IT Engineer 1st Line - Team Lead (Bristol)

Bristol, UK

Job Description

Posted Tuesday 7 April 2026 at 00:00

Salary: c£33,000 per annum (negotiable based on experience) + comprehensive benefits package

Jisc grade: TGE2

Job Type: Permanent

Hours: 35 hours per week

Reports into: WorkplaceIT service Desk Manager

Working style: Hybrid - A blend of working from home and the Bristol hub office.

Meeting in person is something we value, so you may need to travel on occasion to other offices. Due to the nature of the role, applicants should live within Bristol or within easy commuting distance.

About Jisc

For 30 years Jisc has pioneered digital solutions for UK education and research, transforming how knowledge is created, shared and used.

We are uniquely positioned to protect, promote and lead the sector in digital and data transformation, making a difference to students, communities and society. Together, we are working to build a better digital future for education and research.

Raise your potential at Jisc through our culture of lifelong learning. At Jisc, we're all about growth, so embrace new challenges, sharpen your skills and shape a career that excites you.

The Team

Jisc operates through several specialist directorates, each driving key areas of our work. This role sits within our Group CTO directorate, the hub for innovation, technology leadership, and the development of new digital products that support our members today and in the future. Most of our technical expertise lives here, giving us the capability to deliver Jisc's digital vision with impact and ambition.

Within the Group CTO directorate, the Workplace IT department provides essential technology services to colleagues and visitors. You'll be joining our Service Desk team, whose mission-guided by ITIL principles-is to maintain normal operations, respond to user requests, and resolve incidents and problems across a range of services and configuration items.

The role

We're looking for an experienced and motivated 1st Line Service Desk Team Lead to guide, support, and develop our frontline IT support team. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who enjoys balancing leadership responsibilities with hands on technical work.

About the role

In this blended role-split 50% team leadership and 50% technical support-you will ensure the smooth and efficient delivery of first line IT services. As the first point of contact for users, you and your team will diagnose faults, resolve incidents, and support installation and maintenance across core IT and videoconferencing technologies.

What you'll be doing

In this dual focus position-50% leadership & commercial oversight / 50% technical support-you will ensure high quality service delivery, smooth ticket management, and a customer centric culture within the team.

• Lead, motivate, and support the 1st Line Service Desk team, creating a positive and customer focused environment
• Track and analyse performance against SLAs and KPIs, offering coaching and constructive feedback
• Manage daily workload distribution to ensure efficient and timely ticket handling
• Serve as an escalation point for complex or high priority incidents
• Support the onboarding and training of new team members
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives, including automation and self service opportunities
• Collaborate with 2nd Line and other IT teams to ensure smooth, joined up service delivery
• Carry out quarterly reviews against agreed OKRs
• Oversee commercial processes including procure to pay, raising purchase orders, and goods receipting

1st Line Technical Support (50%)

• Manage and triage all incoming tickets via the ITSM platform
• Accurately identify, categorise, prioritise, diagnose, and progress incidents and service requests
• Communicate clearly and professionally with users throughout the ticket lifecycle
• Provide technical and administrative coordination to ensure service continuity
• Diagnose and resolve first line incidents and service requests
• Develop technical skills through training, documentation, and hands on experience
• Apply strong analytical thinking to assess issues and identify effective solutions
• Deliver excellent customer service-putting users at the heart of every interaction
• Provide support via face to face, email, telephone, and remote tools
• Escalate issues promptly to the appropriate team or specialist
• Maintain user accounts according to access control and account management policies
• Support and maintain video conferencing solutions
• Install and configure software and hardware according to defined standards
• Contribute to our IT knowledge base by documenting solutions and processes

What we are looking for

We're looking for someone who brings strong people skills, a customer first mindset, and solid technical understanding. You'll ideally have experience across the following areas:

Foundational

• Proven experience leading or mentoring a team in a customer focused environment
• Background in a customer facing role with strong communication skills
• Experience handling basic commercial or administrative tasks
• Ability to motivate and guide a team in a hybrid working environment
• Understanding of common end user devices, operating systems, and workplace technologies

Experienced

• Broader capability across all foundational requirements
• Demonstrated delivery of 15+ outcomes from the role's key deliverables
• Hands on experience installing and configuring IT hardware and software
• Proficiency using an ITSM (IT Service Management) platform
• Experience with electronic record and information management systems, such as:
  • HR systems
  • Asset management tools
  • SaaS administration portals
  • P2P / D365 finance systems
• Experience providing IT support both in person and remotely
• Knowledge of operating and maintaining video conference equipment
• Ability to deliver all remaining outputs aligned to the role's key deliverables
• Understanding of core networking concepts, including firewalls, routers, and switches

Qualifications & training Foundational

Evidence of professional development

Experienced

One or more of the following:

• Industry recognised certification in one or more core technologies used by Jisc
• SDI Service Desk Manager

Why work for us?

At Jisc, every role is meaningful, and every individual is valued. We foster a culture of continuous learning and personal growth, offering opportunities to develop new skills and make a real impact in education and research. With a strong focus on work life balance, we embrace flexible working that prioritises outcomes over hours, empowering you to create a rhythm that energises both your professional and personal life.

Discover the amazing benefits we provide! Here's what you can look forward to:

• Flexible work pattern, which can adapt to suit your schedules and personal commitments
• 31 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) that includes three closure days over Christmas
• Buy up to an additional 5 days leave during the flexible benefits window
• A range of wellbeing lifestyle benefits including company paid health care cash plan, mental health first aiders and support
• A company culture of continuous learning with access to thousands of LinkedIn Learning courses, and lots of resources and opportunities to support your development
• Financial well being support including access to preferential loan and savings plans, mortgage advice, will writing tools and support and resources to help you make the most of your money
• A wide range of discounts and cashback from retailers and big name high street stores
• Family friendly policies including enhanced parental, maternity and paternity and co parental leave as well as opportunity for career breaks
• Support your volunteering with up to 3 days volunteer leave

Equity, diversity and inclusion

Jisc believe our people make all the difference in cultivating an inclusive culture that welcomes ideas, encourages innovation, and values belonging.

We work hard to create an equitable experience for our candidates and workforce which embraces all aspects of their identity including race and ethnicity, religion and belief, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, trans identities, age, class, disability, neurodivergence, or veteran status.