MetroLink Head of IT
Background
MetroLink is a transformative piece of public transport infrastructure and will be Dublin’s first metro railway. The system will offer a high-capacity, high-frequency metro railway with 16 new stations from Swords to Charlemont. It will interlink with multiple transport networks, including Dublin Airport, Irish Rail, DART, Dublin Bus, and Luas, promoting a seamlessly integrated transport experience for the Greater Dublin Area.
The majority of its 19km route is underground, marking a paradigm shift for Irish public transport. Upon launch, MetroLink will provide trains every three minutes during peak times, with expected annual passenger numbers of 53 million, providing unprecedented convenience of travel to passengers.
The MetroLink Head of IT will be responsible for the management of IT operations within Metrolink. This includes developing and implementing IT-related strategies and policies. It involves the design, procurement, implementation and management of Corporate IT infrastructure and end-user tools. It includes responsibility for IT security for the core IT systems and services.
They will manage IT infrastructure and service to support the Metrolink Business team which is responsible for delivering the Metrolink project over the next 10 years. In so doing they will lead a core team of IT staff along with contractors and managed service providers.
At the present time IT operations and support for Metrolink are managed by TII’s Head of IT.
A new building to accommodate Metrolink staff is currently being finalised and this will include the setup of IT equipment and services. This will be done by the middle of 2026 and is being managed by TII’s Head of IT. However, the Metrolink Head of IT will be expected to take a lead role in this project.
It is also planned that the setup of a separate IT function to support Metrolink will take place in the 2nd half of 2026. While planning and design for this separation has begun, it will primarily be the responsibility of the new Metrolink Head of IT once appointed. This will be done in cooperation with TII’s Head of IT and ultimately will involve:
- Setting up an IT team to support the Metrolink project
- Migration of Metrolink staff over to a separate MS Office 365 and MS Azure environment
- Design and implementation of strategies, policies and controls
- Procurement of longer-term IT goods and service contracts to support the project
- Supporting Metrolink staff in the new building
Once this separation is complete the Metrolink Head of IT will be fully responsible for the new environment subject to any shared services managed by TII IT.
Role and Responsibilities
The MetroLink Head of IT will lead the Information Technology practices and objectives for Metrolink while adhering with TII’s core obligations as a public body in terms of IT governance and security.
Specific responsibilities will include:
- Report to the Metrolink Executive Team on all matters pertaining to the management of the information technology function
- Setting up the Metrolink IT function and support team
- Design and setup of a new Metrolink Office 365 tenancy and migration of TII users into that environment
- Procurement of IT goods and services contracts to support the Metrolink project
- Formulate appropriate IT strategies and policies that support the work of Metrolink
- IT Policy development and implementation in areas such as IT\Cyber Security and Contingency Planning for the project
- IT Security and aligning with the NIS2 standard and providing assurance to TII’s Information Security Officer
- Planning and implementing IT hardware and software infrastructure
- Management of core cloud services
- Ensuring appropriate governance is in place for IT purchases and management
- Managing a team of resources to ensure day-to-day systems are available
- Project Management
- IT Budgetary control
- Management of Helpdesk support and administration function
- Management of service providers
- Promote an equitable, inclusive and collaborative workplace
- Perform additional tasks, activities or other duties as may be required or assigned as part of the role throughout the MetroLink programme.
All the divisions within TII have inter-dependent responsibilities and close cooperation, collaboration and teamwork are required across the whole organisation.
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS
Character
Each candidate must be of good character.
Health
A candidate for and any person holding the role must be fully competent and capable of undertaking duties attached to the role and be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.
Education & Experience
The successful candidate will be required to demonstrate the key competencies for a Principal Officer position as outlined in Appendix 1, as well as the following job-specific requirements:
Experience
- Minimum 7 years experience in a similar lead role within IT
Skills
- Extensive senior information technology experience combining a management lead role with hands-on experience across a range of technologies as detailed below
- Experience in setting up and/or building up a new IT team would beneficial
- Experience with the following technologies:
o Azure AD and Office 365 management
o InTune and Windows Defender
o Security tools including Anti-Virus, Endpoint protection and Web/Email Filtering
o Firewalls
o SIEM
o Wifi and Network Equipment
o Backup and recovery
o Meeting room A/V
o Windows Servers
- Experience working within an Information Security Management System (ISMS) including managing and evidencing controls
- Experience in IT Governance in procurement, security and budget management
- Experience in developing IT-related policies
- Experience in Disaster Recovery planning and testing
- Demonstrate a good understanding of, or the ability to quickly learn, the public sector working environment
- Experience working with diverse teams
- Experience of managing a team and a significant workload
- Ability to work on own initiative with strong multitasking capabilities
- Ability to work to tight deadlines and prioritise tasks effectively
- Highly organised with strong attention to detail
- Strong interpersonal skills
Formal Education Qualifications
- A minimum NFQ level 8 degree in Computer Science\IT\Engineering or other relevant discipline is required.
Practicing / Training / Compliance Certification
- Project Management Certification from a body such as APM or PMI (Desirable).
Professional Memberships
- Membership of a related professional organisation or be in a position to apply for membership (Desirable).
Note:
In order to assure the shortlisting panel that you satisfy these requirements you must explicitly reference how you meet the requirements in your application. Failure to demonstrate these may prevent your application progressing to future shortlisting stages.
Candidates who come under consideration following the final selection stage will be required to provide documentary evidence of their eligibility, including qualifications and evidence of fluency in the English language.
Candidates who are unable to show that they hold the required qualifications may be withdrawn from the competition at any stage. An invitation to interview or any element of the selection process is not acceptance of eligibility.
To apply for, or to locate further information on, these posts please visit our website: https://www.tii.ie/careers/
The closing date for applications is 12pm Monday, 23rd February at 12pm.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland is committed to a policy of equal opportunity.
