Systems Administrator - ServiceNow

Job summary

The Government Property Agency is changing the way the Civil Service works and is at the forefront of the Government's transformation agenda; reshaping the relationship civil servants have with their place of work. The Agency is central to the delivery of key Government policies and tackling climate change by contributing to the Net Zero agenda. To do this we are delivering a major change programme across the UK and consolidating our portfolio in order to save £1.4 Bn over 10 years.

Beyond the bricks and mortar, the GPA is about providing great workplaces for our people. Through programmes like Hubs, Whitehall Campus and Smarter Working you will be in the vanguard of creating model working environments and promoting flexible working practices.

This is an ambitious and exciting task, for which we need innovative people, with strong commercial acumen, who are passionate about visualising and implementing customer needs. Launched as an Executive Agency of the Cabinet Office in 2018, we’re a relatively new department and we are growing fast so we also need people who thrive in ambiguity, can adapt quickly to change and are comfortable stepping outside of their remit to drive outcomes.

Job description

Are you passionate about optimising Customer Service Management (CSM), enterprise IT Service Management (ITSM), Governance Risk and Compliance (GRC) and IT Operations Management (ITOM)?

We are seeking a ServiceNow Systems Administrator to join our forward-thinking Corporate Systems Team who will play a critical role in transforming and maintaining our ServiceNow platform. As a ServiceNow expert, you will have the opportunity to shape the future of our IT Service Management (ITSM), as well as expand our expertise across HR Service Delivery (HRSD), Customer Service Management (CSM), Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC), IT Operations Management (ITOM), and Business Continuity Management (BCM) modules. Your role will be pivotal in ensuring the platform supports our business needs, driving operational efficiency and improving user experience across the entire organisation.

This is more than just a job — it's an opportunity to drive meaningful change by building innovative workflows, optimising systems, and delivering real-world impact. We are a company that encourages curiosity, fosters creativity, and values individuals who are passionate about making a difference.

Why Join Us?

• Innovation-Driven Culture: Work at the forefront of digital transformation, contributing to projects that redefine IT service delivery.
• Professional Growth: Access to a comprehensive professional development plan with opportunities for advanced certifications and hands-on learning in emerging technologies. - Flexible Work Arrangements: Enjoy work-life balance through flexible scheduling and remote work options.
• Collaborative Environment: Join a highly collaborative IT team that values creative problem-solving and innovation.
• Cutting-Edge Technology: Be part of a company that invests in the latest tools and technology to drive continuous improvement and efficiency. --- This is your chance to work in a high-impact, growth-oriented role where your skills can drive real change across the organisation. If you're ready to elevate your career by administering and expanding one of the industry's leading IT platforms, we’d love to hear from you! Apply now and be part of a transformative journey.

Key Responsibilities:

Platform Administration & Optimization

• Oversee the end-to-end administration of the ServiceNow platform, with a focus on ITSM, HRSD, CSM, GRC, CSDM, CMDB, ITOM, BCM, SAM and SPM modules.
• Perform daily system health checks, apply patches, and manage system upgrades to ensure platform stability and performance.
• Ensure the seamless integration of ServiceNow with other business-critical systems, driving automation and innovation.
• Provide first line managed service support on the ServiceNow platform, applying fixes or triaging and escalating cases as required to second line support
• Developing additional functionality, including enhancements across the platform in line with best practice
• Undertaking functional testing on managed service fixes and enhancements, managing defect logging and re-testing
• Supporting other corporate systems such as Salesforce, Microsoft 365, Planon IWMS, JIRA and Confluence as and when required.

Incident, Problem & Change Management

• Administer and streamline Incident, Problem, and Change management workflows within ServiceNow, ensuring minimal business disruption and faster resolutions.
• Collaborate with internal teams to ensure best practices in ITIL processes, fostering continuous service improvement.

HR Service Delivery (HRSD):

• Leverage HRSD to manage employee journeys, from onboarding to offboarding, creating seamless, automated workflows that improve the employee experience. - Develop custom HR service portals, enabling a more efficient self-service approach for HR-related requests.

Customer Service Management (CSM) for GPA Customer Service Portal:

• Lead the implementation and customization of ServiceNow’s CSM module to enhance customer interactions and streamline issue resolution.
• Design customer portals and automate service workflows to deliver superior customer experiences and resolve inquiries faster.

Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) for Enterprise Risk Management:

• Implement and maintain GRC processes to ensure regulatory compliance, monitor risks, and manage internal audits.
• Drive enterprise risk management initiatives by aligning the ServiceNow GRC module with corporate governance frameworks.

IT Operations Management (ITOM):

• Maximise system performance by configuring ITOM to provide proactive monitoring, event management, and automation across the IT infrastructure.
• Enable predictive analysis and real-time visibility into IT operations, ensuring business services remain uninterrupted.

