IT Customer Service Roles Ref.2692

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IT / Information Technology
Bude, Scarborough
Permanent
Full-time and part-time opportunities (flexible working hours available)
£22,336 (basic salary £20,147 and concessionary payment of £2,189)

About Us 

At GCHQ, we unlock the complex world of data and communications to keep the UK and its citizens safe, both in the real world and online. Working closely with our British Intelligence partners in MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from threats including serious organised crime, terrorism, and cyber-attacks. A role in GCHQ means you’ll have varied and fascinating work in a supportive and encouraging environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.


 
The Role 

As part of GCHQ’s first line IT support, you’ll work in teams providing a critical service to the organisation.  Our IT Service Desk is different to others – whilst still focussed on getting colleagues up-and-running when their IT has gone wrong, we’re unique in offering the opportunity to support a wide range of tools and applications that just don’t exist anywhere else.  We’re on a journey to move away from traditional telephone-based support, so you’re just as likely to be helping our people through a range a digital services, or face-to-face.


Outside of the Service Desk are a wealth of other equally critical teams which support our people in their day-to-day work, which we are also recruiting for.  These include teams which manage their IT accounts and accesses; purchase and manage software licensing; enable us to speak to our partners around the world; support the suite of services people can request in our ticketing system; and look for opportunities to automate our work to make us more efficient.  


When it comes to flexible working we consider all options, including part-time (3+ days), compressed hours, and working from either of the locations above. Some roles may support hybrid working (minimum of four days in the office) but others will require you to be office-based.


About You 

You will have a minimum of 2 GCSEs at Grade 4 / A-C / O Level Pass equivalent or above in Maths and English Language. In order to support others, you will be a competent user of IT but you don’t need to be an expert - you’re likely to be the person that friends and family call to fix their computer or set up their new phone, and you’ll be confident using common applications such as Microsoft Word and Outlook.  As this will be your first step in a career with us, we want you to be interested to learn more about technology, too.

It’s important that you can communicate with others well and have a strong customer-focussed mindset.  Customer service skills from any previous role are desirable, but not essential – as long as you can demonstrate the desire to learn and develop.


Training and Development 

We’ll provide comprehensive training on a variety of IT applications and administration tools relevant to your role. That might be our main ticketing system, our own in-house software, or tools created by our teams to track and manage the service they provide.  You’ll find that we’re different to other organisations, in that so much of our technology is unique and bespoke to us.


We offer a unique opportunity to learn more about the work of the intelligence services and our technology, as well as develop the wider skills and competencies that you’ll need to further your career within GCHQ.  Your next career step could be to specialise in a particular part of IT Service Management, seek promotion and start your leadership journey, or perhaps explore the opportunities across wider GCHQ.


An organisation induction will be provided to new entrants to welcome them to GCHQ and support some of the unique elements of working for an intelligence agency. Following this, a more specific induction to working for the IT section of GCHQ to help new entrants understand more closely how their work is vital to supporting the wider mission. And, upon arriving with their team, new entrants can expect to be supported in becoming familiar with the building they are working in and their day-to-day role. 


New entrants can expect to have an individual in their team training and supporting them.  Formal buddy and mentor programmes exist, too.  Peer support is provided for all new entrants across GCHQ.
There will be opportunities to gain formal qualifications such as from the Service Desk Institute and the IT Information Library.


Rewards and Benefits   

You’ll receive a starting salary of: £22,336 (basic salary £20,147 and concessionary payment of £2,189) Plus other benefits including:  
 
•    25 Days Annual Leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days public and privilege holidays 
•    Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme 
•    Interest-free season ticket loan 
•    Excellent pension scheme 
•    Cycle to work scheme 
•    Facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations) 
•    Paid parental and adoption leave.  


Equal Opportunities 

At GCHQ, diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds. 

Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our websites: 

https://www.gchq-careers.co.uk/life-at-gchq/diversity-inclusion.html 


We’re Disability Confident 

GCHQ are proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP’s Disability Confident scheme. This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people. Being Disability Confident, we aim to offer a person-to-person interview to any candidate who self-identifies as disabled and meets the essential criteria for the role. This is our ‘Offer of Interview’ (OOI). To secure an interview for this vacancy, the essential criteria (in order of application process) are: 
 
•    Minimum 2 GCSEs at Grade 4 / A-C / O Level Pass equivalent or above in Maths and English Language
•    Passing the application sift carried out by the Hiring Manager 

 

What to Expect 

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

•    Initial application 
•    Full application 
•    Application sift, looking at your motivation for the role and the organisation 
•    Virtual Interview
•    If successful you will receive a conditional offer of employment, subject to vetting 
 
Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process, including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer. 

 

Before You Apply 

To work at GCHQ, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteria here.

This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more about the vetting process here.

Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage. 
 
The role is based in Bude and Scarborough, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application, as we do not offer relocation costs. 

Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.  


 
Right to Withdraw Statement

Please be aware that we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.  

This Program / Vacancy is closed to applications.