M365 Administrator – Contract - Preston
The M365 Specialist will be responsible for deploying, managing, and optimizing Microsoft 365 (M365) solutions.

Core Duties
Typical duties include:

M365 Strategy and Best Practices:
• Interpret internal and external issues, recommend solutions, and establish best practices in M365 technologies to drive continuous improvement and efficiency.
• Make non-technical recommendations to improve the functionality and performance of the team.
• Occasionally contribute to the wider architectural strategy of the business.
Complex Problem Solving:
• Utilize a broad perspective to identify and solve complex problems, drawing upon existing solutions, procedures, and expertise within M365.
• Act as an escalation point for the most challenging problems and take ownership through resolution, working with internal and external entities.
Project Participation:
• Participate in M365 projects, ensuring successful outcomes and assisting in resolving complex issues within the specialized discipline.
• Collaborate with project teams to achieve project goals and deliverables.
Budget Management:
• Allocate time and resources to project activities and manage the costing of work.
• Escalate to management if project costs become misaligned, ensuring budget adherence.

M365 Deployment and Administration:
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to design, deploy, and configure M365 solutions, ensuring scalability, security, and reliability.
• Assist in migrations of on-premise infrastructure to the M365 environment, identifying and resolving potential migration challenges to ensure minimal disruption to business operations.
Monitoring and Troubleshooting:
• Monitor M365 systems, analyze performance metrics, identify bottlenecks, and troubleshoot issues to optimize the M365 environment and ensure smooth operations.
• Resolve problems using existing solutions and define new solutions where required.
Security and Compliance:
• Implement M365 security best practices, perform vulnerability assessments, and ensure compliance with relevant industry standards and regulations.
• Define and enforce new standards to support the platform’s security posture.
Documentation and Knowledge Sharing:
• Maintain thorough documentation of M365 architecture, configurations, and procedures.
• Contribute to knowledge sharing within the team to enhance overall capabilities and act as a resource for colleagues with less experience.
Process Improvements:
• Identify opportunities to enhance processes, streamline workflows, and improve operational efficiency within the M365 domain.
• Lead initiatives to implement process improvements, ensuring continuous advancement of the team’s capabilities.

Knowledge, Skills and Qualifications:
• Extensive experience in managing and deploying M365 solutions.
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to act as an escalation point.
• Excellent understanding of M365 security best practices and compliance requirements.
• Effective communication and documentation skills.
• Ability to manage budgets and resources effectively.
• Experience in process improvement and implementation of best practices.