2nd Line Support Technician - (Coventry) Apprenticeship
Department for Education
Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 20th October 2024
Details
Reference number
Salary
Job grade
Contract type
Apprenticeship
Business area
Type of role
Information Technology
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Contents
Location
About the job
Job summary
The purpose of the Technology Directorate is to help the department deliver its objectives by being a trusted partner, providing support and expertise to deploy and develop:
- IT desktop services and applications.
- IT infrastructure and infrastructure services.
- Application and system development.
The directorate is part of a wider Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) community across government, sharing a clear vision of making public services digital by default, simpler, clearer and faster to use.
Working to the Onsite Service Manager, you will take operational responsibility for managing your own queue, which will consist of incidents and requests and form part of our onsite support service. The role of the Onsite Support Engineer is to ensure that our DfE colleagues are up and running as soon as possible supporting internal users and multiple external user groups that interact with DfE’s externally facing IT Services.
Work will be allocated by onsite leads so flexibility is key. You will also need strong stakeholder management and communications skills as you will liaise with VIPs and will be carrying out onsite clinics. You will work collaboratively with the other teams, specifically including Service Desk, End User Computing, Networks and Security to ensure that our users’ requirements are met. You will be accountable for maintaining business critical services in a fast-paced, pressurised environment and you will need to stay calm under pressure.
Job description
Right now we are recruiting a 2nd Line Support Technician (Apprenticeship) to work in our Digital & Technology team.
As a 2nd Line Support Technician, you will take operational responsibility for managing your own queue, which will consist of incidents and requests and form part of our onsite support service. You’ll need strong stakeholder management and communication skills as you will work with a wide audience at all levels as well as carrying out onsite clinics. Work will be allocated to you and flexibility is important.
You will work closely with other teams, specifically Service Desk, End User Computing, Networks and Security, to meet user requirements.
You will be accountable for maintaining business critical services in a fast-paced, busy environment and you will need to stay calm under pressure.
Main Responsibilities:
Staff in this role will be required to demonstrate strong customer focus, professionalism, flexibility and commitment to delivery of outcomes.
You will be expected to:
- Deliver high quality support services for a range of IT systems and services.
- Handle incidents and requests from a diverse user base of key internal and external stakeholders, liaising with other government departments as required.
- Centrally manage and administer accounts that are used by stakeholders.
- Make extensive use of the organisations IT Toolset for Incident and Problem Management, request fulfilment, reporting and tracking of Service Levels.
- Diagnose and triage customer incidents/requests.
- Ensure all queries are resolved within agreed timescales to meet Service Level Agreements (SLA).
- Ensure security of end user products is not compromised and follow appropriate security procedures.
- Providing onsite support clinics to remote sites (travel will be required) as per agreed schedule or as and when required.
- Maintain and update Onsite Teams’ operational documents, such as knowledge bases and user guides.
- Carry out regular reviews of existing processes and procedures and suggest areas for improvement.
- Carry out testing of new system functionality where appropriate.
- Provide guidance to projects during planning and rollout as and when required.
Apprenticeship
As this role includes completion of the Communications Technician, Level 3 apprenticeship, please check the eligibility requirements below using the apprenticeship standard: Level 3 Information Communications Technician.
- You must have lived in the UK for 3 years prior to apprenticeship start date and not be undertaking another apprenticeship at the same time.
- You must not already have a substantial amount of the skills and knowledge that is covered in the contents of the apprenticeship standard.
- You must not have already worked in a similar role, or your previous learning, and/or work experience covers the contents (Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviours) of the apprenticeship standard.
Please do not apply if:
- You already have all the skills and knowledge that is covered in the contents of the apprenticeship standard.
- You have already worked in a similar role, or your previous learning, and/or work experience covers the contents (Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviours) of the apprenticeship standard.
- Part of this apprenticeship is to complete a level 2 English and maths functional skills qualification. If you have already achieved GCSEs in English and maths at Level 4 (grade C) or equivalent or a higher grade, you will not need to complete the functional skills qualification.
At the enrolment state, the individual's eligibility will be checked by the training provider.
Person specification
Essential Criteria:
- Customer Service Management - Resolves user requests in line with the agreed service level agreement, able to empathise with the end user and uses customer-focused metrics to achieve a satisfying outcome.
- Information Technology - Training will be provided but an interest in pursuing a career within IT services is essential, Ownership and Initiative:- takes ownership of problems and proactively resolves technical problems, ensuring that technical solutions continue to meet business requirements and takes full accountability for actions taken and decisions made.
