IT Service Desk Analyst in North East

Join one of the UK’s largest electrical wholesalers as we reimagine our technology for the digital age. We’re modernising our legacy systems and building new platforms powered by AWS and AI — and we need creative minds to help us shape the future!

About the Role

Our Service Desk is the front line of IT at CEF. You’ll be the first person our people come to when something isn’t working, and the one responsible for getting it sorted or moving it to the right place quickly. You’ll also spend time working with our Application Support team early on, so you can build a proper understanding of how our core systems work — not just from a user perspective, but what’s happening underneath. This role is suited to someone who enjoys solving problems, takes responsibility, and wants to build a career in IT.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the first point of contact for all IT support requests via phone, email, self‑service, and face‑to‑face.
• Log, categorise, prioritise, and maintain all Incidents, Service Requests, and Procurement tickets accurately.
• Resolve support queries at first contact wherever possible.
• Escalate tickets to the correct teams when needed, providing clear and complete handover information.
• Work collaboratively within a shift‑based team to ensure full coverage of business hours.
• Provide first‑line support for our ERP and core business applications, including Sales, Purchase, Stock, and Reporting.
• Triage application issues to determine whether they can be resolved immediately or need further investigation.
• Investigate and deep‑dive into more complex problems before escalation, helping to reduce unnecessary handoffs.
• Identify recurring issues and highlight opportunities for process improvement.
• Work with the wider Application Support and Development teams to help resolve complex incidents.

Essential Experience

• Exceptional communication skills — clear, professional, and empathetic across all channels.
• A natural problem‑solver who takes ownership and drives issues to resolution.
• Technically literate with a genuine curiosity about how systems and applications work.
• Comfortable working with Microsoft Office applications and familiar with common IT tools and environments.
• Experience making decisions and prioritising issues based on the information available.
• Able to follow and apply processes consistently under pressure.
• Strong team player who can collaborate effectively and communicate handovers clearly.
• Demonstrates initiative and a genuine desire to learn and develop.

Desirable Experience

• Experience in a service desk, help desk, or IT support environment.
• Awareness of ERP or business application systems (e.g. sales, stock, purchasing workflows).
• Familiarity with ITIL principles or incident/change management processes.
• Experience with Jira Service Desk or similar ticketing platforms.
• Relevant IT qualifications (e.g. CompTIA, Microsoft, ITIL Foundation).

Working Pattern

This role is based at our Durham office (Janet Nash House) and follows a structured hybrid working pattern. You’ll spend three days each week on‑site with the team, with the remaining time working remotely. Working hours are rota‑based across shifts: 7:00am–3:00pm and 9:30am–5:30pm during the week, alongside participation in a Saturday rota approximately every 8–9 weeks (9:00am–1:00pm). We’ll give you plenty of notice for shift patterns, and the rotation is shared fairly across the team. This setup helps us provide consistent support to the business while giving you variety in your working week and flexibility outside of core hours.