About the job

Job summary

If you would like to find out more about the role, the team and what it’s like to work at DBT, we are holding a Hiring Manager Q&A session for this role where you can virtually 'meet the team' on 26th June 2024. Please click here to book your spot. 

 

About us

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the department for economic growth. The Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) directorate develops and operates tools and services to support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country.

 

About the role

You will provide technical leadership to the developers in one project team, or a small number of related project teams, and provide technical leadership. You will work together with other Lead Developers and the Head of Software Engineering to help shape policies, standards and drive forward the profession.

You’ll be an expert in various technical areas, or a specialist with very deep knowledge in a particular technical area, who can guide other developers. You’ll deliver user-centred features and services rapidly within an agile environment and champion code quality through developer ownership and emerging technologies. You’ll provide technical leadership, coaching and mentoring for your team, communicate with your stakeholders and work closely with colleagues in other disciplines and teams to ensure work is efficiently delivered.

Job description

Main responsibilities

• Deliver high quality user-centred features and services within an agile environment

• Champion community of practice within DDaT to prioritise code ownership and quality

• Transform DDaT into a modern, agile development centre by embedding practices like Test Driven Development (TDD), Pair Programming, Prototyping/MVP, Continuous Integration and Deployment of small, frequent code changes

• Mentor, coach and support colleagues to deliver to our standards that reinforce industry standard best practices

• Work with your peers to improve our tools, technologies, guidance and standards. Work with the developer community to define and document technical standards.

• Support sharing of methods and technologies across teams, government, and the industry by helping to organise events

• Support developer hiring, shape our in-house team, to make it more diverse and inclusive

• Line manage developers to deliver great results, learn and grow, and progress their careers

Person specification

It is essential that you have:

• Experience coaching or mentoring team members and nurturing professional development

• Good communication and stakeholder management skills, translating technical information to non-technical audiences

• Broad experience in different coding languages or a specialist in a particular technical area such as Python, Django, Node.js

• Experience working with APIs, databases, and cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure

It is desirable that you have:

• Awareness of DevOps and modern practices of coding eg TDD

• Knowledge of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) like Terraform and/or Cloud Foundry

• Experience of working in or knowledge of agile environments

 

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

How to apply 

As part of the application process you will be asked to upload a CV which outlines your experience, skills and fit for the role. Inspire People will assess your application against the essential criteria listed above to compile a longlist of applications, which will then be sifted by DBT. Successful candidates at this stage may be invited straight to interview or asked to complete a short, pre-recorded video screening interview alternately provide written answers to questions). These applications will then be sifted by DBT hiring managers. If you are successful, you will be invited to interview.   

DBT sift will be from week commencing 8th July

Interviews will be from week commencing 15th July

Please note these dates are indicative and may be subject to change.

 

How we interview

At the interview stage for this role, you will be asked to demonstrate relevant Technical Skills and Behaviours from the Success Profiles framework. These are role specific and in line with the DDaT Capability Framework. 

Applicants successful to interview stage will be asked to complete a technical task and will be informed on the topic following the sift.

There will be a technical element within the interview where you will be asked questions about your specific professional skills and knowledge relating directly to the job role. 

Technical Skills

• Availability and capacity management

• Development process optimisations 

• Modern standards approach 

• Programming and build (software engineering) 

Behaviours  

• Developing Self and Others

• Changing and Improving

• Communicating and Influencing

 

How we offer

Offers may be made in merit order based on location preferences. If you pass the bar at interview but are not the highest scoring you will be held on a 12-month reserve list in case a role becomes available. If you are judged a near miss at interview, you may be offered a post at the grade below the one you applied for.

 

This role requires SC clearance. DBT’s requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet this requirement will result in your application being rejected and your offer will be withdrawn. 

Checks will also be made against: 

• departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records) 

• UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records 

• your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency 

• security services record 

• location details 

More about us 

This role can only be worked from within the UK, not overseas. If you are based in London, you will receive London weighting. DBT employees work in a hybrid pattern, spending 2-3 days a week (pro rata) in the office on average.  Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DBT, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered. 

You can find out more about our office locations, how we calculate salaries, our diversity statement and reasonable adjustments, the Recruitment Principles, the Civil Service code and our complaints procedure on our website. 

Find out more about life at DBT, our benefits and meet the team by watching our video or reading our blog! 

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.