Global Systems Support Assistant

Role Purpose & Context

Role Summary

The Global Systems Support Assistant is here to independently diagnose and fix a whole range of technical issues that pop up across our systems, keeping our global workforce productive. You'll be the first port of call for anything beyond a simple password reset, diving deep into problems that L1 support can't quite crack. When you do your job well, our colleagues feel supported, their issues get sorted quickly, and our systems generally hum along nicely. If things go wrong, well, productivity dips, people get frustrated, and we might even miss some important deadlines. The tricky part is that every day is different, and you'll often need to figure things out on the fly. But the reward? You'll be the hero who unblocks someone's entire day, sometimes even their week, and you'll learn something new with almost every ticket.

Reporting Structure

• Reports to: Global Systems Support Manager
• Direct reports:
• Matrix relationships: Systems Support Analyst, IT Support Specialist (Global), Technical Support Engineer (Level 2),

Key Stakeholders

Internal:

• All global employees (end-users)
• IT Infrastructure Team
• Application Owners (e.g., HR, Finance)
• Security Operations Team
• Other L1 Support Teams

External:

• Software vendors (e.g., ServiceNow, Okta support)

Organisational Impact

Scope: This role directly impacts the daily productivity of every employee across the organisation. If you're doing well, people are working efficiently, systems are reliable, and our business operations run smoothly. If you're not, well, things grind to a halt pretty quickly, leading to lost time, missed deadlines, and a lot of frustrated colleagues. You're essentially the oil in the machine, keeping everything moving.

Performance Metrics

Quantitative Metrics

1. Metric: First Contact Resolution (FCR)
2. Desc: The percentage of tickets you resolve on your first interaction with the user, without needing to escalate or follow up multiple times.
3. Target: > 70%
4. Freq: Monthly
5. Example: If you handle 100 tickets in a month and resolve 75 of them on the first go, that's a 75% FCR. Higher is always better, it means you're really getting to the root of things quickly.
6. Metric: Ticket CSAT Score
7. Desc: The average satisfaction rating from users after you've closed their ticket. They'll get a quick survey, and we're looking for honest feedback on your service.
8. Target: > 4.5/5.0
9. Freq: Monthly/Quarterly
10. Example: If 20 users rate your service, and the average comes out to 4.6, you're doing great. It's a direct measure of how happy people are with your help.
11. Metric: SLA Adherence (L2 Tickets)
12. Desc: The percentage of L2 tickets you resolve within the agreed-upon Service Level Agreement timeframe. This means getting things done before they 'breach'.
13. Target: > 98%
14. Freq: Weekly/Monthly
15. Example: Out of 50 L2 tickets, if you resolve 49 within the SLA, that's 98%. Missing an SLA occasionally happens, but we want to make sure it's rare and for good reason.
16. Metric: Average Handle Time (AHT) for L2 Tickets
17. Desc: The average time you spend actively working on an L2 ticket, from opening to closing. We'll compare this against the team's baseline.
18. Target: Meet or beat team baseline (e.g., < 45 minutes)
19. Freq: Monthly
20. Example: If the team's average is 50 minutes, and your average is 45 minutes, you're being efficient. It's not about rushing, but about effective troubleshooting.

Qualitative Metrics

1. Metric: Problem Ownership & Resolution
2. Desc: You don't just fix the symptom; you dig into the 'why'. This means you're not just closing tickets, but you're also making sure the underlying issue is genuinely resolved, even if it involves other teams.
3. Evidence: You'll see fewer recurring incidents for problems you've handled. You'll proactively follow up with other teams if a ticket is escalated, ensuring a full resolution. Your ticket notes will show a clear, methodical troubleshooting process, not just a quick fix.
4. Metric: Knowledge Base Contribution & Improvement
5. Desc: You're actively helping build our collective knowledge. This means not just using the existing runbooks, but also spotting gaps, suggesting improvements, or even drafting new articles for common issues you've solved.
6. Evidence: You'll have a few new or updated KB articles published under your name each quarter. You'll be bringing ideas to team meetings about improving our documentation. Colleagues will refer to articles you've written.
7. Metric: Effective Communication & Expectation Management
8. Desc: You're great at talking to people, even when they're frustrated. You can explain complex technical issues in plain English and manage expectations about when something will be fixed.
9. Evidence: Users will comment on your clear and helpful communication in CSAT surveys. You'll be able to de-escalate tricky situations. You'll proactively update users on ticket progress, even if there's no new news, just to keep them informed.
10. Metric: Process Adherence & Improvement Suggestions
11. Desc: You follow our established processes religiously, but you're also not afraid to point out when a process could be better. You're a guardian of operational excellence, making sure we do things the right way, and then finding ways to make that right way even better.
12. Evidence: Your audit trails will show consistent adherence to procedures (e.g., for JML processes). You'll regularly bring forward ideas for runbook updates or workflow tweaks in team meetings. You'll spot inconsistencies and help us fix them.

Primary Traits

• Trait: Calm Under Pressure
• Manifestation: When the SSO system goes down and everyone's panicking because they can't log in, you're the one who takes a deep breath, checks the runbook, and starts troubleshooting methodically. You communicate clearly and concisely to users, even when your ticket queue is growing by the minute. You don't get flustered; you just get to work.
• Benefit: In systems support, especially at L2, you're often dealing with critical incidents. If you add to the chaos, it makes everything worse. Our business needs trusted experts who can manage stressful situations, keep a cool head, and inspire confidence that the problem will be solved. Your composure is key to that.
• Trait: Process-Minded
• Manifestation: You're the sort of person who religiously follows every step of the checklist when deprovisioning a leaver – because you know a single missed step could be a security risk. You'll spot a gap in a runbook and proactively update it, or suggest how we could improve our ticket categorisation. You believe in doing things the right way, every time.
• Benefit: Consistency is absolutely everything in systems support. A tiny error or a skipped step can lead to a major outage, a security breach, or hours of extra work. You're essentially the guardian of our operational excellence, ensuring that our systems are stable and secure because the processes are followed.
• Trait: Reliable
• Manifestation: When a ticket comes in, you acknowledge it within the SLA, every single time. You follow up on an issue without being chased, even if it means nudging another team. You own a problem from the moment it lands on your desk until it's fully resolved, making sure nothing falls through the cracks, even if you've handed it off.
• Benefit: Our entire organisation relies on the systems you support. When someone raises an issue, they need to know it's going to be handled diligently and seen through to completion. Your reliability builds trust across the business, ensuring that our colleagues can count on IT to keep things running.

Supporting Traits

• Trait: Empathetic
• Desc: You can genuinely understand why a user is frustrated when their system isn't working, without taking their frustration personally. You put yourself in their shoes.
• Trait: Tenacious Problem-Solver
• Desc: You've got that bulldog-like refusal to let a weird, intermittent bug go unsolved. You won't give up until you've found the root cause, even if it means hours of digging and testing.
• Trait: Precise
• Desc: You understand that the difference between 'GroupA' and 'GroupB' in Azure AD isn't just a typo – it could be the difference between someone viewing a report and editing sensitive financial data. Details matter.

Primary Motivators

1. Motivator: Solving Puzzles
2. Daily: You get a real kick out of diagnosing a complex technical issue that no one else could figure out. That 'aha!' moment when you find the root cause is genuinely satisfying.
3. Motivator: Helping People
4. Daily: You enjoy being the person who unblocks someone's day. Knowing that your technical skills directly enable someone else to do their job well is a big deal for you.
5. Motivator: Mastering Systems
6. Daily: You love diving deep into how different systems work, understanding their quirks, and becoming the go-to expert for specific platforms like Okta or ServiceNow.

Potential Demotivators

Honestly, if you need every day to be perfectly structured and predictable, or if you get easily frustrated by people who don't read instructions, this might be a tough gig. You'll often get tickets with 'it's broken' as the only description, meaning you'll spend valuable time just trying to figure out what the actual problem is. You'll also deal with repetitive, low-value tasks like resetting the same user's MFA for the third time this month. And yes, sometimes you'll craft a beautiful knowledge base article with screenshots, only for users to ignore it and log a ticket anyway.

Common Frustrations

1. The 'It's Broken' Ticket: Receiving tickets with zero useful information, requiring you to spend the first 15 minutes just trying to understand what the actual problem is.
2. Repetitive, Low-Value Tasks: The soul-crushing monotony of resetting the same user's password for the third time this month.
3. Users Who Don't Read: Carefully crafting a knowledge base article with screenshots and step-by-step instructions, only to have users ignore it and log a ticket anyway.
4. Blame without Context: Getting blamed for a system being 'slow' when the issue is with the network, another team's integration, or the user's home Wi-Fi.
5. After-Hours Escalations: The on-call pager going off at 2 AM because of an issue in a different time zone (though this is less frequent at L2, it can happen).

