Job Description Job Title: Cloud Services Administrator Location: Trim, Co.
Meath, Ireland Start Date: 01/06/2026 Contract Duration: Initial term of 12 months, with the possibility of successive 12-month extensions, allowing for a total duration of up to 5 years.
Hybrid Model: Weekly 3 days Onsite + 2 days Remote (Hybrid) Client Overview The CLIENT is an independent statutory body established to improve the delivery of education services to persons with special educational needs, with a particular emphasis on children.
The CLIENT delivers services through its national network of Special Educational Needs Organisers, who interact with parents, schools, and the HSE to coordinate resources and supports.
CLIENT's remit includes: · Providing advice and information on special education to parents and schools · Allocating supports and coordinating local service delivery, · Conducting research into special education, and · Advising the Minister for Education on special education policy.
Role Overview Client's operational and statutory functions - resource allocation, information services, research activities, and local service coordination—depend on secure, reliable cloud-based systems.
The Department of Public Expenditure's Cloud Computing Advice Note **** sets out the cloud considerations required for all Irish public-service bodies, including governance, security, risk, data residency, and service continuity.
Accordingly, Client intends to procure an experienced Cloud Services Administrator to ensure its cloud infrastructure is secure, resilient, scalable, and aligned with national cloud governance and Client service needs Mandatory Requirements (Pass / Fail): Candidates MUST meet ALL of the following: Experience · It is a mandatory requirement that the Resource proposed has the equivalent of 7+ years of relevant experience Availability · Must be available to start 01/06/2026 English Language Proficiency (MANDATORY): · Native English speaker OR · CEFR C2 Proficiency/Mastery (or equivalent) · If there is no certificate, fluency will be assessed at presentation stage Key Deliverable: The following non-exhaustive list of Key Deliverables are applicable to this role.
Introduction and Context Client's operational and statutory function- resource allocation, information services, research activities, and local service coordination—depend on secure, reliable cloud-based systems.
The Department of Public Expenditure's Cloud Computing Advice Note **** sets out the cloud considerations required for all Irish public-service bodies, including governance, security, risk, data residency, and service continuity Accordingly, Client intends to procure an experienced) Cloud Services Administrator to ensure its cloud infrastructure is secure, resilient, scalable, and aligned with national cloud governance and Client service needs.
Scope of Required Services Cloud Infrastructure Management The Administrator must provide services that include (but are not limited to): · Maintenance, monitoring, and optimisation of CLIENT cloud environments.
· Capacity planning for cloud workloads serving national service delivery.
· Support for hybrid or multi-cloud models where required.
· Management of VMs, storage, networking, backups, and recovery.
(Aligned with general cloud admin duties: system management, backups, troubleshooting, cost optimisation and resource optimisation.) · Monitor, optimise, govern and implement, by way of recommendations to IT management, cost saving measures in the CLIENT cloud environments Cloud Solution Implementation Integration The Administrator must deliver: · Implementation and integration of new cloud services into CLIENT systems.
· Support for migration of legacy applications to the cloud.
· Documentation of cloud infrastructure.
(Consistent with cloud administrator responsibilities for implementing systems, integrating technologies, and documenting infrastructure.)
Security Compliance The Administrator must: · Implement and monitor security controls, access management, and identity policies.
· Ensure compliance with GDPR and Irish government cloud guidance.
· Maintain audit logs, encryption, and threat-monitoring processes.
· Support CLIENT's role in handling sensitive personal data related to special-education needs.
(Reflects public-sector cloud advice, which stresses governance, security, and legislative compliance.)
Monitoring Incident Response The Administrator must provide: · Continuous monitoring of cloud performance, availability, and security.
· Proactive detection and resolution of issues across CLIENT applications.
· Support for service continuity and resilience.
(Aligned with cloud admins' duties to monitor systems, identify issues, and respond rapidly.)
Support for CLIENT Operational Workflows The Administrator will provide technical support to CLIENT teams including: · Systems supporting SENOs' local coordination work.
· Applications used by parents and schools to request and manage supports.
· Research and policy-advice systems requiring stable cloud processing.
Deliverables The Administrator will provide:
1. A fully maintained and monitored cloud environment supporting CLIENT operations.
2. Documented cloud architecture, including: o Network diagrams o Access and security models o Backup and recovery procedures
3. Incident and problem management procedures with defined workflows.
4. Capacity and performance reports at agreed intervals.
5. Security compliance reports aligned with public-sector cloud advice.
6. Operational runbooks and knowledge-transfer materials for CLIENT staff.
7. Support services with agreed SLAs (uptime, response, and resolution targets).
8. Technical documentation and knowledge transfer sessions Compliance Requirements The Administrator must ensure all services comply with : · Irish Public Sector Cloud Computing Advice Note ****, outlining required governance, risk management, and security considerations.
· GDPR and Irish Data Protection Acts.
· Public-sector cybersecurity and ICT standards.
· WCAG accessibility principles where cloud-hosted CLIENT services affect end users.
· CLIENT statutory functions under the EPSEN Act and related regulations.
Performance Metrics During the contract, performance will be assessed via: · Uptime and availability of cloud systems.
· Incident response and resolution times under SLAs.
· Security performance (patching cycles, vulnerability management, compliance).
· Stability and reliability of systems supporting parents, schools, CLIENT staff and other stakeholders.
· Accuracy and timeliness of reporting.
· Delivery against project milestones for migrations or new implementations.
· Cost control optimisation Requirements Key Experience/Competencies/Skillsets : The following Experience/Competencies/Skillsets are applicable to this Role.
· Expertise with Azure and AWS cloud platforms · Proficiency in administration of virtual machines, storage, networking, and IaaS/PaaS services.
· Ability to implement and manage cloud security tools, access controls, and monitoring systems.
· Experience with cloud service automation, scripting, and infrastructure optimisation.
· Experience with hybrid cloud environments, as required in public bodies.
· Demonstrated knowledge of service continuity and resilience patterns (e.g., HA, failover).
· Experience of meeting general expectations of the cloud administrator job profile · Experience with cloud-native security tooling and compliance reporting Requirements • Expertise with Azure and AWS cloud platforms • Proficiency in administration of virtual machines, storage, networking, and IaaS/PaaS services.
• Ability to implement and manage cloud security tools, access controls, and monitoring systems.
• Experience with cloud service automation, scripting, and infrastructure optimisation.
• Experience with hybrid cloud environments, as required in public bodies.
• Demonstrated knowledge of service continuity and resilience patterns (e.g., HA, failover).
• Experience of meeting general expectations of the cloud administrator job profile • Experience with cloud-native security tooling and compliance reporting