About the job

Job summary

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is part of the Cabinet Office. We work at the very centre of government to make user-focused digital transformation happen. We build and maintain common platforms, products and tools for others to use and create great public services that are accessible, inclusive and easy to use. We also work with departments to identify patterns, share learning and create change to make government more efficient.

Our teams are organised around delivering on our priorities, which are:

• make it easier for people to find what they are looking for on GOV.UK
• build common service platforms to make it simpler and cheaper to build quality digital services
• promote agile, user-centred design practices both in the UK and across the world

The GOV.UK One Login Programme represents a once in a generation opportunity to simplify and widen access to all digital government services. Sitting at the heart of the government, we're building one simple, safe and secure way for users to log in and prove who they are that will work across all government services. Our technology stack runs on AWS, using serverless compute and storage products. Backend services are written in TypeScript/Node.js and JVM technologies. Web applications also use TypeScript.

The GOV.UK One Login programme is full of talented and passionate people who are focussed on delivering high quality products for services and individuals. We’re halfway through our build phase and features are being shipped daily as we work to mature our product set. We are an ambitious and visionary team so if you want to be at heart of this, have a background in software delivery with a specific focus on quality, and are used to working in a scaled agile environment then this could be the place for you!

Sometimes described as the most strategic programme in government, GOV.UK One Login represents a once in a career opportunity to work on a software product that will be used by the majority of the people living in the UK. GOV.UK One Login is being designed and built for the many, not the few. It will unite services across government, revolutionising the way government departments interact digitally with users. One Login will deliver an accessible and essential function that will change lives and help millions.

If this sounds like the next role for you on your career journey, we’d love to hear from you.

Job description

As a Head of Quality Engineering on GOV.UK One Login, you’ll:

• champion an approach to engineering that builds in quality from the beginning, prioritising testability and internal quality alongside functional requirements
• govern and oversee quality standards across all product delivery teams, using a Site Reliability Engineering approach based on SLOs and other empirical measures to focus engineering and quality assurance effort
• work with the wider One Login Senior Leadership Team to define goals, initiatives and long-term strategy for the programme
• define and maintain the test strategy and architecture for One Login, covering both functional and non-functional quality goals, and influencing the product roadmap at programme and team level to ensure that quality goals are met
• identify opportunities for process improvement and optimisation in quality practices, focused on modern automation practices and an overall "shift left" strategy
• foster an active community of practice around quality engineering that builds alignment amongst the engineering community including developers, architects, site reliability engineers and quality specialists 
• collaborate with cross-functional teams, including tech leads, developers and delivery managers
• manage the allocation of test/quality engineers across all product teams

Person specification

The skills we would expect a Head of Quality Engineering to have: 

• proven experience in leading and managing large scale test delivery with multiple 3rd party suppliers in a collaborative environment, with an understanding of the benefits of agile and multi-disciplinary approaches
• proven experience of all areas of the testing lifecycle with a strong knowledge of testing methodologies (Functional and Non-Functional), tools and best practices, including the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches
• strong experience with test automation, test tools and frameworks, including TypeScript, Jest, webdriver.io along with working in a continuous deployment environment
• a keen interest in researching and learning new testing techniques and sharing their skills with others
• experience solving complex issues, drawing upon a broad knowledge of web technologies and awareness of technologies used for cloud based web applications, such as databases, backups, CDNs, containerisation, and serverless computing
• familiarity with modern software development practices including TDD, pair programming, code review and continuous delivery

Benefits

The benefits of working at GDS

There are many benefits of working at GDS, including:

• flexible hybrid working with flexi-time and the option to work part-time or condensed hours
• a Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
• 25 days of annual leave, increasing by a day each year up to a maximum of 30 days
• an extra day off for The King’s birthday
• an in-year bonus scheme to recognise high performance
• career progression and coaching, including a training budget for personal development
• paid volunteering leave
• a focus on wellbeing with access to an employee assistance programme
• job satisfaction from making government services easier to use and more inclusive for people across the UK
• advances on pay, including for travel season tickets
• death in service benefits
• cycle to work scheme and facilities
• access to children's holiday play schemes across different locations in central London
• access to an employee discounts scheme
• 10 learning days per year
• volunteering opportunities (5 special leave days per year)
• access to a suite of learning activities through Civil Service learning

GDS offers hybrid working for all employees. This means that everyone does some working from home and also spends some time in their local office. You’ll agree to your hybrid working arrangement with your line manager in line with your preferences and business needs.

Any move to Government Digital Service 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 https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Things you need to know

Selection process details

The standard selection process for roles at GDS consists of:

• a simple application screening process - We only ask for a CV and cover letter of up to 750 words. Important tip - please ensure that your cover letter includes how you meet the skills and experience listed in the “person specification” section above
• A 20 minute telephone interview 
• a 75-minute face-to-face interview, including a presentation based on a scenario to be provided in advance

Depending on how many applications we get, there might also be an extra stage before the video interview, for example a phone interview or a technical exercise.

In the Civil Service, we use Success Profiles to evaluate your skills and ability. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, increases performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. We’ll be assessing your technical abilities, skills, experience and behaviours that are relevant to this role.

For this role we’ll be assessing you against the following Civil Service Behaviours:

• working together
• changing and improving
• managing a quality service
• delivering at pace

We’ll also be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the Digital, Data and Technology Profession Capability Framework for the Development operations (DevOps) engineer.

Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.

A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status.

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.