What Role Doesn't Offer

1. A quiet, uninterrupted work environment – you'll be interacting with people constantly.
2. Complete control over your task list – urgent issues will always pop up and reprioritise your day.
3. A role where you never have to repeat yourself – some issues just keep coming back.
4. A role where every problem has a clear, documented solution – you'll often be figuring things out for the first time.

ADHD Positives

1. The varied nature of incoming tickets can be a real plus, as it means you're rarely doing the exact same thing for too long. This can help keep things engaging.
2. The need for quick problem-solving and rapid context switching can play to strengths in hyperfocus when a critical incident hits.
3. The direct feedback loop of resolving an issue and seeing a user get back to work can be very motivating.

ADHD Challenges and Accommodations

1. Repetitive tasks (like basic password resets) can be a challenge; we can look at automating these where possible or rotating responsibilities to keep things fresh.
2. Maintaining detailed ticket hygiene can sometimes be tricky; we use structured templates and checklists to help with consistency.
3. We can offer noise-cancelling headphones for focus, and provide clear, written instructions for processes to minimise misinterpretations.

Dyslexia Positives

1. The hands-on, problem-solving nature of the role, often involving visual troubleshooting (e.g., looking at logs, system dashboards), can be a strong suit.
2. Strong verbal communication skills often found in dyslexic individuals are highly valued when explaining technical issues to users.

Dyslexia Challenges and Accommodations

1. Reading and writing detailed technical documentation or long ticket notes can be taxing; we encourage the use of dictation software and offer tools with good spell-check and grammar features.
2. We can provide templates for common responses and reports to reduce the burden of drafting from scratch.
3. Flexible formats for knowledge sharing (e.g., video walkthroughs instead of just written guides) are available.

Autism Positives

1. A strong logical approach to problem-solving and a deep focus on technical details are incredibly valuable in this role.
2. The clear, process-driven nature of ITIL and other frameworks can provide a comforting structure to daily work.
3. The ability to concentrate intensely on a single problem until it's resolved is a huge asset.

Autism Challenges and Accommodations

1. Unexpected changes or urgent P1 incidents can be disruptive; we aim for clear communication about priorities and provide structured escalation paths.
2. Navigating social nuances with frustrated users can be challenging; we provide training on empathetic communication and offer scripts/templates for difficult conversations.
3. We offer a consistent work environment, clear expectations for communication, and opportunities for focused, independent work when possible.

Key Responsibilities

Experience Levels Responsibilities

1. Level: Mid-Level Professional (2-5 years)
2. Responsibilities: Independently diagnose and resolve a broad range of L2 technical incidents and service requests, covering everything from tricky login issues to application access problems.
3. Take ownership of user issues from start to finish, even if it means coordinating with other teams (like Infrastructure or Security) to get a full resolution.
4. Perform user provisioning and deprovisioning tasks using our IAM platforms (Okta/Azure AD), making sure new joiners have what they need on Day 1 and leavers' access is revoked promptly.
5. Contribute to our knowledge base by updating existing articles or drafting new ones based on recurring issues you've solved (following KCS principles, of course).
6. Troubleshoot endpoint issues on laptops and mobile devices using tools like Microsoft Intune or Jamf, deploying applications and ensuring compliance policies are met.
7. Manage and prioritise your own queue of tickets in ServiceNow or Jira Service Management, ensuring you meet our SLA targets and keep users updated on progress.
8. Act as an escalation point for L1 support, providing guidance and coaching on more complex issues, helping them learn and grow.
9. Supervision: You'll have weekly check-ins with your manager to discuss your workload and any blockers. For routine tasks, you're expected to work independently, but for novel or highly complex issues, you'll consult with your manager or a senior team member.
10. Decision: You can make routine technical decisions within established guidelines (e.g., which troubleshooting steps to follow, how to reconfigure a user's local settings). Any changes to core system configurations or anything impacting multiple users needs approval from your manager or the relevant system owner. You'll escalate exceptions or anything outside your defined scope.
11. Success: You're successfully resolving most L2 tickets on your own, hitting our CSAT and SLA targets, and users are consistently happy with your support. You're also actively contributing to our knowledge base and helping L1 colleagues get better at their jobs.

