IT desktop support technician

This is an exciting time to join our local, community-focused trust. This role is a vital part of our journey to develop, improve and support our digital and IT services across the trust. As a key position, this role will support young people and employees alike to access and use technology within Severndale Academy.

The trust recognises the importance of technology, the use of technology and digital platforms to enhance learning, improve a young person's outcomes and to help prepare young people for life in a digital world, alongside how technology can play a key role in assisting young people with complex needs to navigate the world. Therefore, it is vital that the trust has key roles within the digital, IT and data services delivery team to support young people, employees, and the community we serve in accessing high-quality technology, and to ensure that there is a proactive and supportive service being delivered.

The role will work closely with, and be line managed by, the Strategic IT Manager & Technical Lead at Severndale Academy, who will support and work with IT desktop support technicians to manage the academy's digital estate. On a day-to-day basis, the role will work closely with the academy's leadership team to ensure the digital estate is meeting their needs for our core business of educating young people.

This role is more than just a IT technician role, you will be working with key people and senior leaders within the academy team - to ensure technology and platforms are being used to utilise full stack capability, proactive maintenance and planning is taking place and that the digital and IT support service is being driven in a customer focused manner, prioritising activities which have high impact in the classroom.

It is vital that the potential candidate has a can-do attitude and is committed to their own personal development in an ever-changing landscape of digital innovation and technology.

I am confident that the successful candidate will find tremendous support within the Learning Community Trust, where collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement are fundamental principles - ensuring that we offer the best service and experience to our young people in Telford and Shropshire., The use of technology, developing our young people's digital skills and awareness, is an imperative element of school life. All our academies have a range of young people from different backgrounds; however, across the communities we serve, we have a high proportion of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, which can create barriers to accessing technology outside the classroom. It is vital that our academies' technology is well maintained to support teaching and learning, and proactive support is given to enable learning to take place without disruption from technological problems.

It is the role of the IT desktop support technician to support the trust's academies with their IT requirements and support needs. The IT desktop support technician will be the on-site support for our academies. Each IT desktop support technician is linked to a dedicated site/sites, depending on the trust and academy requirements.

The IT desktop support technician will nurture a good relationship with key individuals at each academy to understand their need for use of technology, and work within the trust's digital, IT and data services team to scope, implement and deliver solutions to meet their technology needs - in keeping with the trust's vision and strategy.

The IT desktop support technician will need to understand the academy/academies they support, technical priorities, to deliver proactive service to ensure minimum disruption, but also to be able to understand priorities when there is technical disruption and how to respond.

The IT desktop support technician will be responsible for:

• Deliver a customer-focused, first- and second-line IT desktop support primarily in person, but also support by phone, chat, email and video conferencing - with knowledge of using and recording actions through ITSM systems

• Provide excellent, prioritised fault finding and fixes for technology disruption/faults - working with escalation paths where required

• Review support request and log/escalate activities which are beyond the first- and secondline remit to the trust support helpdesk or 3rdparty support

• Ensure that the campus's asset register is kept up-to-date and work with the relevant person within trust digital, IT and data services and relevant academy employees to ensure the equipment lifecycle is managed

• Conduct regular review of equipment, recording any known issues to ensure that proactive support, maintenance and asset life-cycle management can be carried out

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• Support the academy to consider requirements, issues and concerns of one-to-one equipment schemes

• Actively ensure that all devices have the correct filtering and monitoring systems deployed as directed by the trust to ensure the safety of our pupils and in line with statutory guidance such as Keeping Children Safe in Education and the Department of Education technology standards

• Deploy and install a range of IT and digital assets across campus

• Support with the development, deployment and management of assistive technologies to support young people's development

• Utilise device management platform(s) to manage end users' devices, ensuring that updates and new builds are being deployed in a timely manner, in line with the trust and campus requirements

• Support with the deployment of software, through relevant pathways, local installs or deployed software through the device management platform

• Work with relevant members of the digital, IT and data services team to resolve issues, but also to plan for changes or requests

• Support with the creation and issuing of log-in accounts, ensuring the correct permissions and licensing is applied in line with trust guidance and policies

• Issue ID badges through local arrangements or through Trust Central badge printing. In addition, add permission to relevant access control systems locally and/or trust-wide access control systems

• Understand the general use, operationally and functionally, of the Microsoft 365 stack to be able to support users to access and troubleshoot, including the following systems and packages:

o Exchange Online o Microsoft Teams o OneDrive o SharePoint o Office suite (to include Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote)

• Understand the support needs of the academy to delivery proactive support/training/demonstration for best use of systems for both teaching and support operations - linked to trust priorities and vision

• Proactively support employees accessing IT, working with them in a supportive manner to build their levels of digital literacy

• Understand the importance of data and cybersecurity, to support users' access level and use systems effectively without posing a data or cybersecurity risk

• Understand the importance and process where there is a potential cyber risk/attack and the processes to take, working with the academy's Strategic IT Manager & Technical Lead and trust's Head of IT and Data, alongside other 3rd party support

