About the job

Job summary

Digital transformation of public services is vital to delivering the services that the people of Wales expect and need. The Welsh Government currently delivers digital services to people and business across Wales. Led by our Chief Digital Officer, the Welsh Government is increasingly delivering more services online. The Chief Digital Officer provides a consultancy service of digital and data expertise to business areas across the Welsh Government.

The Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) profession in the Welsh Government supports a range of digital services across the whole organisation. This post is part of our DDaT profession and is within the Geography and Technology section division, part of the Data & Geography department.

The Geography & Technology section division provides geospatial applications, services and support to the Welsh public sector. As part of the team you will work across different policy areas and learn how digital solutions and geospatial data can be used as part of the decision making process to make a significant and direct contribution for the people of Wales

The Data Map Wales team is the central point of contact for Welsh Government departments, Welsh public sector staff and members of the public who have queries, requests or issues regarding the Geospatial services provided by Data Map Wales.

Role:

As a postgraduate Application Developer, you will be part of the team developing and supporting Data Map Wales, our Geospatial data portal and application platform.

You will be given ownership of a piece of functionality or project and will experience the complete development lifecycle; from gathering user requirements and converting them into technical stories, through to developing, testing and releasing a finished product. You will be given support throughout the process and there will be opportunities for you to shadow roles such as project manager, business analyst, developer and tester. You will also see how the team approaches development using agile methodologies and will be involved in regular daily stand-ups, planning and retrospective sessions.

Job description

We’d like to hear from you if you have:

• A genuine interest in software development and technology, with a willingness to learn and develop new skills.
• Basic understanding of programming languages such as Python, C#, or JavaScript.
• Familiarity with web development technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript frameworks (e.g., React, Angular, Vue.js).
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to troubleshoot issues and find practical solutions.
• Good communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to work effectively as part of a team.
• Attention to detail and a commitment to producing high-quality work.

 Key Skills:

• Service support: help with the investigation and resolution of infrastructure problems, undertaking specific activities under direction
• User focus: show an awareness or understanding of user experience analysis and its principles. Explain the purpose of user stories and the focus on user needs
• Prototyping: explain what prototyping is, and why and when to use it. Understand how to work in an open and collaborative environment (by pair working, for example)
• Programming and build: design, code, test, correct and document simple programs or scripts under the direction of others
• Information security: discuss information security and the security controls that can be used to mitigate security threats within solutions and services
• Modern standards approach: understand the importance of adopting a modern standards approach
• Availability and capacity management: show an awareness of availability and capacity management processes

Background on Welsh Government:

The Welsh Government is the devolved government for Wales with an annual budget of around £15 billion. We are responsible for key aspects of public life in Wales including health, education, the economy, transport, agriculture, and the environment. Welsh Ministers are supported by a workforce of more than 5,000 people with offices in Wales, London and overseas. 

Welsh Government priorities are outlined in Welsh Government Programme for government with an overall ambition to build a Wales which is a self-confident, prosperous, healthy nation and a society which is fair to all. The Welsh Government has set out clear priorities for Wales following the UK’s exit from the European Union. 

We are looking for people who can provide excellent advice and support, can focus resources and have energy and expertise. The Well Being and Future Generations Act provides context for our work. 

Person specification

• Learn about the technologies used to create a modern web application platform. This will involve completing initial training in relevant areas, shadowing developers and pair programming to build development skills.
• Learn about product lifecycle. Shadow and assist in the various stages of product development.
• Assist in the testing of new functionality and code. This involves creating and running through test scenarios for manual testing and developing test scripts for automated testing.
• Monitoring of support mailboxes to support users and management of issues and bugs.

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

• This advertisement confirms the overall criteria being assessed throughout this recruitment exercise. For further details on the criteria and evidence required at the application stage, you will need to press apply and review the application form.
• When presenting your evidence, you may find it useful to consider the expectations of the grade as set out in the Grade Description as well as the main responsibilities that are essential for the role.
• Candidates who successfully demonstrate that they meet the minimum Experience Criteria will be invited to interview.
• You will receive a technical scenario for you to prepare a response to ready for your interview. The technical scenario and instructions will be emailed to you 7 days before your interview.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.