Team Leader

• Full time continuing role within UNSW IT as a Team Leader – Platform Services
• Starting Salary $148012 plus generous superannuation and leave loading
• Kensington, Sydney location, 2-3 days in the office, Hybrid working

About UNSW:

UNSW isn't like other places you've worked. Yes, we're a large organization with a diverse and talented community; a community doing extraordinary things. Together, we are driven to be thoughtful, practical, and purposeful in all we do. Taking this combined approach is what makes our work matter. It's the reason we're one of the top 20 universities in the world (QS top 20) and a member of Australia's prestigious Group of Eight. If you want a career where you can thrive, be challenged and do meaningful work, you're in the right place.

The Team Leader - Platform Operations leads a team of specialists delivering reliable, secure, and cost-effective platform services that underpin teaching, research, and operations at UNSW. This role shapes how platforms are run day-to-day and how they improve over time. You'll set clear direction, grow capability, and establish strong ownership so teams can focus on reliability, automation, and consistent service outcomes. You'll work closely with Faculties, Divisions, and partners across UNSW IT to ensure platform services meet agreed business outcomes, service levels, and experience expectations.

Accountabilities for this role include:

• Provide day-to-day leadership by setting clear priorities, enabling the team to oprate platform services effectively, and establishing consistent standards for reliability, automation, and incident response. Build clarity around roles, expected practices, and service outcomes while supporting staff through coaching and timely decision-making.
• Own platform services within the team's portfolio with a clear vision, roadmap, and measurable performance targets, ensuring services deliver customer value, operate efficiently, and align to total cost of ownership expectations.
• Plan and prioritise work using agile techniques while leading, mentoring, and developing specialists to build technical depth, proactive service behaviours, and strong cross-functional collaboration.
• Contribute to the design, delivery and operation of reliable, efficient platforms through modern, automated practices that improve speed, quality, and repeatability.
• Strengthen reliability through proactive monitoring, smarter incident correlation, and data informed decision making, with a focus on reducing incident frequency and recovery times.
• Ensure disaster recovery strategies and playbooks are current, automated where possible, and regularly tested.
• Embed security, risk management and compliance into all operational practices in alignment with UNSW Cyber objectives.
• Identify, assess, and manage operational risks while maintaining licensing and consumption compliance and driving ongoing optimisation across cloud and on-prem services.
• Continuously improve team practices, tooling, and ways of working to improve flow, quality, and delivery speed, while promoting documentation, knowledge sharing, and cross-skilling.
• Communicate roadmaps, risks, and outcomes clearly to stakeholders, providing practical and influential advice that supports business goals.
• Maintain transparent, timely communication for incidents, changes, and service improvements.
• Ensure policies, procedures, and support artefacts for UNSW IT systems remain current and effective.
• Participate in the on call roster for after-hours incident response (typically one week per month) and perform weekend/afterhours work as required.

Who you are:

• An experienced people leader who builds capable, accountable teams and creates an environment where people can do their best work.
• Demonstrated experience leading technical teams and fostering inclusive, high-performing cultures with clear expectations and ownership.
• Broad experience across platform domains such as cloud, compute, storage, or networking, with a strong understanding of effective operational practices.
• A proven track record of leading teams that deliver reliable, resilient services and continuously improve service quality and operational outcomes.
• Sound understanding of service management and operational frameworks, with the ability to apply them pragmatically to real-world environments.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to explain complex issues in clear, plain language to diverse stakeholders.
• A calm, structured problem-solving approach, with a focus on prevention, continuous improvement, and value-driven decision making.
• Working knowledge of budgeting, resource planning, consumption management, and licensing compliance.
• Demonstrated commitment to UNSW's values, policies, and health and safety responsibilities, and the ability to role-model these through leadership behaviour.

Benefits and Culture

• Flexible Working Options (work from home, flexible hours etc) 
• Career development opportunities
• 17% Superannuation contributions and additional leave loading payments 
• Additional 3 days of leave over Christmas period
• Discounts and entitlements (retail, education, fitness)

For further details on the benefits, please visit 

How to Apply: please apply through the portal, we would like you to submit a full application including resume and addressing the who you are section.

Applications close:  Monday 26th Jan at 11.30pm

Pre-Employment Checks
Aligned with UNSW's focus on cultivating a workplace defined by safety, ethical conduct, and strong integrity preferred candidates will be required to participate in a combination of pre-employment checks relevant to the role they have applied for.

These pre-employment checks may include a combination of some of the following checks:- 

• National and International Criminal history checks
• Entitlement to work and ID checks
• Working With Children Checks
• Completion of a Gender-Based Violence Prevention Declaration
• Verification of relevant qualifications
• Verification of relevant professional membership
• Employment history and reference checks
• Financial responsibility assessments/checks.
• Medical Checks and Assessments

Compliance with the necessary combination of these checks is a condition of employment at UNSW.

Get in Touch:

Jen MacLachlan

Talent Acquisition Partner – UNSW IT

Please apply through the application portal and not via the contact above.

UNSW is committed to equity diversity and inclusion. Applications from women, people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, those living with disabilities, members of the LGBTIQ+ community; and people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, are encouraged. UNSW provides workplace adjustments for people with disability, and access to flexible work options for eligible staff. The University reserves the right not to proceed with any appointment.