ICT Systems and Services Lead

ICT Systems and Services Lead

A pivotal role for a technically gifted IT generalist who’s ready to build something meaningful, not just maintain it.

Some IT roles ask you to keep things running. This one asks you to help build something worth running.

If you’re an experienced IT generalist, or you’ve honed your skills in a managed service provider environment, then you’ll understand the pace, the pressure and the constant context-switching. You’ll also know the satisfaction of solving real problems and making systems work better.

This role offers something more, a chance to go deeper, take ownership and help build something lasting in a place where your expertise is truly valued.

We’re Church Mission Society, a Christian charity with a rich history and an energising future. You’ll be joining us at a pivotal moment: beginning a major transition evolving our on-premise infrastructure and systems into modern cloud services. The person joining us will be at the heart of that journey, helping shape what comes next.

  • Permanent, full-time (35 hours a week)
  • Hybrid working – approximately two days a week at CMS House, Oxford.
  • Starting salary £38,250 and a generous pension contribution: up to 10 per cent employer contribution on annual salary
  • 36 days of annual leave pro rata (including bank holidays) as well as enhanced paid sickness, maternity, paternity and adoption leave.
  • Generous rewards and wellbeing package, including:
    • access to 24/7 employee assistance programme with qualified counsellors
    • regular wellbeing coffee mornings
    • support on menopause for women
    • up to three volunteer days a year
    • up to three family emergency leave days a year
    • retreats and resources for prayer life

We welcome applications from everyone. We particularly welcome applications from women and/or individuals from minority groups as they are currently underrepresented within our organisation at this level. All appointments are made on merit of skill, experience and potential as laid down in the job description and person specification.

Your role

Working closely with the head of ICT, you’ll help shape the infrastructure that carries CMS forward, by leading migrations, shaping hybrid environments and driving the adoption of modern technologies, while keeping today’s systems secure, reliable and performant.

You’ll bring real hands-on experience across virtualisation, cloud platforms, networking, cyber security and disaster recovery to work that genuinely matters. And you’ll do this in an environment that backs your curiosity, encourages experimentation and trusts you to find the best solution.

You’ll also be the person our colleagues turn to as a first-line support partner who delivers a warm, approachable helpdesk experience, and someone who actively empowers staff to get the most from their digital tools through great training and onboarding.

The organisation you’ll be joining

Church Mission Society is comprised of people who are passionate about mission and fired up about helping people follow Jesus. For over 200 years CMS has been at the forefront of global mission, living out the gospel of Jesus, seeing lives changed and communities transformed. If you join CMS, you will find an organisation that has been reinvigorated with a fresh vision to make disciples of Jesus among people at the edges, both in the UK and around the world.

There are opportunities to learn, pray and participate in mission (outside of your job remit) through all-staff days, meeting our people in mission and taking part in events, as well as regular opportunities for spiritual reflection, worship and prayer together and an annual retreat day.

A team worth joining

You’ll join a small, high-performing ICT team that takes pride in the unseen work, enabling others to succeed. Widely regarded as one of the most trusted and collaborative functions in the organisation, we’re regularly sought out for insight that goes well beyond IT. That trust has been earned through years of quality work and a human approach to the people we serve.

This isn’t a role where you wait to be told what to do. You’ll be trusted to shape the technical detail, champion new capabilities and deliver meaningful change that staff across the organisation will feel every day.

An approachable, friendly and genuinely supportive team, we’re quietly proud of what we’ve built together. We look out for one another, and when things get demanding, we show up as a team. We work hard, we enjoy the work, and across the organisation we’re trusted not just to solve technical problems, but to bring thoughtful insight and steady leadership to bigger conversations too.

What you’ll need to succeed

You’re an experienced IT generalist with a broad, practical skillset, and someone who’s comfortable holding the full picture of an organisation’s technology while diving deep when needed. You may be working in a managed service provider or IT services environment and are ready to channel your expertise into one place, one team and one mission.

It is also a requirement for this post holder to be in sympathy with the aims and values of CMS

Further details can be found in the job description and person specification available to download below.

Our commitment to you

Our core values of being pioneering, relational, faithful and evangelistic are integral to everything we do, and we work hard to ensure that every member of staff is valued, supported and encouraged to continually learn and develop their skills

Safeguarding

We are committed to the safeguarding and protection of the people we serve, our partners, our volunteers, and our staff. We believe that every child or adult we come into contact with has the right to be protected from all forms of harm and abuse. Our recruitment and selection processes are in line with our Safeguarding Policy and the SCHR Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, which CMS is a member of as part of our commitment to safeguarding.    

Values

Our core values of being pioneering, relational, faithful and evangelistic are integral to everything we do, and we work hard to ensure that every member of staff is valued, supported and encouraged to continually learn and develop their skills.

Closing date

We must get your application by midnight on Sunday 19 April 2026

Interviews are planned to be held on Wednesday 29 April 2026 in CMS House.

To apply

Please send your application form and CV to jobs@churchmissionsociety.org or by post to HR Team, CMS, Watlington Road, Oxford OX4 6BZ. CVs will only be considered when sent with a completed application form (download below). Please be sure to save a copy of the application form to your device. If you have any issues downloading or opening the form please contact our HR team for assistance. See the application guide for further advice.

CMS is committed to recruiting, retaining and developing a workforce that reflects at all grades the diverse communities that we serve. Therefore we ask that you complete the Equality and Diversity Monitoring form and send it to equalopportunities@churchmissionsociety.org

As a member of the Inter-agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, CMS has committed to systematically check with previous employers from at least the last five years for any ‘SEAH’ (Sexual Exploitation, Abuse or Harassment) issues relating to all potential new hires.

Candidates for all UK roles must already be eligible to work in the UK, with a valid visa and work permit if required.