Technical Service Desk Analyst

Job summary

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government.

Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:

1. joining up public sector services
2. harnessing the power of AI for the public good
3. strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
4. elevating leadership and investing in talent
5. funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
6. committing to transparency and driving accountability

We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government.

We’re part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol.

The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you’ll be working with some of the world’s most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale.

Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need

Job description

As a GOV.UK One Login Technical Service Desk (TSD) Analyst, you will play a critical role in providing live service support that forms the day-to-day point of contact for the reporting of technical incidents, cases, problems, requests and alerts. As such, the TSD is responsible for keeping customers informed of events, actions and opportunities that are likely to impact their day-to-day activities, providing an essential interface with live service operational staff and other supporting Resolver Groups.

The Technical Service Desk Analyst is the point of contact for users seeking technical assistance. The role involves diagnosing and resolving basic to intermediate technical issues, managing service requests and ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction. The Service Desk Analyst will work within ITIL and AGILE frameworks to help maintain service continuity by supporting the end users, reliant parties and suppliers.

As a Technical Service Desk Analyst you’ll be responsible for:

Initial Investigation and Diagnosis

You will provide first line technical support for One Login users, carry out an initial investigation of the case/incident/request/alert to firstly determine the type and priority of the issue and after logging the details onto the ServiceNow tool will attempt to resolve the issue, or determine the appropriate Resolver Group.

Progress Monitoring

You will monitor progress of all Incidents utilising the ServiceNow tool, dashboard monitoring and escalation facilities. Continuously throughout the day, the Service Desk Analyst monitors tickets raised, identifying those which have exceeded service level objectives (SLO) for resolution or are close to breaching SLO targets.

You will document resolutions and maintain a knowledge base article for common issues.

Ensure adherence to Service Level Objectives/Agreements (SLOs/SLAs) and quality standards.

Assist with onboarding/offboarding processes including user account creation/deletion and access rights.

Reporting

At the end of each week the Service Desk Analysts will access the ServiceNow tool and run a series of searches against the ServiceNow database for the preceding week. The Service Desk Analysts will transfer the resulting statistics to a weekly healthcheck report.

Stakeholder Management and Collaboration

You will build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders across all levels of Live Service, ensuring effective communication and collaboration on all reporting-related matters. This includes fostering strong partnerships with teams across different live service areas to ensure alignment and consistency in reporting.

Operational Hours
Dedicated Service Desk staff will be available from 08:00hrs - 18:00hrs Monday–Friday (excluding Bank Holidays). Issues received between 18:00hrs-08:00hrs and at weekends and Bank Holidays will be handled by on call staff for Priority 1 and Priority 2 Production environment Incidents.

Person specification

We’re interested in people who:

• have experience in tracking, logging or correcting information to protect assets in a fast-paced live service operational environment
• has experience dealing with complaints, resolving user requests and using empathy to understand customer needs. Experience working in a technology-driven environment, a proven ability to learn quickly, adapt to new challenges and a passion for customer service with a desire to contribute to a dynamic team
• are eager to learn, and an ability to take responsibility for developing your own technical understanding
• are confident communicators with the ability to build strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels and comfortable presenting findings to senior management and can tailor communication styles to different audiences
• are proactive and solution-oriented mindset with a curiosity for problem solving, with experience investigating problems and contributing to implementing remedies and preventative measures
• are highly motivated and proactive individuals with a strong work ethic and a commitment to delivering results while also, comfortable working independently and taking ownership of work, but also understand the importance of collaboration and teamwork

Benefits

There are many benefits of working at GDS, including:

• flexible hybrid working with flexi-time and the option to work part-time or condensed hours
• a Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• 25 days of annual leave, increasing by a day each year up to a maximum of 30 days
• an extra day off for the King’s birthday
• an in-year bonus scheme to recognise high performance
• career progression and coaching, including a training budget for personal development
• a focus on wellbeing with access to an employee assistance programme
• job satisfaction from making government services easier to use and more inclusive for people across the UK
• advances on pay, including for travel season tickets
• death in service benefits
• cycle to work scheme and facilities
• access to an employee discounts scheme
• 10 learning days per year
• volunteering opportunities (5 special leave days per year)
• access to a suite of learning activities through Civil Service learning

Any move to Government Digital Service 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. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Office attendance
The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period.
DSIT does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).

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

The standard selection process for roles at GDS consists of:

• a simple application screening process - We only ask for a CV and cover letter of up to 750 words. Important tip - please ensure that your cover letter includes how you meet the skills and experience listed in the “person specification” section above
• a 60 minute video interview

Depending on how many applications we get, there might also be an extra stage before the video interview, for example a phone interview or a technical exercise.

In the event we receive a high volume of applications, we will conduct the initial sift against the lead criteria which is:

• have experience in tracking, logging or correcting information to protect assets in a fast-paced live service operational environment

In the Civil Service, we use Success Profiles to evaluate your skills and ability. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, increases performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. We’ll be assessing your technical abilities, skills, experience and behaviours that are relevant to this role.

For this role we’ll be assessing you against the following Civil Service Behaviours:

• making effective decisions;
• changing and improving;
• communicating and influencing;
• working together;
• managing a quality service

We’ll also be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the Government Digital and Data Capability Framework for the Service Desk Analyst role:

• Customer Service Management
• IT Service Reporting
• Ownership and Initiative
• Service Focus;
• Technical Understanding
• User Focus

Recruitment Timeline

Sift completion: Friday 6th February 2026

Panel interviews: starting from Monday 16th February 2026

Want to know more about who Government Digital and Data are? Click Here

Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.

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

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.

Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

For meaningful checks to be carried out, you will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. Whilst a lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance, and expectation of UK residency may range from 3 to 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements needed for the role may result in the withdrawal of provisional jobs offers.

Sponsorship

DSIT cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. DSIT holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a 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.

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 : gdsrecruitment@dsit.gov.uk
• Email : gdsrecruitment@dsit.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : gdsrecruitment@dsit.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, you should contact gds-complaints@dsit.gov.uk in the first instance.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission by email: info@csc.gov.uk Or in writing: Civil Service Commission, Room G/8 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ.