Service Desk Analyst

Sword is a leading provider of business technology solutions within the Energy, Public and Finance Sectors, driving real transformation change within our clients.  We use proven technology, specialist teams and domain expertise to build solid technical foundations across platforms, data and business applications.  We have a passion for using technology to solve business problems, working in partnership with our clients to help in achieving their goals.

The Service Desk Analyst provides high-quality technical support to customers across Sword’s Managed Services environments. The role is responsible for taking ownership of assigned Incidents and Requests, investigating issues, resolving them where possible and ensuring they are escalated appropriately when they cannot be resolved within the Service Desk.

The role combines technical support with strong service discipline and customer awareness. Service Desk Analysts are expected to take pride in the quality of their work, maintain accurate records, communicate clearly, follow agreed ways of working and contribute to a consistent and professional customer experience.

The role is an important part of Service Desk Operations and is expected to support the wider service through good ownership, effective execution, knowledge sharing and continual improvement.

What You'll Be Doing

Service Desk Support & Ownership

• Take ownership of assigned Incidents and Requests from initial investigation through to resolution, fulfilment or appropriate escalation.
• Provide effective technical support across customer environments, following agreed processes, procedures, service levels and customer commitments.
• Investigate and resolve issues within the scope of the Service Desk using a structured and methodical approach.
• Ensure tickets are accurately categorised, prioritised, documented and progressed throughout their lifecycle.
• Maintain clear ownership of actions, customer communication, technical investigation and next steps.
• Recognise when an issue cannot be resolved within the Service Desk and escalate it to the correct resolver team with the required information and evidence.
• Monitor assigned work and take action where tickets are ageing, stalled, approaching SLA breach or at risk of impacting the customer.
• Remain accountable for the customer experience and the quality of the handover when work is escalated.

Customer Experience & Service Delivery

• Provide professional, clear and timely communication throughout the Incident or Request lifecycle.
• Treat customers with respect and demonstrate care and attention in every interaction.
• Understand the impact of technical issues on the customer, their users and the wider service.
• Set realistic expectations and ensure customers are kept informed of progress, actions and changes to timescales.
• Build customer confidence through ownership, accuracy and consistent follow-through.
• Manage difficult or sensitive interactions calmly and professionally.
• Understand customer commitments and service levels and ensure they are reflected in day-to-day activity.
• Raise risks to service quality, customer experience or operational performance at the earliest opportunity.

Operational Excellence

• Work consistently within the Service Operations Manual, Service Operations Procedures, Service Desk standards and agreed customer ways of working.
• Maintain high standards of ticket quality, documentation, categorisation, prioritisation and ownership.
• Follow the agreed Incident, Request, Knowledge, Problem and Change processes.
• Use ServiceNow and other approved tools correctly and consistently to maintain accurate operational information.
• Support effective queue management and contribute to the achievement of SLA, KPI and customer performance targets.
• Identify ageing, stalled, misrouted, incorrectly prioritised or poorly documented work and take appropriate action.
• Maintain a disciplined and organised approach to workload management, handovers and shift responsibilities.
• Recognise operational risk and escalate issues where service quality, customer commitments or team performance may be affected.

Knowledge & Continual Improvement

• Create and maintain accurate knowledge articles, technical documentation, work instructions and ticket records.
• Use available knowledge and approved procedures to support consistent and effective resolution.
• Identify knowledge gaps, recurring incidents, avoidable contacts and opportunities to improve first-time resolution.
• Contribute to Problem Management, Continual Service Improvement and service optimisation activities.
• Share useful technical knowledge, lessons learned and customer information with colleagues.
• Support the introduction of new services, technologies, procedures and customer requirements into Service Desk Operations.
• Provide constructive feedback where processes, tools or ways of working are not supporting effective service delivery.
• Remain open to learning, developing technical capability and improving the way work is completed.

Team & Technical Collaboration

• Work collaboratively with Service Desk colleagues, Customer Operations, Technical Services and other resolver teams.
• Provide clear and useful handovers, updates and technical information to support continuity of service.
• Support colleagues during periods of high demand, major incidents or operational pressure.
• Ask for support when required and share information that may help others resolve issues more effectively.
• Follow agreed team standards and contribute positively to the Service Desk culture.
• Take responsibility for personal development and build the technical and service knowledge required for the role.
• Act as a reliable and professional member of the Service Desk Operations team.