- Service Focus - Aware of different products and services and how they are used together to deliver business requirements.
- User Focus - Understands users and can identify who they are and what their needs are based on evidence.
- Excellent communication skills both written and verbal.
- Basic understanding of Microsoft Products. E.g. Outlook, Skype, Teams, Word & Excel.
- Basic understanding of networking & telephony.
- The ability to use your own initiative to aid in diagnostics.
- Flexible approach to working patterns as we operate on a shift rota basis.
Desirable Criteria:
- Asset and configuration Management
- Awareness of tracking, logging and correcting information to protect assets and components.
- Continual service improvement
- Awareness of the importance to consider developing process efficiency and common ways in which processes are optimised.
- Supports specific activities to improve development processes.
- Able to spot or identify obvious deficiencies.
- ITIL v3 OR v4 foundation.
- Working knowledge of ServiceNow.
- Windows 10 troubleshooting experience.
- An understanding of ITIL methodology.
- Microsoft O365 skills.
- Microsoft Certified Professional.
Desirable criteria will only be assessed at interview, in the event of a tie break situation, to make an informed decision.
Benefits
Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department’s transfer / promotion policies.
As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK.
You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years’ service. In addition, all staff receive the King's Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays.
We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
Most DfE employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending at least 60% of their time in an office or work setting. Changes to these working arrangements are available in exceptional circumstances but must be agreed with the line manager and in line with the requirements of the role.
Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.
As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Application and Sift:
You will be asked to provide:
- A CV setting out your career history highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant to this role.
- A Statement of Suitability (no more than 1000 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification. To confirm, the maximum word count for the statement of suitability is 1000. Please adhere to this limit as anything over 1000 words will not be taken into account.
We will use your CV and statement to assess your experience and suitability for the role against the essential criteria listed in the person specification section above.
If you are successful at application sift stage candidates will progress onto interview.
Interview:
During the interview you will be asked experience based questions to demonstrate, using examples, how you meet the essential skills listed in the advert.
Other Information
In your application, please don’t include personal information that identifies you.
This means we can recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - it's called name blind recruitment (opens in a new window).
Please ensure that you remove from your application, all references to your:
- name/title
- educational institutions
- age
- gender
- email address
- postal address
- phone number
- nationality/immigration status
We understand that you might use AI and other resources for your application; however, please ensure all information you provide is factually accurate, truthful, and original and doesn’t include ideas or work that isn’t your own. This is so that your application is authentically and credibly your own.
We reserve the right to raise the minimum pass mark in the event of a high volume or strong field of candidates.
Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK from the location options provided and not from overseas.
The government is committed to supporting apprenticeships, enabling people to learn and progress in a role whilst earning. We want to monitor the number of people who have completed apprenticeships who are now applying to progress further in their career and are asking this question to all candidates, on all vacancies. You will be asked a question as part of the application process about any previous apprenticeships you have completed. Your response to this question will not affect your application and it is not a requirement of the role to have completed a previous apprenticeship.
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check maybe carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstance some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Department of Education of your intention by emailing Pre-Employment.Checks.DFE@education.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
Department for Education do not cover the cost of travel to your interview/assessment unless otherwise stated.
A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.
Candidates will be posted in merit order based upon location preference. Where more than one location is advertised you will be asked to state your preferred location.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
Terms and conditions of candidates transferring from ALBs and NDPBs
Bodies that are not accredited by the Civil Service Commission and are not able to advertise at Across Government on Civil Service jobs will be treated as external new starters and will come into DfE on modernised terms and conditions with a salary at the band minimum.
Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission but do not have civil service status will be offered modernised terms and will not have continuous service recognised for leave or sickness benefits. Salaries should be offered at band minimum, but there is some flexibility where this would cause a detriment to the individual.
Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission and do have Civil Service status will be treated as OGD transfers. Staff appointed on lateral transfer will move on to pre-modernised DfE terms (unless they were on modernised terms in their previous organisation). Staff appointed on promotion will move on to modernised DfE terms. Staff will transfer over on their existing salary (on lateral transfer) and any pay above the DfE pay band maximum will be paid as a mark time allowance. Staff moving on promotion will have their salaries calculated using the principles set out in the attached OGD transfer supplementary information.
Reasonable adjustment
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
Contact Department of Education via centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
Any move to Department for Education (DfE) will mean you will no longer be able to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Steve Green
- Email : steve.green@education.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : Centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk
Further information
