Business Systems Apprentice

About us:

Estuary is a Housing Association with a strong and clear regional commitment within Essex. We work very successfully within every district in Essex, the three outer East London Boroughs and in the Suffolk Coastal District.

We currently own and manage over 4600 properties. We are always looking at ways to increase the number of homes we can offer and believe it is important to build communities, not just homes.

We are committed to the provision of good-quality housing, care and support services to meet local needs and to contribute to the development of sustainable communities. Our residents are at the heart of everything we do, their views are important to us in helping shaping future services.

Overall purpose of the role:

The Business Systems team, within the Technology & Change department, operates in an enterprise environment underpinned by the ITIL framework. Performing development, installation, configuration and maintenance of Business Systems, software, and applications within existing standards and predetermined timescales.

The role holder will:

• Be responsible for personal education, completing Level 4 Software Engineer apprenticeship, including End-Point assessment.
• Provide quality technical maintenance and support for all Business Systems and software.
• Offer end-user support through actions via ITSM Tool, MS Teams, face-to-face, or over the phone.
• Provide support to all business system, either under request, task, change, Continual Service Improvement (CSI), or incidents within the ITIL framework. This will involve close and frequent liaison with the business and T&C functions.
• Provide support to existing Business Systems, understand how systems work, understand what is being discussed and be quick to respond and confident in making fast (but solid) support decisions.
• Work with Business Systems Manager on support, development, management, and integrity of our data, ensuring data across reports and databases is accurate and reconciled as necessary and undertaking key Data Analyst, Application Support and Database Administrator activities such as ongoing report development and support day-to-day operational management of new/modified data feeds, SQL Server database and DTS/SSIS support, troubleshooting and maintenance.
• Work on support of existing Dynamics CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system and assist with ongoing development. This role will have exposure to User Acceptance Testing (UAT), requirements gathering to support new and existing CSIs and project workloads as guided by Business Systems Manager.
• Work tactically within both Business-as-Usual (BAU) and project support.
• Provide documentation for departmental operational procedures and knowledge base items.
• Demonstrate humility, pride in work, and professionalism, showcasing exceptional hands-on engagement, stakeholder management, communication, and personal management skills to facilitate efficient delivery of both operational service and project change.

Personal qualities:

• Demonstrates a can-do attitude.
• Strong analytical skills and a problem-solving mindset.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment.
• Exhibits excellent interpersonal and communication skills, effectively bridging technical and non-technical conversations.
• Presents a professional image when interacting with colleagues, customers, suppliers and stakeholders.
• Influences decision-making and takes ownership of resolving issues to customers' satisfaction.
• Displays a service-driven mentality, pragmatism, and professionalism.
• Possesses strong planning, organisational, reporting, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Manages time effectively, meeting deadlines and remaining calm under pressure.
• Comfortably deals with ambiguity, demonstrating self-motivation, ambition, and enthusiasm.
• Committed to and pro-actively demonstrates the values of Estuary – Respect, One Estuary, Accountable, Responsible.
• Display attitudes to support strategy in line with our values and behaviours framework
• Ability to identify, understand and respond to the needs of customers
• Adapts to changing priorities, handles queries effectively, and maintains confidentiality.
• Flexibility to work in an agile environment, either on-site or remotely, as needed.

Entry requirements:

• The learner must have completed a Level 3 Software Development Apprenticeship with QA or have an equivalent qualification with another training provider
• OR an A-level in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) subject and a successful completion of our aptitude test
• OR a BTEC Diploma in IT and a successful completion of our aptitude test
• OR 2 years’ experience in a relevant role and successful completion of our aptitude test

You may also have a combination of qualifications and experience which demonstrate the minimum foundation needed for the programme. In this instance you could still be considered for the programme.

If you hold international equivalents of the above qualifications, at the time of your application you must be able to provide an official document that states how your international qualifications compare to the UK qualifications. 

For more information please visit the UK ENIC website. 

Conditions of employment:

Normal hours of work are 35 per week exclusive of meal times. Daily hours of attendance are variable, subject to a team rota and will consist of 7 hours per day either between 8am – 4pm or 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday with one hour for lunch.

Some evening, weekend and Bank Holiday work may be required.

1 full day per week will be allocated for training for the apprentice to engage with their studies.

Estuary benefits:

• Flexible and Hybrid Working
• Pension Scheme
• Generous Holiday and Additional Paid Leave Allowances
• Mental Health Support
• Health Care Cash Plan

Future prospects:

90% of QA Apprentices secure permanent employment after finishing their apprenticeship.  Additionally, there may be opportunities to undertake further apprenticeship training as many of our programs offer on-going development tracks. 

Important information:

Our apprenticeships are the perfect way to gain new skills, earn while you learn, and launch yourself into an exciting future. With over 30,000 successful apprenticeship graduates, we're a top 50 training provider, dedicated to helping you succeed. 
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