Technical Lead – Mainframe Middleware

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Technical Lead – Mainframe Middleware to provide expert technical leadership and ensure the stable, secure, and efficient delivery of middleware and integration services

This role leads a specialist middleware team responsible for supporting business‑critical government services. It combines hands-on technical expertise, team leadership, service management, and stakeholder engagement, with a strong focus on service stability, continual improvement, and ITIL-aligned operations.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Service Delivery

• Lead and coordinate the mainframe middleware team to deliver reliable and secure integration services aligned to agreed service levels and business outcomes.
  
• Provide expert technical advice and guidance on middleware platforms, integration architecture, and operational best practices.
  
• Design, develop, and support secure integration solutions using IBM middleware technologies (e.g. MQ, Integration Bus, App Connect Enterprise).
  

Operations & ITIL Service Management

• Manage BAU activities including incident, problem, service request, and change management to ensure minimal disruption to services.
  
• Maintain accountability for change management, ensuring changes are assessed, approved, tested, and implemented in line with governance requirements.
  
• Lead the resolution of complex technical incidents and problems, working collaboratively with internal teams, vendors, and service providers.
  

Platform Stability & Continuous Improvement

• Ensure platform stability, performance, and security through patching, upgrades, monitoring, automation, and lifecycle management.
  
• Drive continual service improvement initiatives focused on performance, resilience, efficiency, and automation.
  
• Ensure effective monitoring, performance tuning, recovery, and failover mechanisms are in place.
  

Stakeholder Engagement & Governance

• Build and maintain strong relationships with business stakeholders, technical teams, and external vendors.
  
• Provide advice to management on middleware strategy, risks, operational demands, and technology opportunities.
  
• Ensure compliance with enterprise standards, governance frameworks, and security policies.
  

Team Leadership & Capability Development

• Plan and prioritise team workloads and individual responsibilities.
  
• Mentor staff and support knowledge transfer and capability uplift within the middleware team.
  
• Develop, maintain, and improve operational standards, procedures, and documentation.
  
• Produce regular reports on service performance and team productivity for senior management.
  

Project & On‑Call Responsibilities

• Contribute to or lead middleware-related projects, enhancements, and platform changes.
  
• Participate in on-call support and after-hours work as required.
  

Technical Skills & Experience

Essential

• Proven experience delivering enterprise middleware services in a mainframe environment.
  
• Strong expertise in SOA and integration using IBM technologies such as:
  • IBM MQ
    
  • IBM Integration Bus
    
  • IBM App Connect Enterprise (ACE) or equivalent
    
• Experience managing complex message transport, transformation, and integration environments.
  
• Strong skills in middleware administration, monitoring, performance tuning, automation, and recovery.
  
• Solid understanding of ITIL practices, including incident, problem, change, and service level management.
  

Leadership & Professional Capability

• Ability to operate with autonomy under broad direction and take accountability for service and technical outcomes.
  
• Demonstrated leadership in managing specialist technical teams in complex ICT environments.
  
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence outcomes collaboratively.
  
• Proven ability to perform under pressure, manage competing priorities, and adapt in dynamic environments.
  
• Commitment to continuous improvement, innovation, and staying current with industry trends and technologies.