back to article UK.gov wants a cloud wizard at £1,000 a DAY. That's more than the prime minister's salary

The government is hiring an IT cloud director at a cool £1,000 per day, for a bod proficient in Microsoft cloud systems – and just about every other form of enterprise IT. The advert did not specify which department it was advertising for. However, at £1,000 per day over a six month period, that comes to a total of £150,000; …

  1. Dave Evans 1

    Where is the ad?

    Link please (rubs hands together with antici............pation)

    1. dogged

      Re: Where is the ad?

      Unless you had your secretary post this request, you don't stand a chance.

      The ideal candidate will do nothing except hire third parties and outsource outsource offshore outsource.

      We all know it.

      As soon as anyone's "IT Director" it means they know nothing except how to go to the same school as the CEO.

  2. DJV Silver badge
    Trollface

    £1000

    "£1,000 a DAY. That's more than the prime minister's salary"

    Should think so, too! This job will (hopefully) require some actual skills!

    1. Mad Chaz

      Re: £1000

      And yet it will still end up being filled by someone with a resume full of lies and no ability to prevent all the politics that will derail any project he is tasked with.

      1. Harry the Bastard

        Re: £1000

        "And yet it will still end up being filled by someone with a resume full of lies and no ability to prevent all the politics that will derail any project he is tasked with."

        that was going to be my strategy: blag it, new laptop, big monitors on desk, comfy chair, enjoy life, a few fact finding missions somewhere warm and sunny, rake in the cash as fast as possible until it's obvious even to uk.gov that things may, just possibly, be a smidge overdue, exit with a golden handshake for personal reasons as the price of not rocking the boat, then with reputation and cv enhanced, automatically be shortlisted for the next one on an even bigger package

    2. g e
      Joke

      Re: £1000

      That's some 'pork' barrel ;o)

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: £1000

      So... if I understood the article...

      David Cameron would have been better off getting an IT degree at University in the hopes of getting that one job that can't really be outsourced and offshored to India?

      Really?

  3. JimmyPage Silver badge
    Stop

    Oddly, the job spec does not ask for security clearance

    I predict the person who has (already) filled this post (what ? You *really* thought this was an above-board business) doesn't have security clearance, and

    has proven knowledge and experience of operating within a Microsoft private cloud system system, plus proven knowledge in non-Microsoft technologies, such as Agresso, Cisco core networking, NetApp Storage, and HP Blade Centre and Compute.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Oddly, the job spec does not ask for security clearance

      +1 to you sir as I was about to say the same.

      You really thought that you could apply for a old boy's club job based on your actual skills? Silly boy.

    2. thedarke

      You'd be surprised

      There are a few of us who tick all those boxes and have SC. Ever wonder why some of the guys working in the City earn good money (or 'outrageous money' if the tone of the article is anything to judge)? Because those that do are usually polymaths with a lot of of depth and breadth of experience. It comes from working in the Engineering rather than Operations teams within the larger multinational banks- you have to have that experience to just do the day job or no one would be able to get cash out of the ATMs.

      But, I personally wouldn't take a 6 month contracting gig- I make the same without needing to find a new gig every 6 months. Then there is the fact it's government- it's not the skills that are the worry with this job, it's the belief that in 6 months, a skilled person can turn the ship of a bunch of civil servants who are very vested in their own pet stacks and projects and get them on board. The skill not listed there is 'messianic diplomat' because you'd really need that. Or hypnotism. Or lots of cake.

      Also- it's not that expensive. Professional Services for most of the vendor technologies listed is between £1200-2000 a day- and I know of projects within SIs and Government where those are multi-year agreements with quite a few people in from those vendors. It's a drop in the bucket- and it's part of the Russian doll effect of outsourced IT pricing- the guy who gets the salary usually ends up with less than 10% of what was actually paid to the first tier outsourcer for the role leading to a warping of the perception of the cost vs the reward for a job. Good on them for going direct.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: You'd be surprised

        "I personally wouldn't take a 6 month contracting gig- I make the same without needing to find a new gig every 6 months."

        Contracting is not the same as having a permanent job, some of us like the idea of changing jobs frequently - and the tax a contractor will pay on 300k a year (face it there will be at least one extension on this contract) will be much less than a permie would pay!

