IT Service Management Opportunities Ref. 3434

Flexible Working: We offer full-time and part-time opportunities. Full-time roles are based on 37 hours per week with flexibility around the start and finish times, while part-time roles are based on a minimum of four days per week. You can work compressed and flexible hours, depending on both business and personal needs. Due to the nature of the role, home or remote working is not possible, so you should live within a commutable distance.

About Us

GCHQ is an intelligence, cyber, and security agency with a mission to keep the UK safe. We use cutting-edge technology, ingenuity, and partnerships to identify, analyse, and disrupt threats. Working with our intelligence partners MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from terrorism, cyber-attacks, and espionage. At GCHQ, you’ll do varied and fascinating work in a supportive and inclusive environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.

The Role

Whether you’re already working in IT or in an unrelated field, this is a unique opportunity to step into a fascinating role at the very heart of GCHQ. 

The nature of GCHQ’s work relies on our technology and systems functioning seamlessly every day. Our skilled IT Service Management Team ensure that the UK’s Intelligence Services and our partners remain online and connected. Without their expertise, outages to critical systems would not be restored, and access issues would arise, hindering essential operations.

You’ll join a team providing essential IT services for all users of hardware, software, and systems across our organisation and the wider intelligence community. By helping colleagues get what they need and identifying areas for improvement, you’ll make a significant impact. You’ll also be part of a welcoming culture that values and supports you from day one.

Your role will be to ensure that everyone across our community, including overseas colleagues, has uninterrupted access to the IT systems and knowledge they need to do their best work. From supporting new equipment to introducing innovations that advance our services, you’ll play a key role in enhancing our IT support capabilities, ensuring smooth operations. 

This is a role with real scope and dynamic opportunities for growth. You could be helping restore core services, sharing knowledge with users to achieve their outcomes, or creating and managing secure accounts for users to access sensitive data, with strict controls in place. 

You’ll efficiently triage incoming requests and offer high-level support to address critical problems. You might be keeping our Service Request Catalogue up-to-date and user-friendly. This involves keeping its content relevant and ensuring the back-end functions operate smoothly. By developing and maintaining a comprehensive service request catalogue, you’ll provide a range of digital service options to boost productivity and foster innovation. Importantly, you’ll adapt to ever-changing tech demands and deliver reliable, effective and customer-focused support. In doing so, you’ll enable colleagues across the UK’s Intelligence Services to operate safely in the knowledge that they have the right tools, systems and support they need, whenever they need it.

It's not about doing the same thing every day. This is an exciting period of transformation for our team as we seek to constantly improve the service we offer. 

About You

You might be working in IT already, or you might not have any technical experience at all. You could be considering a career change or returning to work after a break. Regardless of your background, you’ll be eager to broaden your experience and apply your existing skills in a new environment. 

Of course, having strong IT skills and some experience in a customer service, or technical support role, teaching, or clerical background will definitely help. All that’s needed is a Level 2 (GCSE or equivalent) qualification in English Language and Maths at Grade 4/C or above. A degree isn’t a requirement for this role, and we’re not just looking for people who’ve only worked in IT. We need people who can bring all kinds of perspectives and ideas. So, if you’ve worked in customer support or service, retail, or similar fields, you probably already have some of the skills we need.

A confident communicator with proven interpersonal skills, you’ll translate technical details to non-technical audiences, whether speaking on the phone, via our automated service, or in person. Critically minded and a puzzle-solver, you’ll understand user requirements, identify resolutions, and recognise what needs immediate attention versus escalation. You’re the type of person who measures service quality and identifies opportunities for new approaches. Proactive and adaptable, you’ll operate across a suite of services, always striving for better customer delivery and keen to be part of our transformation.

Not quite the role you’re looking for? We also have Cryptographic Custodian opportunities available at GCHQ that might be a perfect fit for you. You can find all the information you need about the role here.

Training and Development

We have an exceptional skills community, dedicated to supporting you regardless of your ambitions or skill level. When you join us, you’ll receive an induction to GCHQ to help you understand how we operate and get familiar with the building. You’ll also have a team induction, giving you a comprehensive understanding of our work and why it’s vital.

You don’t need to have worked in an IT role before, as we’ll provide comprehensive training on a variety of IT applications and administration tools. This could include learning about our main ticketing system and proprietary software. Our technology is unique and tailored specifically to our needs. That’s why we don’t expect you to have existing knowledge of our tools and systems; no one does. In this role, you’ll get to see, support, and help optimise unique technologies and processes that enable the work of the UK’s Intelligence Services.

As a new joiner, you can expect to benefit from specialised training and support, as well as our buddy and mentor programmes. While you will need to complete two years in this role before exploring other opportunities, you’ll have the encouragement and support to grow and shape your career your way. You’ll also have the opportunity to work towards formal qualifications (if you don’t already hold them) such as the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) or an SDI Service Desk Analyst (SDA) Training Course.

Rewards and Benefits

You’ll receive a starting salary of £36,408 for Cheltenham, and a salary of £42,658 for roles based in London.  

• 25 days of annual leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years of service, and an additional 10.5 days of public and privilege holidays.

• Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme.

• Opportunities to work flexibly, subject to business needs.

• Excellent pension scheme.

• Cycle to work scheme.

• Facilities such as a subsidised gym and 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 website here.

We’re Disability Confident

GCHQ is 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 fair and proportionate number of person-to-person interviews 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:

• A minimum of 2 GCSEs at Grade 4/C in Mathematics and English Language (or equivalent O-Level, BTEC or Level 2 qualification) – assessed at application sift.

• Demonstrates proficient communication and customer service skills, and is comfortable engaging with multiple stakeholders – assessed at application sift.

• Displays a positive attitude towards problem-solving, consistently finding effective solutions and maintaining a proactive approach.

• Able to identify trends and implement improvements to enhance processes and outcomes, which will need to be evidenced at the application sift.

You will need to pass our assessment sift of 3 questions on the application form.

There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to enable you to do your best. Visit our website for information on the reasonable adjustments we can offer. 

What to Expect

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

• Initial application.
• Full application.
•  Application sift.
•  A competency-based interview – looking at your motivation for the role.

If successful, you’ll receive a conditional offer of employment.

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 to 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.

Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us, to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid having identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you to manage your application with us more securely. 

The role is based in either Cheltenham or London, 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 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 reserve the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date, at either location, 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.