Job Title:  Capability Lead (Field)

Job Title:  Capability Lead (Field) 

Global Grade:  GG14

Location:  Farnborough, Malvern or Boscombe Down

Role Type:  Permanent – Full Time

Role ID:  19594

Role Purpose

A capability lead in IT operations is responsible for strategically growing and maintaining the essential skills, processes, and technologies required to deliver IT services effectively, ensuring the team can meet business objectives. Their purpose includes developing talent, improving operational efficiency through frameworks like Agile and ITIL, fostering continuous improvement, and providing expert consultation to senior leaders on capability-related matters. They act as a strategic partner to senior stakeholders across business functions, influencing and enabling the delivery of cross-functional initiatives and transformation programmes.

Key Accountabilities

• Technical Strategy Development:

• Promote knowledge sharing, training, and self-service enablement.
• Lead efforts to automate processes, implement AI/ML for operations, and explore innovative technologies to enhance services.
• Develop and execute strategies & roadmaps for IT infrastructure, aligning with broader organisational goals and digital strategies.

• Performance and Metrics:

• Using analytics and feedback to improve service quality and user satisfaction
• Find ways to scale technological innovations effectively while reducing operational costs.
• Monitor and maintain IT systems for optimal performance, security, and uptime.

• Team Leadership & Mentoring:

• Lead technical teams, develop talent, and foster a culture of accountability and innovation.
• Lead and evolve IT support capabilities across UK, Germany & Canadian operations.
• Lead and coach Team Leads & Engineering Leads and foster a high-performance culture.
• Oversee team structure, recruitment, and career development.

• Project Delivery:

• Proven record of delivering infrastructure projects on time and within budget.
• Plan and lead the testing and delivery of new systems and improvements.

• Stakeholder Engagement:

• Maintain strong stakeholder relationships with the wider business.
• Partner with senior stakeholders across business units to shape and deliver strategic IT initiatives.
• Effective communication skills to translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences and influence senior stakeholders.

• Own escalated incidents and requests, ensuring resolution and continuous improvement.
• Represent QinetiQ IT at industry events, bringing back insights and innovation.
• Represent IT Operations in governance forums, steering groups, and strategic planning sessions.
• Influence cross-functional decision-making by translating capability insights into business outcomes.

• Budgeting & Cost Optimisation:

• Understanding of Capex/Opex models and ability to optimise spend.
• Drive operational performance reporting, trend analysis, and service improvement initiatives.

• Risk Management:

• Ability to assess and mitigate risks related to infrastructure availability, scalability, and security.
• Implement robust security measures, manage vulnerabilities, and ensure adherence to compliance and regulatory requirements.

Key Capabilities/Knowledge

• Proven leadership in IT operations, ideally within a multi-site or enterprise environment.
• Strong understanding of ITIL service operations and continuous improvement.
• Experience managing third-party vendors and service level agreements.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Ability to lead through influence in matrixed environments.
• Deep customer focus with a passion for service excellence.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Knowledge of modern workplace technologies (e.g., Microsoft 365, Endpoint Management).
• Understanding of data privacy, information security, and compliance principles.

Experience & Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent experience in IT, Computer Science, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in senior team leadership or capability management.
• ITIL Foundation v4 certification (required); ITIL Practitioner or Managing Professional (desirable).
• Experience with modern service management platforms (e.g., ServiceNow, Jira Service Management).
• Demonstrable success in driving service transformation and performance improvement.
• Strong reporting and data analysis capabilities.
• People management qualifications (e.g., ILM Level 4 or equivalent) preferred.
• Eligible for and able to maintain SC-level security clearance.

Working Patterns

• To cover shift patterns between 0730-1830 GMT you may be asked to work at specific times
• As part of a commitment to maintaining high service availability and rapid incident response, this role will be required to participate in an on-call rota. This responsibility reflects the trust placed in the role to act swiftly and decisively when critical systems are impacted.

Additional Experience & Qualifications

• Hardware Lifecycle Management: Overseeing provisioning, maintenance, and disposal of IT assets across multiple locations.
• Software Deployment & Updates: Familiarity with tools like SCCM, Intune, or other endpoint management platforms.
• Onsite Support & Escalation Handling: Providing responsive, high-quality support and acting as a point of escalation for complex issues.
• On-site Support: Strong hands-on experience with laptops, desktops, mobile devices, printers, fiber optics, structured cabling and AV equipment. Accountability for the management of Network Equipment Rooms.
• Networking Fundamentals: Solid understanding of LAN/WAN, Wi-Fi, VPN, and basic troubleshooting of connectivity issues.
• Health & Safety: Understanding of construction regulations (e.g., CDM). Holds IOSH and Emergency First Aid certificates.
• Executive Support: Delivering highly personalized and responsive IT support to senior stakeholders and executives.
• MOD standards: Own the governance of delivery against Site Coordinating Installation Design Authority (SCIDA) installation requirements by adhering to JSP604 and owning the implementation.

Why Join QinetiQ?

As we continue to grow into new markets around the world, there’s never been a more exciting time to join QinetiQ. The formula for success is our appetite for innovation and having the courage to take on a wide variety of complex challenges.

As a QinetiQ employee, you’ll experience a unique working environment where teams from different backgrounds, disciplines and experience enjoy collaborating widely and openly as we undertake this exciting and rewarding journey. Through effective teamwork, and pulling together, you’ll get to experience what happens when we all share different perspectives, blend disciplines, and link technologies; constantly discovering new ways of solving complex problems in a diverse and inclusive environment where you can be authentic, feel valued and realise your full potential. Visit our website to read more about our diverse and inclusive workplace culture.  www.qinetiq.com/en/careers/life-at-qinetiq

Our Benefits

• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Competitive holiday allowance, with the option to purchase additional days
• Options to join Health Cash Plan, Private Medical Insurance and Dental Insurance
• Employee discount portal: Personal Accident Insurance, Travel Insurance, Restaurants, Cinema Tickets and much more
• We are proud to support the Armed Forces community by honouring the Armed Forces Covenant and maintaining our Gold Award standard in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme
• Volunteering Opportunities - helping charities and local community

Our Recruitment Process:

We want to make sure that our recruitment process is as inclusive as possible and we aspire to bring out the best in our candidates by creating an environment where everyone feels value, heard and supported.  If you have a disability or health condition that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your Recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments.

Many roles in QinetiQ are subject to national security vetting being completed, applicants who already hold the appropriate level of vetting may be able to transfer it upon appointment. A number of roles are also subject to additional restrictions, which mean factors such as nationality or previous nationalities may affect the roles that you can be employed in.

Please note that all applicants for this role must be eligible for SC clearance, as a minimum.

UKSV National Security Vetting Solution: guidance for applicants - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)