Apprentice IT Service Manager

Department for Work and Pensions; Newcastle upon Tyne; Hybrid; GBP 29,000 - 35,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Civil Service Pension

Flexible working

Annual leave up to 30 days

Cycle to work scheme

Employee discount scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

Department for Work and Pensions is offering a Digital Support Technician Apprenticeship as a Service Management Apprentice. You will learn on the job while studying towards a Level 3 qualification, supported by a line manager and skills coach.

The apprenticeship lasts up to 18 months, with time allocated in working hours to complete it. You may work across Children Live Service or Digital Payment Services areas, travel to digital hubs as needed, and join a multi-year transformation programme

Qualifications

• Right to live and work in the UK for the full 18‑month duration of the apprenticeship.
• Eligibility to commence the Digital Support Technician Apprenticeship in January 2027.
• Part-time option available with a minimum of 30 hours per week.

Responsibilities

• Support service management duties including reporting, incident, change and problem management.
• Assist in governance of Children Live Service and Digital Payment Services where applicable.
• Collaborate with Operations across levels to drive service quality and customer satisfaction.
• Learn from experienced specialists and contribute to keeping essential services running smoothly.

Skills

Monitoring tools

Tools

Monitoring tools

Job description

Job summary

Do you have an appetite for learning?

Do you want to apply and further develop your IT technical skills in an organisation that makes a difference to UK citizens lives?

Do you want to work in an exciting and highly motivated team, where no two days are the same and where you can help and support the reliability of live services within our IT applications?

If so, we want to hear from you!

DWP Digital build and maintain user-friendly digital services that enable millions of people to access the help, advice and financial support they need.

Whether our users need to claim benefit, get help finding a job, or understand their State Pension, were the team designing, developing and delivering the world‑class digital services they need.

This is an exciting opportunity to earn as you learn and get hands on practice while you study towards a Level 3 qualification. Youll receive formal learning to develop crucial skills, knowledge and behaviours for your career and be part of a great team. If you wish to find out more about the Digital Support Technician Apprenticeship, please click here.

As well as being given 20% off the job training to allow you to complete your apprenticeship within your working hours, youll be supported by your line manager, skills coach and the service management community, as well as fellow apprentices on the programme, so you will have plenty of sources of encouragement to help you succeed. Theres a lot to learn and do, so you need to be ready to be proactive, work hard and participate in the many opportunities youll be given to showcase your skills.

As part of the role, some travel to the other digital hubs may be required.

Job description

A service manager will undertake a range of key service management duties including reporting, incident management, change and problem management, and management of services to agreed targets and work closely with Operations across all levels, driving increased service quality and improved customer service satisfaction.

As an apprentice Service Manager, you will be assigned to one of the following areas:

Children Live Service

You will be supporting IT services used by Child Maintenance System caseworkers and customers of the CMS service. Tasks include:

• Utilising monitoring tools to determine system health;
• Liaising with caseworkers to determine the extent of issues and resolving, or escalating, where appropriate.
• Involvement in Change governance and any Children-impacting Changes within the DWP Estate or external third parties;
• Support Problem and Knowledge Management services, ensuring that these are kept up to date and fit for purpose.

Digital Payment Services

Every week, DWP helps millions of people receive the benefits and pensions they depend on. Behind the scenes, technology plays a critical role in making sure those payments reach the right person at the right time.

As a Service Management Apprentice, you'll join us on an exciting once in a generation, multi-year transformation programme, helping modernise some of the UK's most important public services. You'll learn from experienced specialists, gain valuable skills, and contribute to keeping essential services running smoothly for millions of customers.

From day one, you'll be part of a team that solves real problems, supports vital services, and helps shape the future of digital payments.

About the apprenticeship

You will be supported by your line manager, skills coach, fellow apprentices, DWP Apprenticeship Team and the wider Digital and Transformation Directorate. You will have access to a variety of sources of encouragement to help you succeed. There is a lot to learn and do, so you need to be proactive, work hard and participate in the many opportunities you will be given to showcase your skills.

The Digital Support Technician Apprenticeship is expected to take up to 15 months to complete, however the full learning journey for this role may take up to 18 months. You will be given time out from your role to work on your apprenticeship. You must be committed to seeing through the apprenticeship and completing the qualification within the appropriate time period.

To be eligible for this appointment and the apprenticeship funding, there are a number of eligibility criteria set out by the Department for Education. Full details can be found at Apprenticeship funding rules: 2026 to 2027.

Candidates should ensure that they can meet these before applying. Some key points are listed below:

• Have the right to live and work in the UK valid for the full 18-month duration of the apprenticeship and associated learning journey.
• Must have lived in the UK and/or EEA for 3 years prior to apprenticeship start date or hold some form of exemption see Department for Education funding rules. Apprenticeship funding rules: 2026 to 2027
• Not be in full-time education or be already undertaking another apprenticeship by the apprenticeship start date.
• If you are 16 or 17 you are required to stay in full time education or training until you are 18, commencing this apprenticeship will allow you to meet this requirement.
• Apprentices aged 16 to 18 at the start of their apprenticeship, that do not already hold a relevant English or Maths qualification, will still be required to complete the appropriate functional skills qualifications to pass their apprenticeship.
• You must not hold an existing qualification at the same or higher level in a similar subject to the apprenticeship. A qualification in a non-related subject would be acceptable. Eligibility will be confirmed by our nominated training provider.
• You must not already have significant previous work experience covering the knowledge, skills and behaviours demonstrated in the apprenticeship standard identified above.
• If you have already worked in a similar field, you should consider applying for other vacancies that do not require you to complete the apprenticeship, as too much relevant experience will make you ineligible and we would need to withdraw the offer in these circumstances.

Please list your qualifications in the qualification section. Failure to meet any of the eligibility criteria or not listing your qualifications may result in you being withdrawn.

We expect the apprenticeship to start from January 2027. Please ensure that you are available for this date.

Please Note - Successful appointments to this role will be subject to completion of the apprenticeship programme. Failure to comply or failure to achieve the required apprenticeship may be dealt with under disciplinary or poor performance procedures and may lead to termination of the employment contract or exceptionally, redeployment into another DWP role.

Please note - If you are applying on a part-time basis, you are required to do a minimum of 30 hours per week as this role combines work and studies.

Person specification

The Behaviours we are assessing are outlined in the selection process details.

If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact .

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

Alongside your salary of 32,137, Department for Work and Pensions contributes 9,310 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

We also have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

• Working patterns to support work/life balance such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
• Generous annual leave at least 23 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (prorata for part time employees), plus 9 days public and privilege leave.
• Support for financial wellbeing, including interest-free season ticket loans for travel, a cycle to work scheme and an employee discount scheme.
• Health and wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme for specialist advice and counselling and the opportunity to join HASSRA a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly).
• Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and shared parental leave pay after 1 years continuous service.
• Funded learning and development to support progress in your role and career. This includes industry recognised qualifications and accreditations, coaching, mentoring and talent development programmes.
• An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join professional and interpersonal networks including Womens Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.

Hybrid Working

This role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in their DWP office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work.