Decision-Making Authority

• Type: Troubleshooting Steps & Resolution
• Entry: Follows defined runbooks; escalates if runbook doesn't cover the issue or if unsure.
• Mid: Independently diagnoses and resolves issues using judgment and available tools; consults on novel problems.
• Senior: Defines troubleshooting methodologies; makes critical real-time decisions during P1 incidents; authorises workarounds.
• Type: System Configuration Changes (User Level)
• Entry: Performs changes (e.g., password reset, group add) strictly as per documented requests and procedures.
• Mid: Independently applies configuration changes for individual users (e.g., application access, device enrolment) within defined security policies.
• Senior: Approves and implements configuration changes impacting multiple users or system-wide settings; defines security policies for user access.
• Type: Escalation & Communication
• Entry: Escalates all non-routine issues to L2/supervisor; communicates status updates as instructed.
• Mid: Decides when to escalate to L3/engineering based on troubleshooting limits; communicates directly with users on complex issues and manages expectations.
• Senior: Manages P1 incident communication to wider business; decides on cross-functional escalation paths; represents support in critical incident calls.
• Type: Knowledge Base Contributions
• Entry: Uses existing KB articles to resolve issues; reports gaps or inaccuracies.
• Mid: Updates existing KB articles based on new solutions; drafts new articles for common L2 issues with review.
• Senior: Designs KB structure; reviews and approves L1/L2 KB contributions; leads KCS initiatives.

Competency Requirements

Foundation Skills (Transferable)

Beyond the tech, there are some core human skills that are just as important. These are the things that help you navigate tricky situations, explain complex ideas, and generally be a good colleague. We're looking for someone who can communicate clearly, solve problems systematically, and adapt when things don't go to plan.

• Category: Communication & Interpersonal
• Skills: Active Listening: You're actually hearing what the user is saying, not just waiting for your turn to speak. This means asking clarifying questions and rephrasing to confirm understanding.
• Clear Written Communication: You can explain technical issues in plain, concise English in emails and ticket notes, avoiding jargon where possible. Your instructions are easy to follow.
• Verbal De-escalation: You can calm a frustrated user down, acknowledge their feelings, and guide them towards a solution without getting flustered.
• Cross-Team Collaboration: You know how to work with other IT teams (e.g., network, security) to resolve issues, providing them with the right information and following up effectively.
• Category: Problem-Solving & Critical Thinking
• Skills: Systematic Troubleshooting: You follow a logical process to diagnose issues, isolating variables and testing hypotheses, rather than just guessing.
• Root Cause Identification: You're not satisfied with just a quick fix; you want to understand *why* something broke so it doesn't happen again.
• Pattern Recognition: You can spot recurring issues or unusual behaviour in system logs or ticket trends that might indicate a bigger problem.
• Resourcefulness: When you don't know the answer, you know how to find it – whether it's searching documentation, asking a colleague, or using online resources.
• Category: Adaptability & Resilience
• Skills: Prioritisation under Pressure: You can quickly assess incoming requests, understand their urgency, and manage your workload effectively, even when new 'P1s' drop.
• Learning Agility: Technology changes constantly, so you're keen to pick up new tools and troubleshoot unfamiliar systems quickly.
• Emotional Regulation: You can handle user frustration, unexpected system outages, and the occasional 'can't repo' bug without letting it get to you.
• Process Improvement Mindset: You're always looking for ways to make things better, even if it's just a small tweak to a runbook or a suggestion for automation.

Functional Skills (Role-Specific Technical)

These are the specific methodologies, technical knowledge, and tools you'll be using day-in, day-out. We're looking for someone who isn't just familiar with these but can actually apply them to solve real-world problems.

