To ensure the performance, reliability, and secure integration of Portobello Institute's core digital systems, including Moodle (VLE, hosted on AWS EC2), Student Information System (SIS) and Microsoft 365/Azure AD identity and collaboration services.
The post-holder will administer and optimise these environments, reconfigure and enhance systems to meet evolving departmental requirements, and automate data flows connecting Hub Spot, Xero, Stripe, and other enterprise tools.
This role underpins the Institute's strategic goals for operational efficiency, student experience, and data-driven decision-making, supporting innovation, accessibility, and continuous improvement across Portobello Institute's digital ecosystem.
Responsibilities Systems Administration & Reliability Administer and monitor AWS EC2 Linux servers hosting Moodle, ensuring uptime, patching, scalability and backups.
Manage AWS services (EC2, S3, IAM, Cloud Watch, Route 53 etc.) to maintain performance and cost-efficiency.
Liaise with external hosting partners and vendors for upgrades, performance tuning and incident resolution.
Implement and test disaster-recovery and backup procedures; maintain detailed run-books and configuration records.
Track system resource utilisation and plan capacity scaling in line with student-volume and business-growth projections.
Identify and implement cloud and licensing cost optimisations across AWS and Microsoft 365 environments.
Data Integration, Configuration & Automation Maintain, enhance, and reconfigure existing integrations between SIS, Moodle, Microsoft 365/Azure AD, Hub Spot, Stripe, and Xero to support new operational processes and feature requests.
Translate functional requirements into technical configuration or workflow changes, assessing impact, feasibility, and dependencies before implementation.
Build, test, and document configuration updates or new automation routines to ensure long-term maintainability.
Develop and monitor data pipelines (e.g., Azure Data Factory or Power Automate flows) to ensure secure, consistent and auditable information exchange across systems.
Automate manual workflows (user provisioning, enrolment updates, reporting, notifications) using Microsoft Power Automate and other integration tools.
Design and maintain Power BI dashboards delivering real-time insights on student engagement, enrolments and system health.
Support Finance in automating reconciliation to improve accuracy and timeliness of financial reporting.
Security & Compliance Manage Azure AD identity and access controls, group provisioning, and single-sign-on configuration across all core systems.
Harden AWS and Microsoft environments in line with GDPR, ISO 27001, and institutional data-protection standards; monitor logs and alerts for anomalies or access risks.
Monitor logs and alerts for anomalies or access risks; respond to incidents and maintain audit trails.
Conduct periodic security, permissions and data-quality audits; maintain evidence for compliance and ISO readiness.
Support staff security-awareness training and contribute to ISO or audit submissions where required.
Support & Collaboration Provide first and second-line technical support for IT systems and configuration requests, coordinating with vendors when escalation is required.
Partner with departments to analyse process bottlenecks and deliver practical digital solutions that improve operational efficiency.
Maintain comprehensive SOPs, admin guides and troubleshooting documentation to ensure knowledge continuity and reduce knowledge silos.
Participate in cross-functional working groups to prototype and test new digital features prior to release.
Support professional development of team members by sharing technical knowledge and best practices.
Continuous Improvement & Reporting Proactively identify risks, inefficiencies, or improvement opportunities across systems and integrations; prepare recommendations and implementation plans.
Maintain an IT operations and change log capturing configuration updates, incidents and enhancement requests for visibility and audit tracking.
Report weekly to the Head of IT & Digital Strategy on uptime, automation gains, data quality and project progress.
Contribute to quarterly reviews with Senor Leadership Team, focusing on performance metrics, system optimisation and digital-capability development.
Work with departments to identify automation or data-integration opportunities that improve efficiency, accuracy and cost control across systems.
Support Portobello's participation in digital innovation or inclusiveness award submissions by documenting and showcasing best practices.
Qualifications Essential Degree or equivalent experience in Computing, Information Systems, or related field.
Proven administration of AWS-hosted Moodle or equivalent environments.
Strong experience with Microsoft 365 / Azure AD identity management, automation and reporting tools.
Proficiency in Power Automate, Power BI and Azure Data Factory (or similar integration platforms).
Demonstrated understanding of APIs, scripting, and data integration methods (JSON, REST, SQL).
One or more of the following certifications: AWS Certified Sys Ops Administrator – Associate, Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate, Microsoft Power Platform Developer Associate or equivalent certifications evidencing hands-on experience in cloud administration, automation or information security.
Desirable Experience in a Higher Education or learning-technology environment.
Familiarity with Hub Spot, Stripe, Xero, or comparable business systems.
ITIL Foundation certification or experience with structured IT service management.
Awareness of ISO 27001 or other information-security frameworks.
Ability to adapt system configurations to evolving business processes.
Skills & Competencies Analytical and methodical problem-solving with strong attention to detail.
Ability to translate business needs into technical solutions.
Excellent communication with non-technical stakeholders.
Commitment to innovation, process improvement, and cross-functional collaboration.
Strong documentation discipline and accountability.