Applications Specialist

The starting salary for this role is £36,282 per annum for working 36 hours per week.

Our IT and Digital (IT&D) team is part of the Orbis partnership, which encompasses Surrey County Council, East Sussex County Council and Brighton & Hove City Council. The purpose of this partnership is to deliver greater value for our councils, residents and customers by increasing efficiencies and exploiting the benefits of sharing people, resources and technology.

The IT&D Service of Surrey County Council provides technical expert knowledge and guidance in developing effective business solutions for the County Council Services, to provide for the effective delivery of front-line services.

As part of the Education and Social Care Applications Team, you will help to ensure efficient and effective systems ownership support and improvement. This is a key post and will be predominantly responsible for Social Care IT systems/applications across a Microsoft Windows based environment.

The Council’s IT&D service directly supports approximately 10,000 staff across a variety of businesses. In addition to this, IT&D collaborates with partners within and beyond Surrey’s borders, including our Orbis partners, Central Surrey Health and NHS Digital.

Are you the kind of person who is always trying to find better ways of doing things and developing yourself?

Would you like to be part of a team supporting colleagues across Surrey County Council and helping them be more productive?

If the answer is yes, then this could be your next step!

Responsibilities include prioritising your workload to meet required deadlines, ensuring accurate updates to the team’s call logging systems, and monitoring progress with third parties. You will be encouraged to contribute and develop ideas to enhance efficiency within the service and find ways to improve processes.

You should be highly literate in the use of IT systems, with great communication skills, strong analytical problem-solving skills, and a proven track record in providing excellent customer support. You should have a real desire to develop professionally and be able to work well under pressure.

To be successful in this role, you will need to have a demonstrable track record of supporting key database systems with a large user base. Proven experience of successful, collaborative working on application developments with IT colleagues, service experts and third-party suppliers is essential. The Applications Specialist role needs to combine technical knowledge with a proactive approach to planning and solution delivery.

As important as system knowledge is the desire to constantly learn new skills, own issues and be tenacious. There is also a requirement for excellent communications skills, attention to detail and the ability to document and share knowledge.

Our team is proud of the excellent customer service it provides but is committed to a philosophy of continuous improvement; promoting innovation, sharing knowledge and skills and seeking personal development.

To be shortlisted to interview for this position your application will clearly evidence:

• Provision of 2nd line support for critical Education and Social Care applications.
• Managing the technical and application support of systems, in development, testing, and production environments within a change management process.
• Ability to communicate at all levels, with strong interpersonal communication skills, and provide excellent customer service.
• Proven experience within an IT support role.
• Strong problem solving, diagnosis and monitoring skills in order to provide a high level of system availability and security.
• Analytical thinker with excellent attention to detail and a strong personal drive to deliver high standards, best practices and documented procedures.
• Strong written communication including technical and non-technical documentation.
• Providing customer focused support and consultancy on the use of IT applications to maximise the potential benefits to the business.
• Ability to work as part of a team supporting colleagues in project and “business as usual” support.

If this is something you would be interested in being part of then please click the 'Apply online' button below.

At Surrey, our values and behaviours are just as important as our skills and abilities. They shape who we are as an organisation. Find out more about the values we follow.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 4th December 2022 with interviews to follow.

Contact Details

For an informal discussion please contact Christine Pettitt by email at christine.pettitt@surreycc.gov.uk.

To be considered for this role, you must include a supporting statement of no more than 2 pages which outlines why you are applying for the position, how you meet the criteria for this role and anything else you believe to be relevant to your application along with your CV.

We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Benefits

From flexible working to job sharing (where possible) we are committed to providing a healthy work life balance. A laptop and mobile will be supplied if applicable to your role. You will benefit from 26 days annual leave, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service, a generous local government salary related pension, as well as the option to join our car lease scheme. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit MyBenefits for Surrey County Council staff.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer of first choice reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all under represented groups.