  4. toughluck

    Translation

    Candidates must have proven knowledge and experience of operating within a Microsoft private cloud system system, it said. However, they should also have proven knowledge in non-Microsoft technologies, such as Agresso, Cisco core networking, NetApp Storage, and HP Blade Centre and Compute.

    Translation: We've bought all the above technologies because we were dazzled by sales representatives and now we need somebody to cobble together something useful from them, or we'll be indicted for improper purchasing.

  5. This post has been deleted by its author

  6. Zog_but_not_the_first
    Terminator

    Danger Will Robinson?

    Someone to blame?

  7. Stevie

    Bah!

    And for six months work the lucky bod will be able to -e-v-a-d-e- avoid tax like the very dickens.

    "It's only money"

    Edmund Blackadder. 1584. Or thereabouts.

    1. d3vy

      Re: Bah!

      "And for six months work the lucky bod will be able to -e-v-a-d-e- avoid tax like the very dickens."

      Avoid PAYE, they will still pay 30k in Corporation tax...

      Then of course the 120 remaining attracts a 21% tax of £24,760

      So close to 55k in tax assuming they take the money from the company in the same tax year...

      As opposed to just under 54k if it was a PAYE wage...

      They do of course save almost 7k in NI payments... but you said avoid TAX.. not NI so Im going to skim over that to make my point look stronger! :)

  8. adnim
    Devil

    I could do this

    but they wouldn't employ me because I would do what I feel is right... Not what they and what the companies they may have shares in want.

  9. Alistair
    Windows

    I'm sorry the post is already filled

    We outsourced it to china as they said they could do it cheaper,

  10. Dan 10
    Coat

    Do I *have* to take a pay cut to do it?

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Go

    I'll do it..

    ....just like many other directors in the Public sector, I'll take the cash, fuck everything up and blame the underresourced staff for not working 23 hr shifts.

    Then take my golden parachute of 10x my salary.

  12. Drefsab_UK

    I want to apply never mind if I can do it or not its a uk.gov job its never going to be delivered correctly anyway.

  13. Mark 85

    Why am I reminded of the opening to "Joe and Volcano" by this....?

    "I know he can get the job, but can he do the job?"... followed by "I know he do the job but can he get the job". Rinse, repeat. Who will actually be hired is probably not open to discussion.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Day 1: Get rid of all that Microsoft crap....

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      day 2, put it all back because you found all your staff can no longer work.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Alternative day 2: Office restructuring time.

  15. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    Happy

    Me me me

    I 'have knowledge' of all they ask for. Bugger all capability, but I know the names, yes.

  16. Boris the Cockroach Silver badge
    Unhappy

    Dont bother

    Its already been filled.

    LIke all civil service jobs (except those at the very bottom), its been written up so that a very specific person will tick all the boxes, and thus be the only suitable candidate.

    They only advertise because they have to.

  17. boatsman

    got a phone number ?

    "An IT director who is directing operations for infrastructure and also overseeing development and design, with detailed technical knowledge of a whole series of platforms from Microsoft to non-Microsoft? I would pay £1,000/day for someone who could do all of that,"

    easy. done that, still do it. give me a ring :-)

  18. Joc

    Dont bother

    It'll end up going to one of the old boy brigade, who (possibly) used the internet once...

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    HMG: "Give Microsoft all your money"

    I'm enthusiastic about this... if he/she is successful, then maybe UK citizens with RFC2822-compliant e-mail addresses (i.e. all e-mail addresses from around the world that can happily be used for... errmmm... e-mail!) can register to use Government IT systems and not be told that their e-mail address is "invalid" - in other words, it's refused by Microsoft systems that are worried that it's somebody naughty, trying to use an e-mail address that might break the precarious and almost non-existent security of WinME, or whatever dated pile of Microsoft dog-crap is installed as the operating system running the public sector application that Joe Citizen wants to use.

    I had a very surreal series of e-mail exchanges with a number of desk jockeys in HMRC, and from there to the Cabinet Office, as to why my e-mail address was "invalid"... using the same e-mail address to conduct the correspondence! In short, the answer boiled down to "Microsoft runs the world so we don't think IETF standards should have any relevance when taxpayers - who are probably terrorists - are stupid enough to try to use non-Microsoft software to register for public services".

    Ahem.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like