About the job

Job summary

Are you a dedicated person who is passionate about making a difference? 

Would you like to work for the Ministry of Defence?  

Defence Business Services (DBS) is one of the largest shared service organisations in Europe that provides a wide range of corporate services, to over 1.2 million end users, including serving and past military and families, as well as MoD civil servants and industry. DBS delivers large scale administration and smaller specialist services to enable the wider MOD to focus on its core aims, maintaining the UK’s Defence and Security. Services include Human Resources, Pay, Veterans, Finance and Procurement. 

•    Our Vision - To support UK defence customers with outstanding service every time.
•    Our Mission – Together we will proudly support Defence, continuously improving and delivering flexible, timely, sustainable and value for money services that underpin the whole force and enhance operational capability. 

DBS is committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues. We are building an inclusive culture and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society.  

We want to maximise the potential of everyone who chooses to work for us through opportunities to develop your skills and experience. We also offer a range of flexible working patterns and support to make a fulfilling career accessible to you and offer a Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%. Where your role permits, we support a blended working approach alternatively known as hybrid working. 

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working.  This is a non-contractual arrangement where all office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to capacity and any required workplace adjustments.  Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or work in another MOD office, will also count towards this level of attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements.  

DBS has recently undertaken a review of its operational locations in the Northwest, and have consolidated all activities in Norcross, Blackpool. A further move, to the new Government Hub at Talbot Gateway in Blackpool, is scheduled to take place in 2026

Come and join the DBS community today

Job description

DBS DIT provides digital capability that supports corporate services across the Ministry of Defence, including Finance, Commercial, Payroll and Human Resources for Military Personnel, Civilian Personnel and Veterans. Our digital solutions comprise enterprise resource planning systems, performance management, analytics, automation, low code applications and public facing services through Gov.uk. These are deployed via a number of core technologies including Oracle, Cognos, Microsoft and Blue Prism utilising cloud platforms (SAAS/PAAS/IAAS) and on-premise hosting.

As the Infrastructure Support Engineer in the Defence Business Services (DBS) Automation Garage you will be responsible for the significant day to day operation of the technology landscape.

The DBS AG is looking for two Infrastructure Engineers – a Cloud Azure Engineer, and a Windows Engineer, who will be responsible for:

• Ensuring services are integrated, delivered and operated as required
• Working with and supporting third parties in providing infrastructure services
• Working with technical architects to translate architectural designs into operations
• Providing input into overall management - workforce, budget, technology roadmaps, projects and tasks

Cloud Azure Engineer specific responsibilities:

• Implementing, and managing Azure networking solutions, including core network infrastructure, hybrid connectivity, application delivery services, private access to Azure services, and network security. 
• Work with solution architects, cloud administrators, security engineers, application developers, and DevOps engineers to deliver Azure solutions. 
• Manage secure network access of the environments in compliance with the MOD secure policies. 
• Ensure that all operational security policies, processes, and procedures are adhered to. 
• Supporting the implementation of the Automation Garage’s platform and strategy. 
• Collaboration with internal, wider Defence and Private Sector providers of applications utilised by AG to address software related issues, suggesting improvements and participating with other users across these groups. 
• Assessing and planning the infrastructure virtual resources, allowing for capacity planning and scaling. 
• Ensuring production environment fully operational to support the live services, meeting service-level agreements (SLAs), negotiating with the with DBS and wider MOD Stakeholders 
• Full ownership of the environments operational support documents to ensure they are maintained and remain dynamic assets.  
• Ensuring any environment failures are restored and running in line with the business continuity plan. 
• Managing MOD update directives to ensure systems are always patched and compliant. 
• Ensuring environmental changes are controlled and documented. 
• Investigating and make change recommendations for production issues.  
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux configurations, administration, and maintenance. 

Window Engineer specific responsibilities:

• Configuring and managing Windows Server Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) platform workloads 
• Deploy, package, secure, update, and configure Windows Server workloads using hybrid, and cloud technologies. 
• Active Directory Services support and maintenance. 
• Basic System Administration using PowerShell 
• Efficiently and effectively investigate, diagnose, and action all operation alerts escalating where appropriate. 
• Development environment user onboarding management and implementation 
• Identifying and completing migration activities between environments to enable controlled deployment. 
• Windows Server Update Services implementation and maintenance.  
• Identification and implementation of upgrade and patching requirements for the Windows application. 
• Collaborates with developers, network engineers, solution, and enterprise architects 
• Manages hybrid solutions, such as identity, security, management, compute, networking, storage, monitoring, high availability, and disaster recovery for windows servers’ infrastructure. 
• Provide second line support to developers, testers, and processes controller in a mix of Windows/Linux/M365. 
• Creating and managing the ‘Hot Fix’ process. 
• Resolving issues related to the process automation build

