JOB DESCRIPTION

Employment status and working hours

Permanent, full time.

Full time hours at the University are 35 per week with the standard working pattern Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00. As part of your apprenticeship, you will be assigned one day per week dedicated to study for your Level 3 IT qualification.

Organisation structure

Chief Operating Officer, IT Service.

Your line manager will be Hayley McCall, Head of IT Service.

Place of work flexibility

The majority of your working week will be spent at our office in Reading and the rest at your home*. The exact split of days/hours is negotiable but must include a minimum of three working days each week in Horizons on the core days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). The office closes on Fridays. You can attend the office on Mondays if you have worked the three core days. *Working from home is only possible if your environment is suitable.

High level summary of job role

As an IT Support Apprentice, you'll be an important part of the IT Service team, helping to maintain and support a variety of systems across the University for both students and employees. You will also have the opportunity to complete an IT Solutions Technician (Level 3) apprenticeship which is fully supported by the University, allowing you to actively apply your learning to the role and consistently develop your skillset. As part of the IT Service team, you will be integral in supporting the University which consists of around 320 internal staff, 200 associate lecturers, and 4,000 students, ensuring efficient and high-quality service for everyone.

Specific job role accountabilities and responsibilities

• Support with updating tickets and maintaining documentation and records for operational efficiency.
• Respond to support requests within the assigned Service Level Agreement (SLA).
• Provide excellent customer service and keep customers updated throughout their ticket's lifecycle.
• Follow IT procedures for setups, new starters, changes, and leavers.
• Escalate incidents or requests to the appropriate person or team when necessary.
• Collaborate with team members and other departments to continue enhancing your learning.
• Assist with setting up technology for new starters and support with the onboarding process.
• Undertake an Apprenticeship programme alongside your role within the IT Service team.
• Deliver excellent customer service in all aspects of the role.
• Provide ad-hoc support to the IT Service team as and when required.

Other important features of the job role

Line management responsibilities: None.

Budget responsibility: None.

In this role you will liaise with the following: Employees across the University, Associate Lecturers, Students, Third Party Suppliers, and Contractors.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

E = Essential person requirement; D = Desirable person requirement

How the person requirement will be assessed:

A = Application; I = Interview; T = Test or other assessment

Please be aware that as part of onboarding processes, we will seek original documentary evidence of the relevant academic and/or professional qualifications which you include within your job application. This is all part of our comprehensive pre-employment screening which also includes checking your identity, right to work, criminal record history (basic disclosure), and three years employment history.

Qualifications and training

GCSE Maths and English language Grade C or 4 or above (E, A).

Further related qualification in IT/Technology (D, A).

Previous experience

Experience working with laptops, peripherals and printers (E, A, I).

Experience in a similar role (D, A, I).

Skills, knowledge, and aptitudes

Knowledge of Windows 10/11 and Mac OS (E, A, I).

Strong communication skills, both written and verbal (E, A, I).

Effective organisation and time management skills (E, I).

Ability to accurately document assets, processes, and solutions (E, A, I).

Strong troubleshooting skills (E, A, I).

Ability to work well within a team (E, A, I).

Enthusiasm for the latest technology advances (E, A, I).

Digital skills confidence: We use MS Office which includes Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and several other systems/technology (E, I, T).

Other requirements or special requirements

Alignment to the University’s core values of Passion, Integrity, Excellence and Support; all employees are expected to demonstrate our values at work (E, I).

Commitment to delivering positive outcomes for our students; we want our students to be successful (E, I).

You must be prepared to undertake mandatory online training should you be appointed including Data Protection, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, Prevent, and EDI (E, I).

A commitment to CPD and a desire for a career in Technology (E, A, I).

You must have been a resident in the UK for the last three years in order to qualify for apprenticeship funding (E, A, I).

PAY AND BENEFITS

Salary: Circa £22,600 per annum.

Holiday: 26 days paid holiday (rising to 28 with service) plus paid bank/public holidays plus up to five paid closure days (typically between Christmas and New Year); all per holiday year Full Time Equivalent. Our holiday year runs from 1 August to 31 July. We also have a holiday buy and sell scheme in place. Sometimes the University does not need to close for five days per year and any balance (for example one day), can be used as a paid Wellbeing Day to take time out for your own physical or mental health.

Pension and life assurance: Pensions auto-enrolment to the People’s Pension which is a default salary sacrifice scheme. You may opt out of salary sacrifice but remain in the scheme, or you may choose to opt out altogether. We provide life assurance (death in service) cover as standard to all employees.

Family-friendly policies: Policies in place for all types of family-friendly statutory leave with enhanced pay available from day one of employment for some leave types. Access to Tax-Free Childcare (Government scheme).

Wellbeing: Full access to the Employee Assistance Programme as well as the Thrive Mental Wellbeing app. Several employees are trained Mental Health First Aiders and can support staff. We have a wellbeing policy and we focus on five pillars of wellbeing.

Sustainable travel: Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice schemes.

Parking: We have locked sheds for bicycles. For cars, for Horizons based roles, we may in the future be able to offer parking on site however you must not assume this will be possible. Every now and then we may have a spare parking space become available and you can ask to join the waiting list. The University is keen wherever possible, to encourage staff to commute as sustainably as possible.

Other health related benefits: Employer-funded Health Cash Plan (Simplyhealth) and voluntary dental insurance (Unum).

Other valuable benefits:

• Charity giving options available including one voluntary paid day, per annum.
• You will have access to Microsoft Office 365 applications for personal use.
• You will have access to range of lifestyle discounts and everyday savings.
• We offer learning platforms including LinkedIn learning.

On the Join the team page of our website, you will find the full list of employee benefits.

APPLICATIONS - THINGS TO CONSIDER

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Hayley McCall on 0118 467 2430 or email h.mccall@ube.ac.uk. For any other enquiries please contact HR on 0118 467 2454 / 2433 or email recruitment@ube.ac.uk

Did one of our employees recommend you? If you apply on the recommendation of an existing employee, please make sure to mention their name within your application.

We're passionate about sustainability and we have a five-year strategic plan: We expect job seekers to be curious about who we are and what we do. We point you towards a couple of resources about who we are and sustainability.

Closing date and next steps

We will receive applications until the advert closes on Tuesday 16 September 2025 at 17:00. We will not consider late applications. Our ATS does not screen applications, we humans do. Applications may be reviewed prior to the closing date and occasionally, you may be invited to interview ahead of the closing date.

Interview details

Dates for interview will be advised to you later in the process. We'll ask you to tell us about any dates you cannot make, up to 4 weeks from the closing date; this helps us to plan interviews should you be shortlisted, prior to contacting you.

Interviews are normally carried out over Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Depending on the job role and place of work, your interview may be at our Reading or London office. Please be prepared for a two-stage interview process, held on different dates. As part of the interview process, you will likely meet a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Note for internal candidates

If you are an existing employee, we request you inform your current line manager of your intention to apply for this role.