Systems Administrator – Identity Specialist

THE FRANCIS CRICK INSTITUTE LIMITED; Crick; Hybrid; GBP 101,000 - 124,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous Leave

Pension Scheme

Health & Well-being

Work-Life Balance

Discounted gym memberships

Job summary

The Francis Crick Institute is seeking a Systems Administrator – Identity Specialist to join the Infrastructure and Cloud Platforms team. This hybrid role focuses on identity management, authentication services, and secure access management, enabling thousands of users across the institute.

You will lead development and delivery of IAM services, influence technical roadmaps, and drive projects in a complex tech landscape, reporting to the Infrastructure manager and matrix-managing

Qualifications

• Leads IAM projects and implementations, including AD and Okta.
• Experience with DSAR processing and data discovery tooling.
• Strong admin skills across Windows and Linux servers.

Responsibilities

• Manage key identity services with a strategic roadmap.
• Lead DSAR processing with Compliance/Legal teams.
• Collaborate with SOC to improve security across infra services.
• Document SOPs and ensure ITIL-aligned incident/change processes.
• Monitor system health and verify backups daily.

Skills

IAM projects

Active Directory

Okta

PowerShell

Python

Microsoft 365

DSARs handling

GitHub

Linux administration

Tools

Okta

Microsoft 365

Purview

GitHub

KMS

Job description

Systems Administrator - Identity Specialist

In the Crick's Infrastructure Team.

Part of Crick Operations.

Key information

Job Title: Systems Administrator – Identity Specialist

Details of the role:

Working pattern: This is a fulltime, permanent position on Crick terms and conditions of employment. This is a hybrid role with a minimum of 4 days in the office reduced to 3 after 6 months.

Salary: Circa £56,115 with benefits, subject to skills and experience

Application closing date: 22nd of October 2026 at 23.59

About us

The Francis Crick Institute is Europe’s largest biomedical research institute under one roof. Our world-class scientists and staff collaborate on vital research to help prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, infectious diseases and neurodegenerative conditions.

The Crick is a place for collaboration, innovation and exploration across many disciplines. A space where the brightest minds can pursue big and bold ideas and discover answers to crucial scientific questions. We support them in a dynamic environment which foster excellence with state-of-the-art infrastructure, cutting-edge facilities, and a creative and curious culture. We’ve removed traditional boundaries of departments, divisions and disciplines and instead have an open approach that supports every researcher. This gives us the freedom to take risks and carry out high-quality, pioneering research. Creating a space for discovery without boundaries helps us to turn our science into benefits for human health and the economy.

About the role

We are recruiting for an exceptional Systems Administrator - Identity Specialist to play a pivotal role within our Infrastructure and Cloud Platforms team.

The Infrastructure and Cloud Platforms team are responsible for a range of IT infrastructure service areas, including:

• Identity Management and Authentication Services
• Technical execution of Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs)
• Virtualisation and Server Platform Services
• Cloud Platform Services
• Storage, Backup and Archiving Services

Your role within this team will be to lead the development, delivery, and continuous improvement of key identity and access management services, influencing technical roadmaps, driving implementation projects, and ensuring operational excellence across a complex technology landscape. Under the direction of the Infrastructure manager, you will additionally matrix manage internal team members and cross-functional personnel on specific tasks and projects.

This is an exciting opportunity for a proactive and technically skilled professional with expertise in identity management, authentication, and cloud-based technologies to take ownership of critical services that enable thousands of users to work securely and effectively.

If you are passionate about modern IAM solutions, enjoy solving complex technical challenges, and want a role that combines technical leadership, strategic influence, and meaningful organisational impact, this is a unique opportunity to advance your career in a dynamic and highly collaborative environment.

What you will be doing

You will:

• Manage key identity services within the infrastructure and cloud platforms team, providing a strategic roadmap to maintain, enhance, and monitor services.
• Manage and execute technical data privacy requests (DSARs) received from the Information Governance Manager and DPO.
• Liaise with the Security Operations Center (SOC) to implement and manage security improvements across infrastructure services.
• Oversee the effective provisioning, installation, configuration, operation, and maintenance of central infrastructure components and specialized systems across physical hardware, onsite virtual infrastructure, and cloud-based services.
• Work collaboratively across departments to understand organizational service needs and determine detailed technical requirements for institute operations.
• Adhere to institute policies and procedures—including ITIL-aligned incident, problem, and change management workflows—while documenting team-specific standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Conduct daily system monitoring to verify the integrity and availability of hardware, server resources, systems, and key processes.

• Review system logs, manage support ticket queues, and verify the completion of scheduled backup jobs as part of a shared team rota.

Please see full job description here

About you

You will have:

• Has led multiple Identity and Access Management (IAM) projects, with experience in Active Directory and Okta preferred.*
• Proven hands-on experience building and maintaining application integrations within Okta.
• Comprehensive administrative experience across the Microsoft 365 / Office 365 admin suite, encompassing cloud licensing, enterprise volume licensing, and infrastructure activation methodologies (e.g., KMS).
• Proven experience supporting the technical execution of DSARs, responsibly running discovery queries and extracting data using tools like Microsoft Purview based on briefs from Compliance/Legal teams.*

• Knowledge of creating, maintaining, and troubleshooting custom scripts for system administration and task automation in languages such as PowerShell and Python, including the use of team source repositories (GitHub).*
• Operational experience across multi-platform enterprise environments, including Windows Server and Linux administration, alongside core network, web, and database concepts.*

Minimum criteria*

About Working at the Crick

Our values

Everyone who works at the Crick has a valuable role to play in advancing the Crick’s mission and shaping our culture.

• We arebold. We make space for creative, dynamic and imaginative ideas and approaches. We’re not afraid to do things differently.

• We areopen. We’re highly collaborative and interactive, and make sure our activities are visible to the outside world.

• We arecollegial. We show respect for one another, work cooperatively and support the wider community.

At the Francis Crick Institute, we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential to driving innovation and scientific discovery. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to succeed, regardless of their background, identity, or personal circumstances. We actively encourage applications from individuals of all genders, ethnicities, abilities, and experiences. Weare aDisability Confident: Committedemployer and want to ensure that everyone can apply and be part of our recruitment processes and sowe'llmake reasonable adjustments if you need them - just let us know when you apply. If you need assistance with applying (i.e., would like to apply by phone or post) please email: [e-mail]

Find out more about life at the Crick.

What will you receive?

At the Francis Crick Institute, we value our team members and are proud to offer an extensive range of benefits to support their well-being and development:

• Generous Leave: 28 days of annual leave, plus three additional days over Christmas and bank holidays.

• Pension Scheme: Defined contribution pension with employer contributions of up to 16%.

• Health & Well-being:

• 24/7 GP consultation services.

• Occupational health services and mental health support programs.

• Eye care vouchers and discounted healthcare plans.

• Work-Life Balance:

• Back-up care for dependents.

• Childcare support allowance.

• Annual leave purchase options.
• Crick Networks offering diverse groups’ support, community and inclusive social events.

• Perks:

• Discounted gym memberships, bike-to-work scheme, and shopping discounts.

• Subsidised on-site restaurant and social spaces for team interaction.

Please note you must meet the essential criteria listed within the Role Profile, to have your application reviewed.

We reserve the right to withdraw this advert at any given time due to the number of applications received.