Head of IT Infrastructure Services

As a Head of the Court’s IT Infrastructure (SysOps) services, you will be part of the IT Department’s management team and responsible for approximately 10 staff and external contractors. Your role will focus on:

• developing and implementing an on-premise and Cloud-based IT infrastructure strategy with a view to ensuring the security, availability and performance of all applications and services;
• ensuring the Court’s IT infrastructure continues to evolve with new technologies and revised working methods to meet the needs of internal and external users;
• managing the SysOps team to ensure the effective day-to-day running of the Court's IT network for 900 on-site and remote users; providing leadership and direction to team members, allocating roles and responsibilities, setting objectives and evaluating the performance; fostering co-operation and team spirit; providing technical coaching, mentoring and transfer of competence;
• identifying and providing technical expertise in relevant domains to complement the work of the SysOps team and meet objectives; 
• overseeing the scope, timelines, budgets and resource allocation for all IT infrastructure projects;
• implementing security best practices and the principles of the zero trust security model;
• planning and advising on the Court's IT budget; overseeing the maintenance and renewal of hardware and software; monitoring the life cycle of systems and maintenance contracts; 
• negotiating and concluding contracts with suppliers and consultants; formulating technical requirements for specifications; preparing and analysing tenders; carrying out comparative analyses;
• ensuring the security and integrity of data and systems, including backup and disaster recovery; directing audits of the IT system and business continuity tests;
• co-ordinating the interconnection of the Court's information system with that of the other entites of the Council of Europe, in collaboration with the Directorate of Information Technology (DIT) and other Council of Europe entities.

• Managerial - Leadership
• Managerial - Management of teams
• Operational - Planning and work organisation
• Operational - Analysis and problem solving

• Professional and technical expertise:
  • substantial experience managing infrastructure projects in an enterprise-scale Microsoft environment (on-premise and Cloud);
  • strong project management skills;
  • experience managing service contracts, conducting calls for tenders and contributing to IT budgets.

• Operational - Results orientation
• Operational - Concern for quality

• Professional and technical expertise: 
  • in-depth knowledge and experience of Microsoft Azure.

This job vacancy is for an international external recruitment. You can consult the conditions of employment (salaries, allowances, pension scheme, social insurance, etc.) on the webpage .

For more information on how we recruit, you can consult the page . This recruitment is carried out in accordance with Article 490 of the Council of Europe Staff Rules. The deadline for applications is indicated in the General information section of this vacancy notice (see above) and is fixed at 23:59:59 (CET/CEST). When applying, make sure your motivation shows how your competencies make your profile the best for the role.

As an equal opportunity employer, the Council of Europe welcomes applications from all suitably qualified people, irrespective of sex, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic or social origin, disability, religion or belief. Under its equal opportunity policy, the Council of Europe is aiming to achieve gender parity in staff employed in each category and grade. At the time of appointment, preference between suitable people shall be given to the person of the gender which is under-represented in the relevant grades within the category to which the vacancy belongs.

Applicants with specific needs are encouraged to request reasonable accommodations at any stage during the recruitment process. Please contact us at , we will ensure that your request is handled.

The information published on the CoE’s careers website regarding working conditions is correct at the time of publication of the vacancy notice. Any changes to these conditions during the recruitment process will be updated on our Portal and will apply at the time of the job offer. Our career's website is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have. Should you have remaining questions, please contact us at