Lead Software Engineer

Department for Work and Pensions

Apply before 11:55 pm on Wednesday 4th December 2024

 

Details

Reference number

379188

Salary

£72,664 - £89,995
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Job grade

Grade 6

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

DWP - Digital

Type of role

Digital
Engineering
Information Technology

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

This role will be based in Newcastle. Please find further information on the Corporate hub locations here.

Job summary

Within Working Age Services Digital, we are responsible for a number of existing services which support the core of society and is the department’s highest profile benefit service, Universal Credit.

We’re looking for an outstanding Lead Software Engineer, who wants to play a major role in the design and implementation of exciting modern digital services for the UK Government. You’ll be part of a team dedicated to the creation of Universal Credit which is actively delivering for 5.5 million citizens every day.

Let’s be clear about the impact of your work – the products we build are the changing the face of public services with the potential to dramatically transform the future of millions of people.

Working Age Services is undergoing a period of technical change in line with our technical strategy – aiming to become more consistent in our ways of working, more standardised in our technical stacks, and transforming some of our service’s monolithic architectures into microservices.

You will be a hands-on technical leader spanning multiple multi-disciplinary agile delivery teams, working with these teams to ensure that the Working Age Services technical strategy, that you help shape, is being enacted.

Please note this role requires you to pass Security Check clearance. For further information, please see 'Selection process details'.

Job description

Our Lead Software Engineers are experts in their field, skilled in multiple disciplines, role models in software craftsmanship and have proven experience in the design, development and support of software products.

Responsible for defining medium to long term strategies for product lines, defining guidelines for the Engineering community and leading their adoption across teams in order to deliver quality software products.

You’ll lead the design of complex software products that make up citizen services in collaboration with Architecture.

You’ll own standards for Software Engineering, ensuring that high quality, secure and consistent software solutions for Working Age Service benefits (incorporating Universal Credit) are delivered that meet the needs of our agents and claimants. 

Lead engineers as well as actively collaborate with others, champion technical evolution within the organisation, and lead the Software Engineering community to deliver the strategic vision.

Our Software Engineers build and run applications as part of multi-functional agile delivery teams. What really excites the successful candidate is problem-solving and the opportunity to deliver innovative technology that carries real value for users. You’ll be expected to draw value from collaboration with others, actively seek input from colleagues and value a multidisciplinary team over hierarchy.

You’ll act as a Software Engineering leader across the Working Age Services space, with line management responsibility of Senior Software Engineers.  You will lead existing Software Engineers while increasing capability, standards and practices across the organisation.

Person specification

When giving details in your CV you should highlight your experience in line with essential criteria below:

  • Lead Criterion - Significant Experience of leading teams and working in a complex, multi-disciplinary environment, delivering products within specific timescales and engaging with multiple Stakeholders.
  • Expert knowledge and extensive experience of open source technologies like Java.
  • Expert and extensive Knowledge and experience of developing on cloud based environments like AWS.
  • Extensive experience and knowledge of Test Driven Development.
  • Knowledge and experience of SQL and noSQL database applications such as Postgres, MySQL, and MongoDB.
  • Extensive knowledge and experience of Containerisation – tools such as Docker.
  • Knowledge and experience of APIs, RESTful services and Microservice Architectures.

If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact Sam.hackett@dwp.gov.uk.

Alongside your salary of £72,664, Department for Work and Pensions contributes £21,050 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

We also have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

  • Working patterns to support work/life balance such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
  • Generous annual leave – at least 23 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (pro–rata for part time employees), plus 9 days public and privilege leave.
  • Support for financial wellbeing, including interest-free season ticket loans for travel, a cycle to work scheme and an employee discount scheme.
  • Health and wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme for specialist advice and counselling and the opportunity to join HASSRA a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly).
  • Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and shared parental leave pay after 1 year’s continuous service.
  • Funded learning and development to support progress in your role and career. This includes industry recognised qualifications and accreditations, coaching, mentoring and talent development programmes.
  • An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join professional and interpersonal networks including Women’s Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.

This job role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in their DWP office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business need but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post. 

Salary Information

Pay for this role is from £72,664 to £77,740.  

The maximum salary for the grade is £77,740, however a Digital Allowance of up to £12,255 per annum is available for exceptional candidates. Digital Allowance is non-salary, and non-pensionable, and is classed as a temporary allowance. It is reviewed annually where it could be retained, amended, or removed.  

Our offer to successful candidates will be based on an assessment of your skills and experience as demonstrated at interview.  

Existing Civil Servants who secure a new role on lateral transfer should maintain their current salary.  

Existing Civil Servants who gain promotion may move to the bottom of the grade pay scale or 10% increase in salary whichever would be the greater. 

Selection process details

Stage 1: Application

As part of the application process applications must include:

1. A completed Personal Details application form.

2. A curriculum vitae including education, professional qualifications and full employment history, giving details of key achievements in line with essential criteria listed in the Person Specification. 

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

When uploading your CV, do not include personal information or links to any webpages or profiles that identifies you. This means we can recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity. Take out references to your name/title, age, sex, email address, postal address, telephone number or nationality/immigration status.

When giving details of your redacted CV, you should therefore include details of the work and projects that you have been involved in, and your role therein.

An initial sift may be conducted using the lead criterion stated above. Candidates who pass the initial sift will progress to a full sift.  

Important information

  • Please attach your redacted CV as a separate additional document in either PDF or word format.
  • If your CV contains any personal details your application may be withdrawn.

Stage 2: Coding Test

If you are successful at Stage 1, you will be invited to complete a coding exercise. You will have 5 working days to complete this activity. Further details will be given to those who pass Stage 1.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Stage 3: Interview

If you’re successful at sift stage you will be invited to a video interview via Microsoft Teams. There, you will be assessed against the experiences listed in the essential criteria.

Interviews will take place from mid-January 2025. 

Further Information

Find out more about Working for DWP

For Hints and Tips on completing your application visit Applying for jobs at DWP Digital.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

Reserve list candidates will be posted in merit order by location.

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Applications will be screened and if evidence of plagiarism or copying examples/answers from other sources is found, your application will be withdrawn. Internal DWP candidates may also face disciplinary action.

Reasonable Adjustment

At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce.

We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions, or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, or schizophrenia.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Government Recruitment Service via DigitalRecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Reasonable Adjustments” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

For further information on reasonable adjustments, terms and conditions and how we recruit visit the How We Recruit, page

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

Security Clearance Requirement

You must meet the security requirements before you can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.

For meaningful checks to be carried out, you will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. Whilst a lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance, and expectation of UK residency may range from 3 to 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements needed for the role may result in the withdrawal of provisional jobs offers.



Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

  • UK nationals
  • nationals of the Republic of Ireland
  • nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
  • individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
  • Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

  • Name : Sam Hackett
  • Email : Sam.hackett@dwp.gov.uk

Recruitment team

  • Email : digitialrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles. If you wish to make a complaint, please find further details here https://careers.dwp.gov.uk/how-we-recruit/.

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