About the job

Job summary

Diverse Perspectives and experiences are critical to our success, and we welcome applications from all people from all backgrounds with the experience and skills needed to perform this role. We look forward to receiving your application.

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.

Keeping people safe and healthy matters and that’s what we do at the Health and Safety Executive.  Every day, everyone on the team contributes to protecting lives and we apply our expertise to help influence change in mindsets about health and safety throughout industry.  We undertake world-class science to build our knowledge about safe working practices, and then apply that understanding to the workplace, guiding every part of the economy to function safely.  And when accidents happen, we investigate and hold those at fault to account whilst ensuring that lessons are learnt across industries.  We are a modern, independent, data drive Regulator and we are proud to have made Great Britain one of the safest places to work in the world.

Technology, data, and digital services underpins everything that HSE does.  We are a knowledge organisation, with a wealth of experience in keeping people safe.  It is the responsibility of the Information and Technology Services (ITS) Division to ensure that everyone in the organisation can access our data and information, to share it and to use it to make effective decisions.  We support over 3000 colleagues working in a hybrid style at home and in 26 offices across Great Britain.  Our services keep inspectors functioning effectively and efficiently on industrial sites nationwide, from oil platforms in the North Sea to our deepest mines and quarries.

We strive to constantly improve the technologies and services supporting the organisation. Our end user computing devices are leading edge, and we are making significant progress in delivering new cloud-based services.  Our service management and information management services are very highly regarded within the organisation and pride themselves on excellent customer service.  Our commercial team has built strong relationships with suppliers and our project management team is embedded in our corporate change programme, transforming the older legacy systems that have underpinned the organisation for a long time.

Job description

You will deliver Development Operations (DevOps) Engineering for all HSE cloud-infrastructure services ensuring that all technologies (cloud-network, cloud-hosting (IaaS, PaaS and SaaS), cloud-storage and cloud-security) remain available, performant to Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and relevant to business requirements. Deliver the DevOps Engineering support to major digital and technology services change programmes transforming HSE, and support the implementation of continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD) for services once live. Operate and deliver the processes, architectures, and services that will deliver all of HSE digital and technology services. Ensure that new cloud-based technologies are secure by design and remain secure during operations, protecting HSE’s data and users from cyber-attack and unauthorised loss. This role will engage with users, supporting their needs and ensuring that a high-quality customer-focused service is delivered.

About The Role:

We have an opportunity to recruit for a DevOps Engineer Apprentices to join the ITS Division to undergo a Level 4 DevOps Engineer Apprenticeship.

DevOps engineer / Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education

You will be supported from day one for your learning and development into this role, ensuring you are supported every step of the way in completing your apprenticeship and getting the experience you need to excel in your new role. Over time, you will grow into your skillset and role and be able to take ownership and responsibility for certain business processes in-line with your development.

As a DevOps Engineer Apprentice, you will thrive and enjoy working openly, collaboratively and as part of a multidisciplinary team focused on one or many projects. You will be supporting existing cloud-based services, assisting in the design, and delivery of new cloud-based services as we expand HSE’s digital services in Azure, adhering to GDS principles and using Agile principles.

At HSE, we are proud to be able to offer our people the opportunity to work in a hybrid way which combines working from home and the office. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your allocated office will be your contractual place of work. There will be a requirement to travel to the office for various activities e.g. collaborative working, supporting and training colleagues. If hybrid working is suitable for you and your role, the arrangements will be determined primarily by business need, but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account. Therefore, we would encourage candidates to consider if the commute from home to the office is a feasible distance to travel before making an application. Please note that if you are successful, hybrid working will be discussed prior to taking up the post.

Please note - occasional travel to other HSE Offices may be required.

Person specification

Key Responsibilities

• You will help establish and then operate DevOps processes, establishing a regime and culture of Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Deployment (CD)
• You will work closely with the development and test communities as we strive to automate our processes and implement new tooling.
• You will support the design, implementation and management of solutions that are highly available, resilient, scalable and maintainable within our cloud environment.
• You will provide DevOps Engineering support to major digital and technology services change programmes transforming HSE.
• You will provision cloud infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and continually improve the IaC.
• You will implement a good coverage of monitoring (metrics, logs), ensuring that alerts are visible, tuneable and actionable.

Essential Criteria:

• A strong interest and commitment to learn in the field of DevOps.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Good customer service and team working skills.
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills
• Able to follow agreed procedures.
• Well-developed organisation skills.
• Able to work with minimum supervision and use own initiative.
• Competent in the use of Microsoft 365 apps i.e. Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams.
• A Level in IT subject, or
  BTEC Diploma in IT Subject, or
  Level 3 IT Apprenticeship

Desirable:

• Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) Certification
• Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900) Certification
• ITIL 4 Foundation Certification.

This is a development role so to be eligible to apply, the training and development you receive must provide you with significant new skills and learning. This is an essential requirement for apprenticeship funding and means you must not already be fully qualified or significantly experienced in this type of work.

Your application will be rejected at sift if you are overqualified or have significant experience in this type of work.   

In addition you must:
• Be aged 16 or over (there is no upper age limit)
• Have the right to work in the UK and have been ordinarily resident in the UK/EU/EA for 3 consecutive years before starting the apprenticeship
Please note that due to the training required with your apprenticeship, we are only able to make offers on a full-time basis.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,316, Health and Safety Executive contributes £7,375 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 and Experience.

Application

Within your application form, please complete a CV that displays your career history, skills and experience relevant to the role.

Please ensure to complete the qualification section -  those that do not detail how they meet the required qualifications will be rejected at sift.  

You will also be asked to submit a 500 word Personal Statement detailing how you meet the essential criteria detailed in the person specification. 

Please note- due to apprenticeship funding, your application will be rejected at sift if you are overqualified or have significant experience in this type of work.   

Application Guidance 

Please access the following link for guidance on how to apply and how to complete a personal statement https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/how-to-apply/   

Sift

The sift will take place Week Commencing 29 January 2024 and you will be assessed on your CV & Personal Statement. 

In the event of a high level of applications, a pre-sift will take place based on evidence found within the application based on the following Essential Criteria:

• A strong interest and commitment to learn in the field of DevOps.

Interviews

Interviews will take place week commencing 12th February 2024 via MS Teams and you will be interviewed on experience detailed within your CV & Personal Statement and the behaviours listed in the advert.

Please note that dependent on numbers of applications received these dates could be subject to change.

A reserve list will be held for 12 months.

Things you need to know

If you are selected for interview, you be asked to provide your proof of qualifications, this must be provided prior to interview. Failure to provide this information, could result in your interview being delayed or your interview being cancelled and your application withdrawn. 

Rota for Shift working - The three shifts rotate on a weekly basis: 08:00-16:00, 09:00-17:00 and 10:00-18:00.

May be required to be on an on-call rota in the future.

Due to the nature of security checks undertaken, applicants must have 3 years continuous residency in the UK up to the date of the application and, Home Office approval for indefinite leave to remain within the UK.

It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful in their application. For a summary of HSE terms and conditions as part of Civil Service Reform, please see the attached document.

Any move to HSE from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at here 

Please note, if you are a current civil servant and you are currently undergoing any of the following formal actions your application will not be progressed any further; 
Formal discipline action, any formal action regarding attendance, poor performance or any restriction of duties as a result of disciplinary action. 

If you have a disability and you need an application form in an alternative format or you would like to know more about our recruitment process, please contact: hr.resourcing-team@hse.gov.uk

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.