• Support the trusts information and data governance function, to ensure legal compliance for all systems across the trust, and information requests to meet statutory requirements, * Assist with communication within the academy, this can be through different digital media and supporting leaders to prepare and publish communications within agreed parameters

• Support with maintaining digital communication platforms such as websites to ensure they are up-to-date and compliant, working with the academy/academies' leadership

• Assist with the set-up and running of IT and digital-related aspects of events such as open events and parents' evenings

• Work closely with the data support team to ensure user support requests are dealt with in a timely manner within the department's remit

• Be committed to continuous professional development, in a fast-moving sector, working with the line manager to agree on training and events which will support professional development

• Be proactive and customer-focused to deliver high-quality service, with a willingness to learn and adapt

• Support with other tasks which are relevant to the role and level

• Proven experience working in an IT support team for medium to large digital estates (essential).

• Ability to demonstrate working knowledge of basic to moderately complex hardware and software and problem-solving skills (essential)

• Educated with at least a pass in maths and English at level 2/GCSE (essential)

• Valid driving licence with access to a vehicle to regularly travel between Severndale campuses (essential)

• Experience working in the education sector and the importance of safeguarding/Keeping Children Safe in Education (desirable)

• Educated with a relevant IT/computer science qualification at least at level 3 (desirable)

• Professional qualifications/training relevant, such as Microsoft Cloud Administrator, Microsoft Intune fundamentals, etc. (desirable)

SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

• Excellent customer service skills, to deliver a customer-focused approach to support requests and capable of comfortably working in a fast-paced, team-oriented, and self-motivated environment (essential)

• Extensive knowledge of the Microsoft 365 suite (essential)

• In-depth knowledge of apps within Microsoft 365 to develop data securely in multiple ways (essential)

• Knowledge of Apple School Manager and MDM system for Apple devices (desirable)

• Technical proficiency in troubleshooting hardware and software issues across a range of operating systems (essential), * Knowledgeable in the building, imaging, and setup of new device deployments, including systems such as Intune and Autopilot (essential)

• Understanding of the IT systems and network ecosystem to be able to give high-quality support (essential)

• Ability to adapt to new technologies and a mindset dedicated to continuing professional development (essential)

Severndale Academy is a large special school which is part of the Learning Community Trust, a multi-academy trust working across Shropshire and Telford.

Our provision is split across three sites, including our main Monkmoor site, our satellite provision working within the Mary Webb mainstream secondary school and also our 16-25 provision based at Shrewsbury College called Futures. Please take some time to look through the various parts of the website for more information.

Our children and young people are aged 2.5 to 25 and have a range of learning difficulties. These include moderate, severe, complex and profound learning difficulties, those with autism, complex medical conditions and physical and mobility difficulties. A number of our young people present behavioural difficulties arising from their condition; many have communication difficulties.

Our curriculum after the Foundation Stage (EYFS to Year 2) is arranged into Pathways 1, 2 and 3 to enable us to further tailor the curriculum to the strengths and needs of our learners. Please see our Curriculum page for further information.

Our vision is to ensure that the needs of all of our young people are 'truly met' and that we ensure pupils leave Severndale being as independent as they can be and are also ready to access 'life beyond the school'. We focus on developing quality interactions, relationships and supporting positive communication, as well as providing high-quality learning experiences in a dynamic, creative, enjoyable and safe environment., Tenure Permanent Hours 37 hours, full year Salary £29,064 - £31,022 (Scale 5 points 13-17)

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The Learning Community Trust is a multi-academy trust which spans education for children and young people from the age of 2 years old through to 16 years old, and up to 25 years old in our specialist settings. We have an excellent reputation both regionally and nationally and are proud to place our young people, staff and families at the heart of everything we do. We want our young people to thrive, enjoy school, and understand the importance of respect for others. The Learning Community Trust exists because we have a commitment and passion for providing great academies for our communities. We acknowledge and celebrate the distinctness and individuality of each academy's community; we celebrate equality, diversity, inclusivity and individuality because we believe that we have far more in common than that which divides us. The trust academies span across the education sector, with primaries, secondaries, and specialist academies. This means we are responsible for thousands of young people and staff across our campuses; we take that responsibility very seriously. Each academy is individual and has its own distinctive ethos. However, we all share the same Learning Community Trust value, to support all our young people to ensure that - regardless of their background or starting point - they can achieve exceptional educational outcomes. Our absolute focus is to provide the highest quality of education and pastoral care in our academies, developing compassionate, caring, humble and inspirational young people who can thrive within an everchanging global community. Staff members across our trust benefit from a broad spectrum of training opportunities, including nationally recognised development programs, all tailored to support the specific needs of our academies and their personnel. Whether you are beginning your journey in education or are an experienced leader, we are here to ensure you reach your fullest potential. Our Mission Delivering an inclusive, compelling and transformative education that empowers young people, both in the classroom and beyond, preparing them for the rapidly changing world ahead. Our Vision Developing compassionate, resilient and inspirational young people who can thrive within an ever-changing global community. Our Values A trust with heart Successful young Never leave a child Learning for all people behind Thriving community Respect for all Together we are Coping with the stronger challenges of life