Person specification

Essential Skills/Experience:

• Coding and scripting (infrastructure engineer) - Relevant Skill Level: Awareness
• IT Infrastructure - Relevant Skill Level: Practitioner
• Information security - Relevant Skill Level: Working
• Modern Standards Approach - Relevant Skill Level: Practitioner
• Ownership and Initiative - Relevant Skill Level: Working
• Problem Management - Relevant Skill Level: Working
• Service Focus - Relevant Skill Level: Working
• Systems design - Relevant Skill Level: Practitioner
• Systems integration - Relevant Skill Level: Practitioner
• Technical Understanding - Relevant Skill Level: Awareness
• Testing - Relevant Skill Level: Working
• Troubleshooting and Problem Resolution - Relevant Skill Level: Practitioner
• Cloud Azure Engineer specific:
• Experience creating and managing compute, storage, Databases, and networking resources in Azure
• Experience with Linux Operating System (RHEL).

Windows Engineer specific:

1. Experience in administration and configuring Windows Server Operating System Workloads
2. Experience in Active Directory Domain Services, Certificate Services, Windows Domain Name Systems, Windows File and Storage Services, Windows Volume Activation Services, Windows Remote Desktop Services, Internet Information Services (IIS) for Windows Server 

Desirable Skills/Experience:

• Experience in working across multiple Agile teams. 
• Experience in delivering with DevOps teams. 

Cloud Azure Engineer specific:

1. Microsoft Certified: Azure Network Engineer Associate
2.  Experience in Cloud Technology (Azure) or willingness to learn
3. Experience in Computer Networking 

Windows Engineer specific:

1. Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate 
2. Microsoft Certified: Azure Virtual Desktop Speciality
3. Windows Software packaging and distribution 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £43,080, Ministry of Defence contributes £11,631 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

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.

Please ensure that at the application and interview stages of the campaign you review the Success Profiles Framework to assist you in the demonstration of your skills and experience.

Your suitability for the role will be assessed using the Success Profile elements that have been chosen for this campaign. Each element will be scored accordingly, and the successful candidate will be appointed on merit.

Applications will be sifted on all Success Profile elements, but in the event of a high number of applications, an initial sift will be conducted on your 

Primary: Technical - Senior infrastructure engineer - IT infrastructure. In this instance the remaining elements will be tested at interview.

At application stage you will be assessed against the following:

Experience: 

• CV : please include, Job history, Full qualification details, Previous skills & experience
• Personal Statement: In no more than 1000 words,Please provide information of how you meet the criteria set out in the job description. You may wish to further include examples of how you have tackled similar tasks or demonstrated the skills outlines in the job advert. 

Technical: Senior infrastructure engineer

• IT infrastructure
• Systems integration
• Technical understanding
• Troubleshooting and problem resolution

At interview 1 you will be assessed against the following:

Behaviours:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a quality service
• Working together 

Experience: 

• Personal Statement

At interview 2 you will be assessed against the following:

Technical: Senior infrastructure engineer

• IT infrastructure
• Systems integration
• Technical understanding
• Troubleshooting and problem resolution

In the rare case where individuals have exact matching scores, the order of merit will be determined based on the behaviour scores at interview in the following order:

1. Technical -  IT infrastructure
2. Technical - Systems integration
3. Technical - Technical understanding
4. Technical - Troubleshooting and problem resolution
5. Behaviour - Making Effective Decisions
6. Behaviour - Communicating and Influencing
7. Experience - Personal statement

If candidate scores are still exact, the merit order will then be determined on the sift score in the below order or priority:

1. Technical - IT infrastructure
2. Technical - Systems integration
3. Technical - Technical understanding
4. Technical -  Troubleshooting and problem resolution
5. Experience - CV
6. Experience - Personal statement

We want to offer opportunities to all who are successful at interview for our roles, but this isn’t always possible, so we do hold candidates on an active reserve list for 12 months. 

Application sifting is scheduled to take place on week commencing:  25/02/2024

Interviews are currently taking place remotely and will be conducted at the 03/03/2024

A minimum of 2 full working days’ notice will be provided for interviews.

We endeavour to stick to these dates, but these are subject to change around business needs.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact: DBS-EnhancedRecruitmentTeam@mod.gov.uk

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – we may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. 

The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected, and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn. 

To assist with your application please find attached -  

DBS Candidate Information Guide - Working for Defence Business Services - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) , (26) UK Ministry of Defence: Life , LinkedIn 

Technical skills Framework guide - https://ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk/index.html  

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.