ICT Business Partner – Essex County Fire and Rescue Service

Job Title:                  ICT Business Partner

Contract:                  Permanent

Working Hours:       37 hours per week

Salary:                       Grade 9 – £43,421 – £46,464

Location:                  Kelvedon Park

Closing Date:          11^th August 2024

*We are open to discuss working arrangements including flexibility over hours and location

The Role (Role Profile)

Providing quality effective information technology across our service has never been more important.  Our specialist team delivers ICT to frontline and support staff, across 50 stations, as well as at workshops, training centres and offices.

We are committed to enabling our people and transforming our service with technology.  It is vital we listen to our colleagues about their needs and inform them about the opportunities.  To assist this collaboration and provide the best outcomes, our Business Partners ensure good communication.

What You Will Be Working On

·         Working autonomously with Service Managers to improve ways of working and deliver optimal outcomes with technology

·         Managing and maintaining a roadmap of required and aspirational ICT activity

·         Advising Heads of Department during the creation of business plans to feed into evolving ICT strategy and programmes

·         Managing liaison and communication between ICT, services (as our customers) and suppliers to ensure clear understanding and optimal outcomes

·         Maintaining a clear view of ICT requirements and aspirations across the organisation, and monitor progress on delivery of these to time/cost/quality/strategic fit

·         Facilitating business analysis, measuring efficiency and effectiveness and technical assurance for ICT processes and projects, confirming technology solutions fit with strategic and organisational expectation

·         Participating actively in programme and transformation activities, following established governance and control

What Are We Looking For?

We are looking for an ICT Business Partner to join us, directed by the ICT Relationship Manager and in partnership with the ICT Business Partners already in post. Working closely with Heads of Department and service managers, you will build strong effective relationships and provide advice, as well as translating business requirements into the ICT team.

Our digital transformation continues at pace, and we need a confident tech-savvy individual who excels at building collaborative relationships and possesses excellent communication skills.  You will play an influential role by explaining technology concepts in plain language, advocating for the organisations’ needs within ICT and presenting a clear view of service requirements, enabling effective capacity management within ICT. You will also be passionate about helping people improve their understanding and capability with ICT, so they can make the most of the tools available to them.

This exciting role requires somebody with an appetite to make a difference and grasp new opportunities.  Join in with our passion to enable our people with solutions that assist our Prevention, Protection and Response goals and support the Service’s values.

If you are an internal candidate, you must have discussed your application with your line manager and confirmed with them there are no outstanding issues of conduct or performance. This will be verified prior to shortlisting.

How to apply  

You will be required to submit a supporting statement of no more than 750 words that demonstrates how you meet the essential criteria of the Person Specification. You may submit this either as a word document, pdf, or an mp3 (voice note) or mp4 (video), however the word count must not exceed 750 words no matter which format you choose to present your application.  

You may attach separate documents (such as qualifications, or a CV) should you wish. Your additional documents will be referred to in shortlisting to confirm eligibility (e.g., your current role and any existing qualifications). 

Assessment and selection:

The assessment and selection approach will be:

Stage 1  

Application & shortlisting (assessment of your supporting statement will be made against the essential criteria on the person specification) 

Stage 2

Role specific panel interview and presentation

Should you wish to have an informal discussion with regards to the role, please contact the Recruitment Team at recruitment@essex-fire.gov.uk  

Our Culture and Benefits

Here at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service we are committed to prioritising and promoting the wellbeing of our employees.

You can find out more about our benefits at https://www.essex-fire.gov.uk/recruitment/benefits

Disability Confident

We are an equal opportunities, Disability Confident, employer who welcomes applications from everyone and values diversity in our workplace. A commitment to promoting diversity and developing a work environment where all staff are treated with dignity and respect is central to our recruitment process and all applications will be considered solely on merit.

As part of our offer to support all our candidates to perform to the best of their abilities during our recruitment and selection processes and we would like to let you know about a couple of support options you can access, should you wish to, including our employee forums, who are keen and willing to support all of our potential colleagues.

Our employee forums and partners include:

Asian Fire Services Association (AFSA), BEING (our LGBTQ+ employee support network), Christian Fellowship, Ethnic Minority Forum, Men’s Forum, and our Women’s Forum. In addition, we also have a Female Operational Group.

Further to the above, the Service has a Digital Accessibility Inclusion Group (DAIG) that supports all colleagues to improve their digital skills and provides additional support and guidance to colleagues with neurodivergent strengths and struggles as a result of dyslexia, ADHD, Autism, dyspraxia etc. We want everyone to thrive at work, and so we encourage and enable people to access digital tools to help them perform at your best. The DAIG is a group of colleagues from across the Service that unite to support others as a result of their lived experience and desire to make a difference. They support people with a range of visible and invisible disabilities to identify and access digital workplace adjustments and solutions and may be able to assist with your application too.

Should you wish to discuss support, or access further information, from one of these groups, please contact Equality.Diversity@essex-fire.gov.uk

You are also able to raise any queries or requests for support, including any adjustments you may require, at any stage of the process by email to recruitment@essex-fire.gov.uk

You can find out more about Essex County Fire & Rescue Service via www.essex-fire.gov.uk and about our vacancies and application processes via https://join.essex-fire.gov.uk 

Safeguarding

Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Fire and Rescue Authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

It is our policy to require all applicants for employment to disclose if you are currently being investigated by any regulatory body or have any decisions or sanctions pending or in progress in respect of your suitability to work for the Service.

You agree to inform the Service within 24 hours if you are subsequently investigated by any agency or organisation in relation to concerns about your behaviour towards children, young people or vulnerable adults.

The information you provide will be treated as strictly confidential and will be considered only in relation to the appointment for which you are applying.

This role will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.