Technical Competencies

• Skill: ITIL Framework (Incident, Problem, Change, Request Fulfilment)
• Desc: You don't just know the theory; you understand how Incident Management helps us fix things quickly, how Problem Management stops them from happening again, and how Change Management keeps our systems stable. You'll apply these principles daily.
• Level: Intermediate
• Skill: Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS)
• Desc: You understand the value of good documentation. You'll use KCS principles to capture knowledge as a by-product of solving problems, ensuring our knowledge base is always up-to-date and helpful for everyone.
• Level: Intermediate
• Skill: Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
• Desc: You're not content with a quick fix. You can use simple RCA techniques like the '5 Whys' to dig deeper, identify the actual cause of recurring issues, and propose solutions to prevent them permanently.
• Level: Intermediate
• Skill: SLA/OLA Management
• Desc: You know the difference between a Service Level Agreement (what we promise the business) and an Operational Level Agreement (what we agree with other IT teams). You'll manage expectations and work to meet these targets.
• Level: Intermediate
• Skill: Tiered Support Models (L1-L3)
• Desc: You understand exactly what defines an L1 vs. an L2 issue, ensuring tickets are routed efficiently. You know when to escalate to L3 or engineering, providing them with all the necessary information.
• Level: Intermediate
• Skill: Joiner-Mover-Leaver (JML) Process
• Desc: You're familiar with the end-to-end workflow for employee lifecycle management. You'll ensure new hires are productive on Day 1 and leavers' access is revoked instantly and completely, following strict procedures.
• Level: Intermediate

Digital Tools

• Tool: ServiceNow / Jira Service Management
• Level: Intermediate
• Usage: You'll be living in our ITSM platform, resolving incidents, fulfilling service requests, and using the knowledge base. You'll also be building basic reports and dashboards to track your own performance.
• Tool: Okta / Azure AD (Entra ID)
• Level: Intermediate
• Usage: You'll manage user provisioning/deprovisioning, handle password and MFA resets, and assign users to existing groups and applications. You'll also troubleshoot basic SSO failures.
• Tool: Workday HCM / SAP S/4HANA (HRIS/ERP)
• Level: Basic
• Usage: You'll assist users with navigation, perform basic data entry corrections based on approved requests, and run standard reports related to user data for troubleshooting.
• Tool: MS Teams / Confluence (Collaboration Suite)
• Level: Intermediate
• Usage: You'll answer user questions about collaboration tools, manage channel/space permissions, and create/update knowledge base articles from templates. You might even build simple workflows.
• Tool: Microsoft Intune / Jamf (Endpoint Management)
• Level: Intermediate
• Usage: You'll enrol devices, deploy pre-packaged applications to user devices, and walk users through basic troubleshooting steps for their laptops and mobile devices. You'll also configure compliance policies.

Industry Knowledge

• Area: Operating Systems (Windows, macOS)
• Desc: You've got a solid grasp of how Windows and macOS work under the hood, allowing you to troubleshoot common issues like network connectivity, application crashes, and peripheral problems.
• Area: Basic Networking Concepts
• Desc: You understand the basics of TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, and Wi-Fi. You can diagnose whether a user's problem is local to their machine or a wider network issue.
• Area: Cyber Security Fundamentals
• Desc: You know the importance of strong passwords, MFA, and access control. You understand common threats like phishing and malware, and you apply security best practices in your daily work.

Regulatory Compliance Regulations

• Reg: GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
• Usage: You understand the importance of protecting personal data, especially when handling user accounts or troubleshooting issues that involve sensitive information. You know our procedures for data access and deletion.
• Reg: Internal Security Policies
• Usage: You're familiar with our company's specific security policies, particularly around user access, device management, and data handling. You'll apply these policies rigorously in your daily support tasks.

Essential Prerequisites

• At least 2-3 years of hands-on experience in a technical support role, ideally in a global or multi-site environment.
• Proven ability to independently troubleshoot and resolve a wide range of L2 technical issues, not just follow a script.
• Demonstrable experience with an ITSM platform (like ServiceNow or Jira Service Management) for ticket management.
• Solid understanding of Identity & Access Management concepts and experience with tools like Okta or Azure AD.
• Experience supporting Windows and macOS operating systems, including basic command-line troubleshooting.
• A genuine desire to help people and a calm, methodical approach to problem-solving, even when things are hectic.

Career Pathway Context

These aren't just a checklist; they're the foundational skills you'll need to hit the ground running and quickly become a valuable member of our team. If you've been an L1 analyst and are ready to take on more complex problems and ownership, this is the perfect next step for you.