Business Continuity Management (BCM):

• Administer and manage the BCM module, developing plans and strategies to ensure business resiliency in case of unexpected disruptions.
• Ensure alignment of BCM processes with corporate risk management strategies and recovery protocols.

Service Design & Customisation

• Design and implement custom workflows, UI policies, including writing basic scripts and business rules tailored to organisational needs across multiple ServiceNow modules.
• Customise and configure dashboards, performance analytics, and reports to provide actionable insights into business operations and IT service efficiency.

Service Transition & Integration

• Oversee the seamless transition of new services into production environments using ServiceNow’s release management capabilities, ensuring zero downtime.
• Integrate third-party applications and tools with ServiceNow to streamline processes, automate workflows, and improve productivity.

Continuous Improvement & Innovation

• Regularly assess system performance and proactively implement improvements that enhance user experience, reduce manual work, and drive operational efficiency.
• Collaborate with IT and business leaders to introduce new ServiceNow functionalities, ensuring the platform evolves to meet emerging business needs.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Ensure ServiceNow processes adhere to internal governance, risk management, and compliance standards, maintaining secure access and data integrity.
• Partner with security teams to implement and manage platform security controls, audits, and reporting.

Person specification

We are looking for a self-motivated, energetic and experienced Systems Administrator to help us to continue to develop and manage our ServiceNow offerings across the GPA. You will be capable of taking ownership of your area of work while also working collaboratively as part of the wider Corporate Systems team. Apart from ServiceNow, you will also have an opportunity to work on other major Corporate Systems such as Salesforce, Proactis, Business Central, Microsoft 365, Planon IWMS, JIRA, Confluence…etc.

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the communities and wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and well-being and aim to create a sense of belonging in a workplace where everyone feels valued.The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

Experience And Technical Skills

Essential criteria:

• Experience with platform upgrades, customization, and third-party tool integrations. - knowledge of best practices for service management.
• Deep understanding of ServiceNow platform architecture, automation, and system integration.
• Automation - Ability to identify and implement automation opportunities using ServiceNow scripting and integrations.
• Service Level Management - Proven ability to monitor KPIs and manage SLAs to ensure optimal performance and service delivery.
• Problem Management - Skilled in identifying root causes and implementing long-term fixes to prevent recurring issues.

Desirable criteria:

• ITIL Foundation certification
• Familiarity with HRSD, CSM, GRC, ITOM, and BCM configurations and customizations.
• Knowledge of CMDB and Asset Management practices.
• Service Management (ITSM) - Expertise in ITIL-based incident, problem, and change management to deliver reliable IT services.
• Governance & Risk (GRC): Expertise in managing risk, compliance, and regulatory frameworks within an enterprise environment.
• IT Operations Management (ITOM) - Proficiency in managing IT operations, ensuring the smooth running of the platform and its integrations.

Qualifications and Accreditations

Essential criteria:

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• Moderate hands-on experience with ServiceNow administration, including ITSM, HRSD, CSM, GRC, ITOM, and BCM modules.
• ServiceNow Certified System Administrator (CSA) required

Desirable criteria:

• Additional certifications (ITIL, ServiceNow Certified Application Developer, or ServiceNow Certified Implementation Specialist) preferred.

Behaviours

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

• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Changing and Improving
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

• Customer Perspective
• Commercial Accumen
• Property Market Knowledge
• Innovation

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £43,936, Government Property Agency contributes £12,728 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).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the communities and wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and well-being and aim to create a sense of belonging in a workplace where everyone feels valued. The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme (RIS) to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Please note - At this time GPA are unable to offer any Visa Sponsorship to candidates as we do not currently hold a visa sponsorship licence. Please do not apply for permanent roles with GPA if you will require your employer to take on the sponsorship of your current or any future visas.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Sift

The sift is due to take place week commencing 19th October 2026.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to include a CV only.

Interview

Whilst GPA policy is for interviews to be held face to face, interviews for this role will be held virtually. The date and time will be confirmed if you are invited to interview. If you feel this will be a problem for you, please contact ddatsupport@gpa.gov.uk to discuss prior to submitting your application.

At interview, applicants will be scored against 4 behaviours - Working Together, Managing a Quality Service, Changing and Improving and Delivering at Pace.

Interview questions will be a blend of Behaviour, Experience, Strength and Technical (core skill) questions.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to GPA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

Please note: in addition to the standard pre-employment checks for appointment into the Civil Service, all candidates must also obtain National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level for this vacancy. You will normally need to meet the minimum UK residency period as determined by the level of vetting being undertaken, which for SC is 5 years UK residency prior to your vetting application. If you have any questions about this residency requirement, please speak to the vacancy holder for this post.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via gparecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : ddatsupport@gpa.gov.uk
• Email : ddatsupport@gpa.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : gparecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact HR@gpa.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission:
Click here to visit Civil Service Commission

Attachments

GPA Skills and Specialisms (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 259kB)