of IT officers and associates.
• The flexibility to work outside normal business hours is integral to this role, as is the ability to work under broad direction and minimal supervision.

What Will You Do

• Provide the first point of IT Support contact for all local EdoBEST staff, covering all hardware, software, and associated peripherals.
• Deploy computers, school technology, and associated peripherals including new installations and redeployment of existing equipment.
• Install and configure operating systems and software to agreed standards under the direction of the Director of IT and other senior IT personnel.
• Manage the local area network and internet connection.
• Recommend, source, install, and maintain network equipment such as firewalls, routers, and switches
• Maintain existing equipment to standards, by performing upgrades, new installations, and carrying out routine procedures
• Assist in the compilation and maintenance of an accurate inventory of hardware and software, and ensure that records are kept up-to-date within the service desk system.
• Ensure network security through the installation of appropriate hardware and software, as well development of IT policies.
• Troubleshoot technical issues to resolution and/or escalate to colleagues, suppliers, or partner organizations as required.
• Log all incidents and service requests in EdoBEST’s designated service desk system.
• Manage service desk tickets, planning and prioritizing systematically to minimize backlog and ensure operational efficiency.
• Expedite the repair of hardware faults and software configuration problems, notifying or forwarding to the relevant suppliers in a timely manner.
• Work with colleagues to monitor the performance of EdoBEST systems, ensuring that issues are appropriately escalated and resolved.
• Supervise, train, and mentor junior staff members in all of the above.
• Provide technical assistance to project teams and undertake technical project roles when required
• Manage IT infrastructure improvement projects, including scheduling and budgeting
• Demonstrate commitment to and promotion of a culture of service excellence and continual improvement within the IT Department.
• Maintain and develop excellent working relationships with key suppliers, conducting dealings in a professional and appropriate manner.
• Provide at all times a professional, courteous, and rapid response to individual users

What You Should Have

• A Degree from a recognized university with top marks in Computer Science or a related discipline.
• 5 - 10 years of relevant IT/industry work experience.
• Excellent technical knowledge of PC hardware.
• Working technical knowledge of current protocols, operating systems, and standards.
• Software and hardware troubleshooting.
• Windows desktop (7/8/X) and Windows Server (at least 2012) experience.
• Routers, switches, and firewall experience.
• Microsoft Office support.
• Active Directory administration.
• TCP/IP
• Experience working and training on a variety of IT subjects and applications
• Excellent writing and oral communication skills.
• Good research skills, including the ability to identify and propose solutions to issues/crises
• Knowledge of Android technologies, smartphones, LAN, and Wifi configurations
• Experience with the admin of Microsoft systems such as Navision, IIS, or Sharepoint.
• Experience with AWS.
• Experience working within a fast-paced environment.
• Relevant Microsoft certification.

You're Also:

• A detailed doer - You have a track record of getting things done. You’re organized and responsive. You take ownership of every idea you touch and execute it to a fine level of detail, setting targets, engaging others, and doing whatever it takes to get the job done. You can multi-task dozens of such projects at once and never lose sight of the details. Likely, you have some experience in a start-up or other rapid-growth company.
• A creative problem-solver - Growing any business from scratch comes with massive and constant challenges. On top of that, EdoBEST works in often fragile, sometimes volatile lowresource communities and with complex government systems. You need to be flexible and ready to get everything done effectively, quickly, and affordably with the materials at hand.
• A relentless advocate - The children we serve and teachers we empower never leave your mind. You know them, get them, have shared a meal with them (or would be happy to in the future). You would never shrink back from shaking a parent’s hand or picking up a crying child, no matter what the person was wearing or looked like. Every decision you make considers their benefit, experience, and value.
• A malleable learner - You believe you can always do better. You welcome constructive criticism and provide it freely to others. You know you only get better tomorrow when others point out where you’ve missed things or failed today.
• A data-driven decision-maker - When making decisions, you don’t rely on your intuition alone. You collect data, analyze it and make decisions with clear justifications.
• A curious investigator - You ask why a lot. You don’t just take what you see and accept it. You wonder why it is that way, and are aware that the world we see is created by human choices and actions – and it could be different. You wonder, and see the world as wonderful even when you want to change a part of it that is unjust

Application Closing Date
31st July, 2023.