Qualifications & Credentials

Emerging Foundation Skills

• Skill: AI-Assisted Troubleshooting & Automation
• Why: AI isn't just for developers anymore. It's quickly becoming a crucial tool for support teams to speed up diagnosis, automate repetitive tasks, and even predict potential issues. Analysts who can effectively use AI will be significantly more productive.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'Prompt Engineering for Support', 'description': 'Learning how to ask AI the right questions to get accurate troubleshooting steps, code snippets for automation, or clear explanations for users.'}, {'concept_name': 'AI-Powered Log Analysis', 'description': 'Using AI tools to quickly sift through vast amounts of system logs to identify anomalies or error patterns that a human might miss.'}, {'concept_name': 'RPA (Robotic Process Automation) Basics', 'description': 'Understanding how simple bots can automate repetitive tasks like data entry, report generation, or even basic user provisioning steps.'}, {'concept_name': 'Ethical AI Use in Support', 'description': 'Knowing the limitations of AI, understanding when to trust its output, and ensuring user privacy is maintained when using AI tools.'}]
• Prepare: This month: Start experimenting with public LLMs (like ChatGPT or Claude) to help draft ticket responses or summarise complex documentation.
• Next quarter: Explore our internal AI tools for log analysis and see how they can help you spot issues faster.
• Within 6 months: Work with a senior colleague to identify one small, repetitive task in your daily routine that could be automated with a simple RPA script or AI workflow.
• Within 9 months: Take an online course on prompt engineering or AI fundamentals for IT professionals.
• QuickWin: Start using AI today to summarise long email threads or draft initial responses to common L2 tickets. It's a low-risk way to get comfortable with the technology and see immediate time savings.

Advancing Technical Skills

• Skill: Advanced Scripting & Automation (e.g., PowerShell, Python)
• Why: As we grow, manual tasks become unsustainable. The ability to write scripts to automate repetitive tasks, manage configurations, or perform bulk operations will be essential for efficiency and consistency.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'PowerShell for Windows Administration', 'description': 'Automating user management, system diagnostics, and configuration changes on Windows endpoints and servers.'}, {'concept_name': 'Python for API Interactions', 'description': 'Writing scripts to interact with APIs of our various systems (ServiceNow, Okta, etc.) for advanced automation and reporting.'}, {'concept_name': 'Version Control (Git) Basics', 'description': 'Managing your scripts effectively, collaborating with others, and tracking changes to automation code.'}, {'concept_name': 'Error Handling & Logging', 'description': 'Building robust scripts that can gracefully handle errors and provide useful logs for troubleshooting.'}]
• Prepare: This quarter: Pick one repetitive task you do daily and try to automate a small part of it with a simple PowerShell script.
• Next quarter: Find an online tutorial for Python basics focused on system administration or API interaction.
• Within 6 months: Contribute a small, reviewed script to our internal automation repository.
• Within 9 months: Work on a project to automate a common L2 request workflow from start to finish.
• QuickWin: Start by learning basic PowerShell commands for system information gathering. It's incredibly useful for troubleshooting and you can apply it immediately.
• Skill: Cloud Infrastructure Fundamentals (Azure/AWS)
• Why: More and more of our systems are moving to the cloud. Understanding the basics of cloud services will be critical for troubleshooting cloud-hosted applications and collaborating with our cloud engineering teams.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'IaaS, PaaS, SaaS Overview', 'description': 'Understanding the different service models and how they impact support responsibilities.'}, {'concept_name': 'Virtual Machines & Networking in Cloud', 'description': 'Basic concepts of virtual servers, virtual networks, and firewalls in a cloud environment.'}, {'concept_name': 'Identity & Access Management in Cloud', 'description': 'How user identities and permissions are managed in Azure AD or AWS IAM.'}, {'concept_name': 'Cloud Monitoring & Logging', 'description': 'Understanding how to access and interpret logs and metrics from cloud services for troubleshooting.'}]
• Prepare: This quarter: Complete a free introductory course on Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) or AWS Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C01).
• Next quarter: Shadow a cloud engineer during a troubleshooting session to see how they approach cloud-specific issues.
• Within 6 months: Identify one of our cloud-hosted applications and familiarise yourself with its basic architecture and monitoring.
• Within 9 months: Work on a project that involves configuring basic cloud resources for a test environment.
• QuickWin: Familiarise yourself with the Azure or AWS console. Just poking around and understanding the layout can be a huge first step.

