UCAS is at the heart of connecting people to higher education.

UCAS is the world’s leading shared admissions service for higher education. We provide application services for UK universities and colleges as well as delivering a wide range of research, consultancy and advisory services to schools, colleges, careers services, professional bodies and employers.

We’re a successful and fast-growing organisation, which helps hundreds of thousands of people every year. We're committed to delivering a first-class service to all of our customers because they're at the heart of everything we do.

The Digital Services business unit is at the heart of UCAS’ technical innovation, data and infrastructure. It focuses on leveraging data science, technology, and enterprise architecture to enhance UCAS' digital products and services. The unit is dedicated to developing and improving customer-centric digital solutions, ensuring seamless and secure online experiences for all users. By providing insightful data and analysis, often made available to anyone with free-to-use intuitive dashboard, Digital Services empowers the Higher Education sector and those interested in the sector with valuable information to make informed decisions. By working in collaborative, expert led, multi-disciplinary teams, Digital Services drives UCAS’ mission to connect students with their next opportunities through advanced technological solutions.

At UCAS we are on the look-out for a skilled Technical Operations Engineer to join our IT Operations team, supporting a portfolio of enterprise platforms with a strong focus on identity and access management using Microsoft Entra ID.

Working closely with our strategic technology partner, you will ensure our platforms are secure, resilient, and effectively managed, while driving continuous service improvement. You will play a key role in maintaining operational stability within a modern, cloud-first environment.

Key responsibilities within this role will cover the following:

• Manage and support day-to-day operations of enterprise platforms, ensuring availability, performance, and security

• Effectively monitor and maintain Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) services

• Maintain robust monitoring, alerting, and observability, integrating with ITSM tooling

• Support ITIL-based service management processes (incident, problem, change)

• Drive continuous improvement through automation, standardisation, and optimisation

• Produce clear documentation, runbooks, and knowledge articles

Beyond key responsibilities you will bring strong technical operations experience and a passion for delivering reliable, secure services. In particular, you will have:

• Proven experience in IT Operations roles
  Demonstrable excellent knowledge in Microsoft Entra ID / Azure AD

• Strong understanding of identity and access management principles and security controls

• Experience working with Microsoft 365 and modern workplace environments

• Familiarity with monitoring tools, ITSM platforms (e.g. Jira, Halo), and SaaS environments

• Solid troubleshooting skills across cloud-based platforms and infrastructure

• Awareness of privileged access management and endpoint security concepts

The salary for this role is £40,000 - £42,000 alongside the following benefits:

• Purpose-driven work in a charity-led organisation connecting people to education and opportunity

• Internal training, mentoring, and access to industry-recognised certifications through our development academies

• Hybrid working model built on trust and flexibility, with a 35-hour week and flexible contracts

• 30 days annual leave, 3 concessionary days over Christmas, bank holidays, and the option to purchase additional leave

• Everyday wellbeing support through Perkbox, offering discounts and wellness tools

• Onsite facilities including a subsidised gym, café, and free parking at our Cheltenham office

• Inclusive culture supported by employee networks, wellbeing champions, and Mental Health First Aiders

• Recognition and reward through our quarterly employee scheme and an ex-gratia bonus for going above and beyond