IT Support SME

Howden Group Services Limited; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Howden Group Services Limited seeks an IT Support SME in Manchester to monitor customer experience, manage incidents, and provide advanced Tier 1.5 and 2nd line support. The role involves remote and desk-side assistance across global employees, with a focus on service quality and knowledge management.

You will work in a hybrid setup (office 3 days per week) reporting to the IT Service Delivery Manager, supporting Unisys and third-party partners, and participating in weekend on-call rotations and

Qualifications

• Excellent customer service mindset with strong communication skills.
• Ability to triage IT incidents and manage escalations effectively.
• Comfortable supporting Windows 10+ and Mac OS X environments.
• Experience with multi-tool ITIL-aligned incident, request and change processes.
• Strong teamwork and stakeholder communication across time zones.

Responsibilities

• Provide Tier 1.5 and 2nd line support to employees remotely and desk-side.
• Monitor customer experience and contribute to knowledge management.
• Resolve incidents within SLA and coordinate with third-party providers.
• Maintain knowledge articles and assist in major incidents.
• Support mobile devices (iOS/Android) and Active Directory administration.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Customer service mindset

Team collaboration

Problem solving

Proactive under pressure

Mobile devices knowledge

Microsoft Office

Windows administration

Remote support

Education

ITIL Foundation V3/V4

Tools

ServiceNow

Microsoft Teams

Zoom

Skype for Business

Cisco Webex

Condeco

Crestron

Active Directory

SCCM

Intune / AutoPilot

Mimecast

Office 365

Job description

Who are we? Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 24,000 employees spanning over 56 countries. People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities - work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering - you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

The IT Support SME role is responsible for monitoring customer experience, supporting knowledge management and contributing to major incident resolution. The role combines strong technical troubleshooting, proactive ownership and excellent stakeholder communication to deliver a dependable and customer-focused IT support service. The role provides advanced Tier 1.5 and 2nd line support, acting as a key technical escalation point for the third-party support provider and employees across the business. The role is responsible for resolving complex incidents and requests, delivering high-quality remote and desk-side support, and ensuring issues are triaged, owned and progressed within agreed service levels.

Location: Manchester. Office based 3 days per week. Reporting Line: IT Service Delivery Manager. Travel Requirements: Occasional travel to UK office locations as required. Work Pattern: Full Time, Permanent.

Key Responsibilities / Accountabilities

• Tier 1.5 & 2nd line Support to the Unisys support team, predominantly remote support to our employees globally
• Customer experience monitoring and remediation, working with Unisys to ensure high SDR/FCR/CSAT achieved
• Excellent cross-team communications, ensuring IT issues that are not resolved in the first instance (Tier 1.5) are picked up, triaged and resolved within SLA/Priority
• Knowledge Management, KB article ownership for SME’s and regular review/updates
• Executive user support to key stakeholders and senior management.
• Managing escalated Incidents and requests via our IT service management tool ServiceNow
• Advanced IT troubleshooting skills, and analytical triage/support
• Owning unresolved Issues and liaising/delegating tasks to relevant technology teams.
• Escalating wider-impacting support issues to SD Team Lead and Global Service Delivery Manager where necessary
• Advanced network troubleshooting and root cause analysis
• Advanced Mobile device support - Apple & Android technologies
• Advanced Active Directory Users and Computer administration via appropriate platforms/tools
• Advanced Windows 11 and Microsoft product support
• MAC OS X support (not essential)
• Participate in ad-hoc support requests, desk moves, desk side support
• Supporting the 3rd party provider and employees in business core hours 7am to 7pm on a rota basis (Mon-Fri) office based
• Supporting the 3rd party provider and employees outside of core business hours 6pm - Midnight on a rota basis (Mon-Fri) working from home
• Supporting the business weekends & bank holidays on a rota basis (opt in or out)
• Acting as a Major Incident contributor during reported MI’s (following the documented MI process)

Skills and abilities needed to perform role

• An understanding of the importance of excellent customer service and a "can do" attitude
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• The ability to interact confidently with clients and colleagues
• The ability to work very well in a team environment
• The ability to think logically
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Strong prioritisation skills and ability to follow process
• Patience and empathy when dealing with customers and colleagues
• Effective problem solving skills based on clear reasoning and sound rationale
• Tactful, diplomatic and able to thrive in an ever-changing environment
• Ability to work pro-actively, under pressure and independently with minimal direction
• A good understanding of mobile devices, such as Apple smartphones and tablets
• Strong background in Microsoft Office
• Strong background in Windows
• Familiarity and comfort in using web conferencing and collaboration tools and applications such as Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business, Zoom, Whatsapp, Cisco Webex etc with knowledge of Condeco and Crestron technology
• Knowledge and Experience IT industry experience
• Microsoft Windows 10+ Active Directory ADMP CoreView Microsoft Exchange Office365/2016+ Mimecast Microsoft Teams Zoom SCCM MS AutoPilot MS CoPilot ITIL Best Practice Remote Support Tools Incident, Request, Problem and Change Management
• Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures

Compliance and Regulatory Responsibilities

• To remain compliant with FCA requirements at all times
• To obtain appropriate approvals to ensure compliance with company policy, procedures and regulatory requirements/rules, with regards to data protection, money laundering, etc.
• To share ideas, best practice and other information within the team
• Ensure that own performance, HR and T&C records are up to date and meet the Company’s requirements
• Maintain accurate records and deal with correspondence appropriately

Professional Qualifications

• Relevant professional IT qualifications ITIL Foundation V3/V4

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us: Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new. We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges. We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond. Reasonable adjustments. We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*. Not all positions can accommodate changes to working hours or locations. Reach out to your Recruitment Partner if you want to know more.

Permanent Howden began in 1994, as just three people and a dog. Now there are 23,000 of us, and we're a leading global insurance group, managing $37bn of premiums for our clients. Our largest shareholder group is us – the people who work in the business – supported by three long-term, minority growth-equity partners who share our vision to build a business to last, one that will never be sold. The owner's mindset is something that's embedded in our culture; our people readily take ownership of their decisions, their actions, and their outputs. They’re invested in every sense. And we all know that by working together to drive the business forward, everyone will benefit from the extraordinary results we can achieve.