Graduate Apprentice Analyst

The University

At Durham University we are proud of our people. A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting - Durham is a university like no other.

Across the University we have a huge variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, which is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally. Whether you are at the very start, middle or end of your career, there is a role for you. We believe everyone has their own unique skills to offer.

We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University. Further information about the University can be found here

The Role and the Department

The Computing and Information Services (CIS) has an annual operational budget in excess of £12m, multi-million pound programmes of change within year, and approximately 185 staff. The Senior Leadership Team report directly to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) with the following portfolios: Strategy and Change; Operations; Information Systems, and Cyber Security. CIS work with departments across the university to provide academic, teaching and administrative services that underpin the day-to-day activities of the whole organisation. Details of the Digital Strategy and ongoing work can be found in our Digital Strategy.

CIS is a friendly, but demanding department, where much is expected and can be achieved by competent, self-motivated individuals who demonstrate team work ability. The department works in a hybrid (remote and on-site) capacity depending on the job role and individual personal requirements.

The Graduate Apprentice Analyst (Linux) will be a member of the department's specialist Linux team, which is responsible for design, configuration, deployment, support and maintenance of new and existing services based on Linux, supporting the goals of the Computing and Information Services department as well as academic colleagues and students in departments, research institutes and colleges.

Most of the current Linux server estate is CentOS / RHEL - and currently in the process of migrating to RHEL. These are fully config managed, and version controlled using Puppet and Github Enterprise. The managed storage platform is based on NetApp and Pure FlashArray.

The Linux Desktop estate is Debian, with plans to upgrade to a later version in the next year. Many applications are packaged and made available to our desktop platform. We aim to be flexible and open to new technologies in all areas of our service.

The successful candidate will undertake a compulsory apprenticeship programme of master's level study, that will enable the award of MSc Digital and Technology Specialist.

To be eligible to apply for a graduate apprenticeship position, you must have obtained a higher education qualification at bachelor's level and possess a minimum 2:2 classification by a recognised university or other recognised higher education institution. You must not have undertaken a previous masters level qualification in a similar IT related discipline.

Working at Durham

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits:

• 27 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year (The University closes between Christmas and New Year) - a total of 39 days per year.
• No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies.
• Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state of the art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
• On site nursery is available and access to holiday camps for children aged 5-16 throughout the year.
• Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
• There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.
• The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community
• Discounts are available via our benefits portal including; money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions.
• We offer generous pension schemes.

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion

Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work.

As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University's Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It's important to us that all of our colleagues are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.

We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. If you have taken time out of your career, and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.
What you need to demonstrate when you apply/Person Specification

When you apply it is important that you let us know what skills/experience you have from a similar role and/or what skills/experience you have which would make you right for this role. Further information about the role and responsibilities is at the end of this job description. Where a criteria has an asterisk* next to it, it may be given additional weighting when your application is considered.

Your application should cover the following criteria:

Essential Criteria

Qualifications/Experience

1. Five GCSE's at least Grade C or level four (or equivalent) including English Language and Mathematics or a Post-16 qualification or equivalent experience.

2. Have been awarded a higher education qualification at bachelor's level and possess a minimum 2:2 classification by a recognised university or other recognised higher education institution

3. Must meet the criteria to be eligible for the MSc programme.

4. Experience of working within a team to ensure the delivery of high-quality services.

5. Experience of providing advice and guidance to a range of customers or colleagues

6. Experience of managing time to meet deadlines.

Skills/Abilities/Knowledge

7. Excellent spoken and written communication skills and the ability to develop effective working relationships, both internally and externally.

8. Strong digital competence across a range of digital devices and apps including installing, maintaining and administration of Linux (e.g. RHEL / CentOS / Debian) infrastructure and associated software (e.g. LAMP Stack, Tomcat)*.

9. Committed to continuing professional development.

10. Ability to solve problems yourself and as part of a team and plan appropriate solutions.

11. Ability to provide support for infrastructure projects (e.g. physical server replacements).

12. Ability to participate in social networks to share and discuss good practice and exchange information.

Desirable Criteria

13. ITIL Foundation

14. Exposure to Configuration Management (e.g. Puppet)

15. A good understanding of Enterprise Storage systems.

16. Experience using Backup Management services.

17. Experience with Virtualisation platforms (e.g. VMware)

How to apply

To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above. Where there are desirable criteria we would also urge you to provide any relevant evidence. Please don't forget to check if there is any weighted criteria (see above).

While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.

Submitting your application

We prefer to receive applications online. We will update you about your application at various points during the process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails

What you are required to submit:

• A CV
• A supporting statement which shows examples of how you meet all of the criteria within the Person Specification

Contact details

If you would like to have a chat or ask any questions about the role, Barry Simpson (Senior Manager - Platforms) would be happy to speak to you.

Typical Role Requirements

Service Delivery



• Show a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and the University's values.

• Respond to queries and provide information/advice, while raising more specialist or complex queries with more experienced team members.

• Use your experience and problem-solving skills to investigate and resolve issues relevant to your role such as third line support calls and make recommendations based on your findings.

• Use your technical knowledge and specialist skills to design physical and virtual architecture solutions using the resources available to you.

• Ensure that information used to analyse reported issues is accurate and provide reports and analysis of patterns and trends to senior colleagues.

• Monitor and analyse the use of Linux and storage services to ensure efficiency and report your findings to senior colleagues.

• Manage and monitor the use of Linux and storage services, resources and equipment.

• Deliver infrastructure support services relating to Linux platforms to support the University's activities.

• Support the use of CIS security team initiatives to meet security and safety requirements.

• Continually review what is required from staff, students and others who you work with to make sure the best possible service is provided.

• Prepare safety documents and risk assessments relating to activities across the estate.

Planning and Organising

• Plan and organise own workload to deliver the role.

• Organise and schedule assigned incident and change resolutions.

• Monitor processes and activities to ensure team priorities are met.

• Help to plan and evaluate the services provided by your area to ensure that requirements from your service are being met.

Teamwork

• Provide specialist support and advice to team members on Linux platforms.

• Make changes to the services provided by your team in discussion with other team members.

• Identify opportunities and contribute to decisions on how to improve services being delivered by the team.

• Seek feedback from students, staff and colleagues on their requirements from your service and recommend improvements to senior colleagues.

Communications/Liaison

• Use your knowledge and expertise to provide advice and guidance to resolve problems and respond to a wide range of queries.

• Provide instruction and demonstration to others within CIS.

• Explain and demonstrate tasks to others to ensure that processes are followed correctly.

• Create good working relationships with other team members and anyone else that you come across as part of your role to work together on joint activities.

• Create good working relationships with internal and external partners and suppliers to work together on joint activities.

• Build relationships with contacts and contribute to internal and external networks to share good practice and exchange information.

• Liaise with existing staff, contractors and third-party suppliers to ensure that services are safe and secure.

• Attend training / conferences appropriate to the role

• Any other reasonable duties.

Useful links
If you would like further information you may find the following will help

Computing and Information Services Homepage

Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Privacy Notices - Durham University which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.

When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.

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