Education Requirements

• Level: Minimum
• Req: A Levels (or equivalent) in a technical or scientific discipline, or a relevant vocational qualification (e.g., BTEC Level 3/4 in IT).
• Alts: We're pragmatic here. If you've got 3+ years of solid, hands-on experience in a similar L2 support role, we'd absolutely consider that equivalent. Show us what you can do, not just what piece of paper you have.
• Level: Preferred
• Req: A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Alts: While a degree is great, we value practical experience and demonstrable skills just as much, if not more. If you're a self-taught whiz with a killer portfolio of troubleshooting wins, we want to hear from you.

Experience Requirements

You'll need roughly 2-5 years of dedicated experience in a technical support role, specifically handling L2 issues. This means you've moved beyond basic resets and can independently diagnose and resolve more complex software, hardware, and network problems. We're looking for someone who's taken ownership of issues, worked with various IT systems, and has a track record of keeping users happy and productive.

Preferred Certifications

• Cert: CompTIA A+
• Prod: CompTIA
• Usage: Shows a strong foundational understanding of IT hardware, software, and troubleshooting, which is always useful.
• Cert: ITIL Foundation (v3 or v4)
• Prod: AXELOS
• Usage: Demonstrates you understand the best practices for IT service management, which is core to how we operate.
• Cert: Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) or Microsoft 365 Certified: Modern Desktop Administrator Associate (MD-100/MD-101)
• Prod: Microsoft
• Usage: Proves your skills in managing cloud services or modern endpoints, which are becoming increasingly central to our infrastructure.
• Cert: Okta Certified Administrator
• Prod: Okta
• Usage: Shows deep expertise in our primary identity platform, which would make you an instant asset to the team.

Recommended Activities

• Regularly engage with online technical communities (e.g., Reddit's r/sysadmin, relevant forums) to stay updated on new issues and solutions.
• Attend webinars or virtual conferences on new technologies or support best practices (we'll cover the costs).
• Take advantage of our internal training programmes on new system rollouts or advanced troubleshooting techniques.
• Seek out opportunities to shadow L3 or engineering teams to understand how they tackle more complex problems.

Career Progression Pathways

Entry Paths to This Role

• Path: L1 Technical Support Analyst
• Time: 2-3 years
• Path: IT Helpdesk Technician (External)
• Time: 2-4 years
• Path: Junior Systems Administrator
• Time: 1-2 years

Career Progression From This Role

• Pathway: Senior Global Systems Support Assistant
• Time: 3-5 years

Long Term Vision Potential Roles

• Title: Lead Systems Administrator
• Time: 5-8 years
• Title: Manager, Global Systems Support
• Time: 7-10 years
• Title: IT Service Delivery Manager
• Time: 8-12 years

How Zavmo Delivers This Role's Development

DISCOVER Phase: Skills Gap Analysis

Zavmo maps your current competencies against all requirements in this job description through conversational assessment. We evaluate your foundation skills (communication, strategic thinking), functional skills (CRM expertise, negotiation), and readiness for career progression.

Output: Personalised skills gap heat map showing strengths and priorities, estimated time to competency, neurodiversity accommodations.

DISCUSS Phase: Personalised Learning Pathway

Based on your DISCOVER results, Zavmo creates a personalised learning plan prioritised by impact: foundation skills first, then functional skills. We adapt to your learning style, pace, and neurodiversity needs (ADHD, dyslexia, autism).

Output: Week-by-week schedule, each module linked to specific job responsibilities, checkpoints and milestones.

DELIVER Phase: Conversational Learning

Learn through conversation, not boring modules. Zavmo uses 10 conversation types (Socratic dialogue, role-play, coaching, case studies) to build competence. Practice difficult QBR presentations, negotiate tough renewals, and handle churn conversations in a safe AI environment before facing real clients.

Example: "For 'Stakeholder Mapping', Zavmo will guide you through analysing a complex enterprise account, identifying key decision-makers, and building an engagement strategy."

DEMONSTRATE Phase: Competency Assessment

Zavmo automatically builds your evidence portfolio as you learn. Every conversation, practice scenario, and application example is captured and mapped to NOS performance criteria. When ready, your portfolio supports OFQUAL qualification claims and demonstrates competence to employers.

Output: Competency matrix, evidence portfolio (downloadable), qualification readiness, career progression score.