About the job

Job summary

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is part of the Cabinet Office. We’re here to make digital government simpler, clearer and faster for everyone. Our work is user-focused, dynamic and forward-looking, making our organisation an exciting and innovative place to work. 

The GOV.UK One Login for Government 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 are building one simple, safe and secure way for users to Log in and prove who they are that will work across all government services. 

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 digitally interact with users. One Login will deliver an accessible and essential function that will change lives and help millions. We are an ambitious and visionary team so if you want to be at heart of this truly groundbreaking programme keep reading…

The GOV.UK One Login programme is full of talented and passionate people who consistently deliver high quality products for services and individuals. We’re half way through our build phase and features are being shipped almost weekly as we work to mature our product set as we expand the range of services and departments benefitting from our work. 

The right person will join a well motivated and dynamic multi disciplined delivery team working to deliver on our commitments and roadmap. 

If you’ve got a background in Native iOS application delivery 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. It’s a fast paced, dynamic and challenging environment that is sure to offer you career satisfaction as well as a chance to develop and enhance your skills. 

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

Find out more at the GDS Blog. 

Job description

We’re looking for an experienced developer to join GDS as Lead iOS Developer in the One Login programme. As a Lead iOS Developer you’ll:

• work on the GOV.UK One Login native iOS app, and potential future app projects across GDS, reaching an audience of millions
• provide technical leadership to a large and growing team of technical practitioners who are passionate about what they do
• have overall technical responsibility for a native mobile experience that is being delivered by multiple teams, making decisions that have a positive impact on the lives of UK citizens
• lead by example, be a visible leader who takes responsibility and acts as a role model, inspiring your team to deliver their best work in a safe and rewarding environment
• drive delivery through hands-on coding, code review, standards-setting and software design, working with relevant languages, frameworks and tools and vendors in the iOS ecosystem, such as Swift, Xcode and Firebase
• act as a digital and mobile ambassador across government, identifying new and relevant practices for GDS to adopt and share experiences, for example through blog posts or tech talks at conferences
• never settle for ‘good enough’ - seek continual improvement of how you and your team work, optimising processes to identify and remove toil and drag factors
• be surrounded by brilliant peers, collaborating with leads in related products, striving for excellence and sharing best practices with a community of experts
• work across the One Login programme, defining and delivering architectural improvements to the apps; combining practical considerations with leading edge technologies
• help establish and build a team of civil servants who specialise in building native iOS experiences that delight citizens and improve access to government services
• be part of our programme-wide 2nd line and/or out of hours rotas where all technologists on the programme support our operational services and gain empathy for users and awareness of operational concerns

Person specification

We’re interested in people who:

• have experience in the coding, development, security, and operations of large scale mobile services
• have detailed experience in iOS development, with detailed knowledge of Swift, UIKit, and the use of Xcode and iOS coding environments
• have detailed knowledge of Apple Human Interface Guidelines, adapting WCAG for mobile, App Store Review and Submission Guidelines
• have proven experience of modern application and software development approaches including automated testing, test driven development, continuous integration, pair programming, code review and version control
• have a good understanding of common mobile security risks and corresponding mitigations
• have experience in management, helping colleagues with their career development and coaching more junior staff members
• have experience working in a collaborative environment, of coding in the open, and an understanding of the benefits of agile and multi-disciplinary approaches
• can solve and unblock issues between teams or departments at the highest level
• set strategy and long­-term roadmaps, delegating design decisions as necessary
• can make and justify decisions characterised by high levels of risk, impact and complexity. You know how to build consensus between organisations (private or public) or highly independent and diverse stakeholders

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 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 phone screen where you will be asked a few role-related questions to enable us to get to know you better (may not be required depending on the volume of applications)
• a 45 minute pair programming technical exercise - you'll work with a GDS engineer to solve a self-contained programming problem given to you in writing. You'll be asked to discuss the problem with the GDS engineer, devise a plan for solving it, and then to write code to solve the problem. As well as your programming and unit testing skills we'll be evaluating how you communicate and collaborate, and how you break down the problem. You'll use your own development environment for this (conducted over video conferencing)
• a 75 minute video interview

Depending on how many applications we get, we may carry out an initial sift against the lead criteria which are; have experience in the coding, development, security, and operations of large scale mobile services and have detailed experience in iOS development, with detailed knowledge of Swift, UIKit, and the use of Xcode and iOS coding environments.

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
• communicating and influencing
• making effective decisions

We will also be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the DDaT Lead Developer role:

• development process optimisation
• modern standards approach
• programming and build
• systems design

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.