IT Operations & Identity Support Analyst

About the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI)

ISI is an independent inspectorate, appointed by the Department for Education to inspect association independent schools in England. Our inspection reports inform the Department for Education on the extent to which the statutory Independent School Standards are met. We are also approved by the Department for Education to inspect British schools overseas and by the Home Office to inspect private further education colleges and language schools. These cover more than 1,300 association independent schools and further education colleges which together educate half a million children and young people.

Every inspection assesses whether safeguarding arrangements for pupils meet the requirements of Keeping Children Safe in Education and other relevant statutory guidance. Our inspections evaluate all aspects of education through the lens of pupils’ wellbeing.

Role Profile

JOB TITLE: IT Operations & Identity Support Analyst

REPORTING TO: Head of IT

LOCATION: ISI’s London office

CONTRACT:Permanent, Full Time,

HOURS: 35 Hours per week, Hybrid work arrangement – 3 days in the office, 2 days WFH

About the Role

This role will support the operational foundation of ISI's IT function, ensuring colleagues and contractors have timely, secure and reliable access to the technology and services they need to carry out their work. The role combines frontline IT support with a significant focus on identity and access management, reflecting the size of the organisation's contractor population. The postholder will take day-to-day ownership of user provisioning and deprovisioning, Microsoft Entra ID administration, access requests, account management and multi-factor authentication support, alongside wider IT support responsibilities.

The role is important to both service delivery and information security. By providing consistent ownership of routine operational and identity-management activity, the postholder will improve the user experience, strengthen access controls and enable more specialist IT colleagues to focus on platform administration, security and transformation.

This is a development-focused role for someone with a good foundation in IT support who wants to build deeper expertise in identity management, Microsoft cloud technologies, IT operations and information security.

What You'll Be Doing

Key responsibilities include:

A. IT Operations & User Support

• Provide responsive first and second-line IT support to employees, contractors and other authorised users.
• Receive, log, prioritise and resolve incidents and service requests through the IT service desk.
• Troubleshoot common hardware, software, connectivity, Microsoft 365 and account-related issues.
• Support the setup, configuration and deployment of laptops, mobiles, peripherals and other workplace technology.
• Provide clear, accessible guidance to users with different levels of technical confidence.
• Escalate complex or specialist technical issues appropriately while retaining ownership until resolution or formal handover.
• Maintain accurate records of incidents, requests, assets and user accounts.
• Identify recurring problems and contribute to practical improvements in IT services and user experience.

B. Identity & Access Management

• Administer user identities and accounts within Microsoft Entra ID and associated systems.
• Manage the joiner, mover and leaver lifecycle, ensuring accounts and access are created, amended and removed promptly.
• Process user provisioning and deprovisioning in accordance with approved procedures.
• Manage access requests and verify appropriate authorisation before granting permissions.
• Support administration of groups, licences, roles and other identity-related configurations.
• Provide frontline support for multi-factor authentication (MFA), account recovery and authentication issues.
• Investigate and resolve routine access problems, escalating security concerns or unusual requests appropriately.
• Maintain accurate identity and access records to support auditability and compliance.
• Support periodic user and access reviews and help identify inappropriate, redundant or excessive access.

C. Security, Governance & Compliance

• Apply the principle of least privilege when managing access.
• Follow organisational policies relating to information security, data protection, acceptable use and access control.
• Ensure leaver access is removed within agreed timescales.
• Maintain appropriate audit trails and evidence for identity and access-management activities.
• Support IT audits, compliance reviews and information-security activities.
• Escalate suspected security incidents, inappropriate access or policy breaches promptly.
• Promote secure behaviours and good IT practices among users and contractors.

D. Service Improvement & Development

• Maintain and improve IT support procedures, knowledge articles and user guidance.
• Identify opportunities to simplify, standardise or automate routine operational processes.
• Contribute to the development of joiner, mover and leaver processes and associated controls.
• Support IT projects, system changes and service improvements as required.
• Develop technical knowledge through training, self-directed learning and practical experience.
• Build progressively deeper expertise in Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft 365, endpoint management, identity governance and information security.

What we are looking for:

Essential Experience and Skills

• Experience providing IT support within a professional environment.
• Experience troubleshooting Windows, Microsoft 365 and workplace technology.
• Experience administering Microsoft Entra ID.
• Experience administering user accounts and access permissions.
• Good understanding of identity and access management principles.
• Experience supporting MFA and account access issues.
• Experience using an IT service desk or ticketing system.
• Strong customer service and communication skills.
• Good understanding of information security principles.
• Excellent attention to detail and organisational skills.
• Microsoft Intune or endpoint management experience.
• Knowledge of identity governance or access reviews.
• PowerShell or scripting experience.
• ITIL Foundation or similar service management knowledge.
• Experience supporting a distributed or contractor-based workforce.
• Experience working in a not-for-profit or mission-led organisation.

Appointment is subject to a clear basic DBS, right to work and references check by ISI.

#J-18808-Ljbffr