Computer and Information Systems Managers

Software & Systems Engineering

Level 6720 of 1200 points

Job description

Computer and Information Systems Managers

Job purpose

To plan, direct and coordinate the organisation's information systems, data processing and programming activities and the staff who deliver them, so that computing capability meets the organisation's needs and its systems and data remain secure, supported and recoverable.

Skills

Extensive knowledge of computing and electronics — hardware, software, applications and programming — with systems analysis and evaluation, data security and control, disaster recovery, and backup and user help provision, and the engineering principles behind them. Requires management knowledge to set objectives, allocate resources and lead a department, and personnel knowledge for recruitment and supervision. Bachelor's degree is the most common qualification, with about a quarter holding some college courses without a degree and a seventh a master's, and several years of related experience.
Meets department heads, managers, supervisors and vendors to solicit cooperation and resolve problems, and consults users and technicians to assess computing needs and system requirements. Interprets organisational goals, policies and procedures for technical and non-technical audiences, and provides users with technical support. Assigns and reviews the work of systems analysts and programmers, and coaches and develops them. Contact runs through e-mail, telephone, face-to-face discussion and memoranda, largely inside a working group, and includes matters where cooperation has to be won.
Evaluates data processing proposals for feasibility and requirements, appraises the organisation's technology use and recommends hardware and software upgrades, and develops information resources providing data security, strategic computing and disaster recovery. Reviews and approves all systems charts and programmes before implementation. Problems are technical and frequently without close precedent; the approval decision rests with the postholder, and error carries consequences reaching beyond the department.
Directs the daily operation of the department: analyses workflow, establishes priorities, develops standards and sets deadlines, reviews project plans and coordinates project activity. Sets long-range objectives and the strategies to reach them, schedules staff work and keeps abreast of advances in technology. Determines own tasks, priorities and goals, under time pressure created by project and service commitments.
Work is carried out seated at a workstation, with sustained keyboard and screen use involving repetitive hand movements. No manual handling or lifting demands.

Responsibilities

Manages the department and its staff: recruits, hires, trains and supervises staff or participates in staffing decisions, assigns and reviews their work, sets performance standards and monitors performance, and coaches and develops the team. Accountable for the outcomes and results of those staff, and leads others across the organisation on system change.
Controls the department's operational budget and expenditure, overseeing the spending of money against it, and purchases the equipment the function needs. Assesses the cost of proposed data processing work and what projects will consume. Discretion is exercised within the organisational goals and policies the postholder also helps to develop and interpret.
Accountable for the organisation's computing assets: the hardware and software estate, the equipment purchased for it, and the backup, security and user help systems on which service depends. Approves systems charts and programmes before they are put into service. No responsibility for premises or stock.
Owns the organisation's computer information resources and the arrangements protecting them — data security and control, recovery from disaster, and the operational and project reporting to management. Sets the standards governing how systems and documentation are produced, and answers for accuracy where an error in the record or in an approved programme carries consequences for colleagues and company results.

Effort required

Sustained technical concentration in appraising proposals, systems designs, workflow and technology options, with exactness expected and decisions taken frequently, some on incomplete information about future demand. Some of the work repeats, and the day carries a high volume of contact with users, managers and vendors; the consequence of error and the impact of decisions on colleagues and company results are the material pressures.
Carries personal accountability for systems the whole organisation relies on, and for the outcomes of the staff who maintain them. Solicits cooperation from department heads and vendors where positions differ and conflict situations arise, and takes staffing and performance decisions about known individuals. Requires composure under challenge, in a field where competition is felt.
Predominantly seated work at a workstation for most of the working day, with repetitive hand and wrist movement. No lifting or exertion.

Working conditions

Indoor, environmentally controlled office work with no exposure to weather, noise, contaminants or hazard. The demand is psychological rather than physical: a high volume of contact by e-mail, telephone and face-to-face discussion, close team working, some dealings with external customers, and conflict situations arising in securing agreement.
Around two thirds of incumbents work more than a standard week; roughly three quarters are on a regular established schedule and the rest on an irregular one following project and production demand. No shift, night or on-call working is evidenced. Operates with wide freedom to make decisions and determines own tasks, priorities and goals, under time pressure, answering for consequences extending to colleagues and company results.

Skills

40% · 283 points▾

KnowledgeLevel 5 of 8
90 of 144 points
Specialised and theoretical knowledge within a field of work and an awareness of the limits of that knowledge. The job requires a comprehensive range of cognitive and practical knowledge to develop creative solutions to abstract problems.
Interpersonal and communication skillsLevel 3 of 5
58 of 96 points
Effective communication and interpersonal relationships. The job holder is required to adapt communication to different audiences and foster trust, cooperation and positive working relationships.
Problem-solving skillsLevel 4 of 5
77 of 96 points
Non-standard problems. The job involves solving complex, non-standard problems involving multiple factors to consider. Solutions often require careful analysis and the adaptation of current methods.
Planning and organisational skillsLevel 4 of 5
58 of 72 points
Advanced organisational skills required. The job requires planning and managing complex, often overlapping tasks or schedules. The job requires a degree of autonomy and joint planning, and managing interdependencies across teams or departments.
Physical skillsLevel 0 of 5
0 of 72 points
Not applicable. The job does not require any particular physical skills (although there is likely to be some physical activity).

Responsibility

35% · 317 points▾

PeopleLevel 4 of 5
115 of 144 points
High level of responsibility for people. The job involves significant responsibility for the well-being and development of others. This includes making decisions that affect others' jobs, tasks or welfare, such as managing teams, providing care, teaching or ensuring psychological safety. It can also include hiring, evaluating, motivating, coaching and leading workers.
Goods and equipmentLevel 4 of 5
67 of 84 points
Considerable responsibility for goods or equipment. The job involves overseeing valuable resources, making sure they are secure, maintained and functioning to meet goals. This includes protecting important physical or natural assets and deciding on the ordering of various equipment and supplies.
InformationLevel 4 of 5
77 of 96 points
Considerable responsibility for information. The job manages large amounts of valuable or sensitive information, deciding what is needed and how it is used and ensuring it is protected.
Financial resourcesLevel 3 of 5
58 of 96 points
Moderate responsibility for financial resources. The job requires handling significant financial resources, including managing budgets, overseeing expenditures, being accountable for spending and participating in financial decision-making.

Effort

15% · 79 points▾

Mental effortLevel 3 of 5
36 of 60 points
High level of mental effort. The job involves frequent concentration on complex tasks that require considerable mental effort, such as interpreting complex data.
Psychosocial and emotional effortLevel 3 of 5
43 of 72 points
Moderate psychosocial and emotional effort. The job requires the regular management of emotional responses, such as dealing with sensitive or challenging individuals or situations.
Physical effortLevel 0 of 5
0 of 48 points
Not applicable. The job does not require any physical effort.

Working Conditions

10% · 41 points▾

Environment (physical, psychological or emotional)Level 2 of 5
34 of 84 points
Occasional exposure to hazards or stress. The job involves occasional exposure to mild physical risks (e.g. working with light machinery, occasional noise) or psychosocial risks (e.g. occasional interpersonal conflict or minor repetitive tasks). Exposure occurs two to three times a year.
Organisational environmentLevel 1 of 5
7 of 36 points
Minimal organisational demands. The job requires standard working hours with no night shifts or irregular schedules. There is little or no need for travel or digital connectivity beyond typical working hours.