Service Desk Analyst

OCU Group; Preston; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

OCU Group is seeking a proactive Service Desk Analyst to join the Digital Technology team in Preston. You will be the first point of contact for IT incidents, delivering professional support and enabling colleagues to work efficiently by resolving issues and fulfilling service requests.

You will troubleshoot effectively, log and track incidents, and work within ITIL-aligned processes to improve service quality across multiple sites.

Qualifications

• Experience in a busy Service Desk or IT support environment, ideally multi-site or enterprise.
• Strong troubleshooting and diagnostic skills with high first-contact resolution.
• Good knowledge of Microsoft 365, Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Windows/macOS support.
• Experience with user accounts, permissions, MFA, password resets and access management.
• Familiarity with ITSM platforms such as Freshservice or ServiceNow.
• Understanding incident and request management in an ITIL-aligned environment.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills; able to explain technical information clearly.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining ticket quality.

Responsibilities

• Act as the first point of contact for IT incidents and service requests, offering responsive support.
• Drive high first-contact resolution through effective troubleshooting and knowledge articles.
• Log, prioritise, investigate and resolve tickets within agreed service levels.
• Perform high-quality triage with diagnostics before escalation.
• Monitor ticket trends and contribute to problem management and service improvements.
• Communicate with users throughout the support lifecycle and manage expectations.
• Escalate incidents with clear documentation to specialist teams.
• Contribute to knowledge articles and support documentation.

Skills

Microsoft 365 & Windows/macOS support

Troubleshooting & diagnostics

Incident & request management

ITIL aligned processes

Customer service excellence

MFA & access management

Remote support tools

Tools

ITSM platforms: Freshservice/ServiceNow

Remote diagnostics

Job description

Service Desk Analyst

Department: OCU Digital

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Preston

Reporting To: Laura Drury

Description

We are looking for a customer-focused and proactive Service Desk Analyst to join our Digital Technology team and deliver a first-class support experience across the business. As the first point of contact for IT support, you will play a key role in ensuring colleagues can work effectively by resolving incidents, fulfilling service requests, and providing clear, professional support.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Service Desk professional who enjoys troubleshooting technical issues, delivering outstanding customer service, and contributing to continuous service improvement within a fast-paced, multi-site environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the first point of contact for IT incidents and service requests, providing responsive and professional support.
• Drive high levels of first-contact resolution through effective troubleshooting and use of knowledge articles and runbooks.
• Accurately log, prioritise, investigate and resolve support tickets within agreed service levels.
• Perform high-quality triage of issues, gathering diagnostics and relevant information before escalation.
• Monitor ticket trends, identify recurring issues, and contribute to problem management and service improvement initiatives.
• Communicate effectively with users throughout the support lifecycle, providing regular updates and managing expectations.
• Escalate incidents to specialist teams with clear documentation and technical insight.
• Contribute to the creation and maintenance of knowledge articles, processes and support documentation.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

• Experience within a busy Service Desk or IT support environment, ideally supporting a multi-site or enterprise organisation.
• Strong troubleshooting and diagnostic skills with a proven ability to achieve high first-contact resolution rates.
• Good knowledge of Microsoft 365, including Outlook, Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint, together with Windows and macOS support.
• Experience supporting user accounts, permissions, MFA, password resets and access management processes.
• Familiarity with ITSM platforms such as Freshservice, ServiceNow or similar.
• Strong understanding of incident and request management processes within an ITIL-aligned environment.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills, with the ability to explain technical information in a clear and accessible way.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining high standards of ticket quality and user experience.

• Experience working to SLAs and prioritising support activities based on business impact.
• Knowledge of remote support tools, connectivity troubleshooting and support for mobile or field-based users.
• Experience supporting major incidents and following defined escalation processes.
• Exposure to knowledge management and continuous improvement activities.
• Understanding of identity, access management and IT security best practices.
• Experience identifying recurring issues and contributing to service improvement initiatives.