IT Service Desk Customer Service Apprentice IT Services 107057AP Apprentice Grade 4

Position Details

IT Services

Location: University of Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham UK

Full time starting annum rising to 27166 per annum after 12 months service

Apprentice Grade 4

Full Time

Fixed term contract for 18 months

Apprenticeship Standard: Customer Service Specialist Level 3

Training Provider: HIT Training

Closing date: 20^th March 2026 - Please upload a CV with your application.

Eligibility: The training delivered in apprenticeships is funded through the Growth and Skills levy which is subject toDepartment for Work and Pensions funding rulesfor apprenticeships. When reviewing applications the University and the training provider will be checking candidates meet thiseligibility criteria. Further information is available on ourwebpage.

You have normally been a resident in the UK for the last 3 years. For exemptions please refer to the government funding rules for apprenticeships.

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years andweare equally proud to be recognised as a leading global want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond support them to succeed and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here todevelopthrough our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programmewhichprovides allprofessionalservices staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full almost 5000professionalservices jobs in a wide-range of functionsin Edgbaston andin our campus inDubai there are plenty of opportunities foryou to be able to develop yourcareer at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas innovation and warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we areand how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees andtothe success of the University and depending on the role we offer avarietyof flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible addition you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 dayspaid holidaya year one paid day a year for volunteering occupational sick pay and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus including main bus routes and a train station on campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool shopsplaces to eat and drinkour own art gallery museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about thebenefits of working for the Universityof Birmingham

Apprenticeship context

The IT Service Desk is the public face of the Universitys IT Services department. The Service Desk handles everything from individual technical problems to system outages. They are a single point of contact for our users - helping them to easily find solutions request help and contact other IT teams.

The post holder is primarily responsible for learning how to analyse new issues and requests. This includes taking phone calls from users or helping them in-person as well as online using live chat and our web-based contact form. They are empowered to resolve most queries and accurately assign more complicated or time-consuming issues to other colleagues.

Team members are expected to contribute individually and within a collaborative working environment. This helps us to deliver excellent customer service and meet our service standards. The post holder should demonstrate the values of the IT Service Desk by maintaining open and honest communication collaborating with others and being inclusive and approachable.

Apprenticeship Summary

The IT Service Desk is the public face of the Universitys IT Services department. We are the single point of contact for staff and students supporting everything from individual technical queries to major system outages. Our role is to make it simple for users to access support resolve issues efficiently and connect with the right specialist teams when needed.

This apprenticeship is focused on developing excellent customer service skills within a professional IT environment. The post holder will learn how to analyse and resolve a wide range of IT issues and service requests supporting users via phone live chat our online portal and in person at the front desk. You will resolve many queries directly while ensuring more complex issues are correctly logged categorised and assigned in line with established processes and procedures.

Accuracy consistency and attention to detail are essential. You will gain practical experience in a busy Service Desk environment and develop an understanding of how IT support operates within a large organisation and how your role contributes to supporting the wider University community.

The apprenticeship offers genuine opportunities to build skills knowledge and professional confidence. Success in the role depends on fully engaging with the learning programme seeking feedback and taking responsibility for your own development. We welcome positive contributions to team discussions and knowledge sharing.

Main duties the apprentice will learn:

1. Providing first line IT support to staff students and visitors via all the Service Desks contact methods developing the skills and confidence required to operate as a fully effective first line analyst.

2. Gaining exposure to selected second line support activities as part of the apprenticeship working alongside colleagues to develop an understanding of the full scope of IT Service Desk support.

3. Ensure all user interactions are accurately recorded within the IT Service Management (ITSM) tool maintaining complete and precise ticket documentation. Capture every contact and action taken enabling effective handovers consistent service delivery and full visibility of previous activity.

4. Identifying trends within recent and ongoing issues by monitoring incoming incident records and collaborating with colleagues.

5. Utilising skills experience and documented knowledge to provide solutions to users for the majority of reported issues.

6. Accurately triage more complex or time-consuming issues to other support teams by building a thorough understanding of our services and support teams.

7. Developing a broad understanding of the Universitys organisational structure business functions strategic aims and key stakeholders to accurately assess the impact of issues.

8. Participating in ITIL-based Incident and Problem Management in line with documented processes.

9. Updating the Status Page forsystem outages to keep the wider University informed and sharing updates in the collaboration channel.

10. Being an advocate for our users proactively escalating issues where IT support is not meeting expected service levels to help ensure timely resolution and the delivery of excellent customer service.

11. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of knowledge base articles ensuring documentation is easy to follow written in plain English and tailored to the correct audience.

12. Any other duties that may reasonably be required in line with your position within IT Services or to help deliver excellent customer service.

13. Supports equality and values diversity moderates own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact or bias on others.

You will be expected to engage fully with the University of Birmingham apprenticeship scheme attending mandatory group days and contributing to the successful promotion of the scheme by representing your department in a positive manner.

This apprenticeship would suit:

An individual with a positive attitude towards the provision of exceptional customer service in a demanding IT environment. They will be a people person polite approachable and welcoming able to talk to customers face to face over the phone or via electronic medium. They will be confident able to build strong relationships with team members and customers. They will be hard working calm under pressure with a strong desire to learn.

Required Knowledge Skills Qualifications Experience

• Educated to A Level or equivalent qualification level or substantial equivalent relevant experience.

• A commitment to excellent customer service.

• Good oral and written communication with the ability to tailor responses to specific audiences.

• The ability to work effectively as a member of a team towards quality service goals and deadlines.

• The ability to prioritise and schedule workload in the face of conflicting demands.

• A structured and methodical approach to troubleshooting and problem solving.

• A willingness to adopt and champion new ways of working.

• An understanding of the importance of equality diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

• The ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures

• A basic working knowledge in one of the following (and familiarity with the other):

  1. Microsoft Windows

  2. Mac OS X

• Basic knowledge of mobile devices including tablets and smartphones.

• The ability to maintain an open and approachable demeanour.

• The ability to maintain a high level of accuracy under pressure.

We are looking for someone who demonstrates the core values of the IT Service Desk in everything they do: open and honest communication teamwork and collaboration inclusivity approachability and a genuine commitment to delivering excellent customer service. These values define how we work how we support our users and how we support one another as a team.

Career Pathway

Technical Support Analyst

Desktop Support Specialist

Team Leader

For enquiries please email:

Use of AI in applications:We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.

View our staff values and behaviourshere

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyoneon our website.