Hours: 37 hours Monday to Friday only, 52 Weeks per year

Contract: Permenant 

Reports to: Service Delivery Manager

Team: Technology in Schools

Location: Hertfordshire- Flexibility required to work across educational settings in Hertfordshire

Our company 

Herts for Learning (HfL) is an award-winning provider of products and services to schools and educational settings within and outside Hertfordshire. We believe that every young person, through access to a great education, should be able to realise their potential, regardless of where they live or their circumstances. 

We focus on supporting the schools we work with to achieve successful long-term outcomes for their children. HfL is majority owned by Hertfordshire schools and operates with a not-for-profit ethos. 

Job context

HfL’s Business Services delivers a complete range of services to support school and educational settings, develop and complement the work of Headteachers, Governors, School Business Managers, Finance, HR and admin staff, as well as helping them get the best from existing technology. The Technology in Schools team provide support, guidance, training, project management, solution architecture and consultancy services to approximately 300 schools in Hertfordshire.

Purpose of the job

As an IT Technician at Herts for Learning you become part of the school family, travelling to school sites providing hands-on support to solve IT issues and building trusted relationships.

During school holidays you’ll join one of our installation teams, visiting school sites to assist with the installation of new school networks, WiFi or Cloud solutions, and the enrolment of new devices and applications for schools.

Main areas of responsibility

To deliver the onsite support element of our managed ICT service to schools, including:

• Maintenance and support of ICT equipment including Microsoft Windows, Apple iOS and Google devices
• Setup and build of workstations/laptops/tablets to company standard configuration
• Installation and configuration of software, drivers, printers etc.
• Basic administration of Office365
• Maintenance and troubleshooting of Audio-Visual equipment – interactive whiteboards, projectors, smart TVs, digital signage etc.

The duties and responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present.  The post holder is expected to accept any reasonable alterations that may from time to time become necessary, particularly in light of the current Covid-19 situation.

Person specification

Please provide a covering letter outlining why you are applying and how you meet the criteria below;

• A genuine passion for technology. Have you done any free online training? Have you built a website? Do you support family and friends with their IT issues?
• Enthusiasm and willingness to learn lots of new skills and technologies
• A reliable car is essential and you must be located within 20 miles of central Hertfordshire
• A positive attitude and a passion for helping people

Knowledge/ Experience of:

• Some experience of Windows operating systems up to and including Windows 10/Server 2016, Antivirus software, Wireless technologies, Apple iOS, Office365
• Some experience of working in an educational environment (not essential)
• Any other relevant qualifications, more specifically in a technical subject
• We will consider applications from a non-technical background if you show aptitude, passion and enthusiasm for learning technology skills

Skills and abilities:

• Have an approachable manner, be professional, organised and methodical and be able to manage and prioritise your own workload whilst remaining calm under pressure
• Pro-active attitude

• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written)
• Very good administrative abilities to log activities accurately in a timely manner
• Excellent customer service skills
• Willing to learn new skills and take on new responsibilities as required
• Ability to work using your own initiative or as part of a team
• Problem solving and troubleshooting skills

The ability to reach different locations by car is essential to this role. If you drive then a full driving licence and appropriate car insurance will be required and, you will need to be based within 20 miles of Central Hertfordshire.

Training will be provided as part of your extensive induction programme and once you are out in schools, support is provided by our Service Desk.  As you will predominantly be working alone, this role will suit a candidate who is eager to learn and able to work under their own initiative.

Equal Opportunities

HfL is committed to being an equal opportunities employer. We insist on the equal treatment of all current and prospective colleagues and will never condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.

HfL is also equally committed to becoming an anti-racist organisation and we encourage you to view our Black Lives Matter statement which gives clarity on our anti-racist stance. In our relentless efforts to be an anti-racist organisation, we recognise the negative impacts of under representation and lack of diversity in our organisation, our education system and in all aspects of our society. Therefore, for recruitment into any HfL post, where we have 2 or more candidates of equal merit, candidates with protected characteristics will be given advantage over candidates without such characteristics. This is sometimes referred to as a ‘tie-breaker’ and is referred to as ‘positive action’ in the Equality Act 2010.

To help us meet our high standards and aspirations of a fully diverse and inclusive workplace, we strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply and to join us.

Please note that if you are invited to interview, we will expect you to be prepared to discuss unconscious bias with us; we find these conversations more than any others give us all a good idea of what working together will be like. 

Disclosure and Barring Service

This post may be subject to full pre-employment checks and is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Please note that additional information referring to the Disclosure and Barring Service is in the guidance notes to the application form.  If you are invited to an interview you will receive more information.

Health and safety

It will be the duty of every employee while at work to take reasonable care for the Health and safety of themselves and of other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work.

Intellectual property rights

It is a contractual requirement of all employees of HfL to protect the intellectual, property rights of the company and to adhere to our company policy with regard to IP.

For an informal discussion regarding the role, please contact Bharat Desai via email on Bharat.Desai@hertsforlearning.co.uk

To apply, email a detailed CV and a Cover letter, explaining how you meet the requirements of the job outline to hfl.recruitment@hertsforlearning.co.uk. We would also love to hear why you are interested in becoming part of the HfL team.

As part of our move towards eradicating unconscious bias within the recruitment process, we will be anonymising your forms.

To help HfL make sure our policies and working practices are inclusive and non-discriminatory we would like you to complete the HfL equal opportunities form. This will not be stored with your application and will only be utilised by HR.

Please note that the interviews will be taking place remotely.

This job vacancy may close as soon as sufficient applications have been received. To make sure you don’t miss out on this great opportunity, please submit your application as soon as you can