In order to work in Ireland a non-EEA National, unless they are exempted, must hold a valid employment permit. Please review the Eligibility and requirements for an employment permit if you are unsure of your eligibility to apply for this vacancy. Reporting to the Chief Information Officer (CIO – at Assistant Secretary level) and working closely with the Director of Technology and ICT Transformation, the role has responsibility for large-scale ICT operations, enterprise platforms, and service contracts. Leading a senior management team of circa 6 Principal Officers and over 230 staff, managing a complex ICT portfolio and major change programs with significant technology dependencies. They will oversee high-value service contracts with IT providers. The Director will drive the continued modernisation of infrastructure and processes, ensuring service continuity, resilience, security, and agility. The role also includes governance and oversight of ICT expenditure, project delivery, testing, and Service Delivery Lifecycle (SDLC) compliance. Key priorities will include leading responses to key challenges including operational capacity, cybersecurity threats, skills development, organisational change, technical debt associated with legacy platforms, and increasing demand for our data-driven services. As a member of the ISD management board, this director will be responsible for maintaining continuous service delivery while progressing transformation and implementation of strategic Departmental and Programme for Government commitments, building workforce capability, ensuring compliance with regulatory frameworks such as GDPR, ISO 27001 and NIS2, and leveraging automation and AI to improve efficiency. DSP has made significant ICT investments, with most services now delivered using agile methodologies on the Department’s existing strategic platforms (BOMi and ISTS), primarily leveraging Microsoft technologies, while reducing reliance on legacy systems. The Director will lead the delivery of IT Skills and Security strategies and support wider ICT, Data, AI and Cloud strategies, acting as a thought leader for digital transformation. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong customer focus, the ability to lead and communicate complex change, and a proven capacity to build effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including partners and staff representatives. An understanding of social welfare and employment services, or the ability to quickly acquire it, will be important, alongside the ability to develop practical and innovative ICT solutions. This is a unique opportunity to influence ICT delivery at a national level (such as, EU and National Digital Wallet) ensuring DSP continues to provide secure, scalable, and citizen-centric digital services. Further information regarding the post and candidate requirements is set out in the Candidate Information Booklet. To download the Candidate Information Booklet and access the link to apply, please visit www.gov.ie/dspcareers. Candidate queries in relation to the campaign can be sent to [apply via link]

Director of Operations and Platforms