1st Line Application Support Analyst – SQL (12-Months Contract)

• The 1st Line Application Support Analyst will provide first-line application and technical support to users by investigating, diagnosing and resolving application and data-related issues.
• This is a highly analytical role requiring strong SQL capability, excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical users. The successful candidate will use SQL extensively to investigate incidents, interrogate databases, validate data, identify root causes and support the resolution of application issues.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide first-line application support to internal and external users.
• Receive, investigate, troubleshoot and resolve application-related incidents and queries.
• Use SQL to interrogate databases, investigate transactions and identify data-related issues.
• Analyse system behaviour, application information and data to determine root causes.
• Identify whether issues relate to data, application functionality, configuration or user processes.
• Reproduce issues where possible and provide detailed information for escalation.
• Escalate complex technical issues to second-line support or development teams.
• Work closely with developers and technical teams to investigate and resolve application defects.
• Assist with testing fixes and confirming that issues have been successfully resolved.
• Monitor recurring incidents and identify trends or potential underlying problems.
• Maintain accurate incident records and document resolutions and workarounds.
• Communicate clearly and consistently with users throughout the support process.
• Translate technical findings into clear, understandable explanations for business users.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of support processes, documentation and knowledge bases.

Essential Skills & Experience

SQL – Critical

• Strong practical SQL experience.
• Ability to write, understand and troubleshoot complex SQL queries.
• Strong understanding of joins, filtering, aggregation, subqueries and data relationships.
• Experience investigating data discrepancies and application transactions.
• Ability to use SQL as a troubleshooting and diagnostic tool.
• Strong database investigation and analytical capabilities.

Analytical & Problem-Solving Skills – Critical

• Strong analytical thinking and exceptional attention to detail.
• Structured and methodical approach to troubleshooting.
• Ability to investigate issues from initial symptoms through to root cause.
• Comfortable working with large volumes of information and data.
• Strong investigative, diagnostic and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to identify patterns and trends across incidents and data.

Communication & Customer Service – Critical

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Comfortable engaging directly with users and business stakeholders.
• Ability to ask the right questions to understand and diagnose an issue.
• Ability to explain technical problems in straightforward, business-friendly language.
• Professional, responsive and customer-focused approach.
• Ability to communicate effectively when escalating issues to technical teams.

Technical Skills

Required

• Strong SQL / SQL Server experience.
• Application troubleshooting and support experience.
• Database and data investigation experience.
• Experience working with incident or service management processes.

Advantageous

• C# / .NET experience or a working understanding of the technology.
• Ability to read and understand C# code.
• Exposure to application development environments.
• Experience working with incident/service management tools.
• Understanding of software development and testing processes.
• Exposure to application testing and defect resolution.