About the job

Job summary

Are you capable of leading & mentoring engineering teams while helping to shape and deliver services?

Are you an experienced Software Engineer looking to take the next step in your career? 

You will lead and help to reshape an existing engineering capability made up of a blend of DWP and supplier engineers. 

The successful candidate will join DWP Digital and be an integral part in directing and determining how we build the technology solutions of the future that will enable us to realise our key mission and passion to improve the lives of our citizens. 

Our lead engineers work across multiple delivery teams to build services for citizens and agents.  They drive innovation while instilling best practices, empowering engineers to build quality services.

What really excites the successful candidate is problem-solving and the opportunity to deliver innovative technology that carries real value for users. 

You will be tasked with making significant advances in our engineering practices and capabilities within the function as we accelerate both the transformation of the digital services we offer and widen our adoption of a microservices and event-based architecture style.

Job description

Our Lead Software Engineers are experts in their field, role models in software craftsmanship and have proven experience in the design, development, and support of software products.  You will: 

• Define and support standards for the Engineering community and lead their adoption across teams to deliver quality software products.
• Be an enabler for multiple teams, driving consistency, standards, pace and quality, resolving technical blockers, and promoting re-use and collaboration through the wider community.
• Influence, articulate and develop our technical strategy and future vision within a cross functional leadership team with a clear focus on the organisation’s objectives and customer outcomes.
• Have an excellent ability to self-organise and define priorities.

Person specification

When giving details in your employment history and personal statement you should highlight your experience in line with essential criteria below:

• Lead Criteria: An experienced leader with strong influencing skills, able to grasp complex technical concepts and communicate them effectively to a wider range of non-technical stakeholders. You will have evidence of a strategic mindset, working effectively with senior leadership teams in a complex technical environment.
• Expert software development practitioner in a Java and/or Node technology stack
• A deep understanding of software architecture and design principles, and a focus on building scalable and maintainable systems whilst employing best practices such as TDD, BDD, and CI/CD
• Expert knowledge and experience of developing on cloud-based environments such as AWS and Azure
• Knowledge and experience of SQL and noSQL database applications such as Postgres, MySQL, and MongoDB
• Proven experience of leading multiple development teams and promoting agile development ways of working.

An initial sift may be conducted using the lead criteria stated above. Candidates who pass the initial sift will progress to a full sift. 

If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact sam.hackett@dwp.gov.uk.

Benefits

• An employer pension contribution of up to 28.97% For further information please click here.
• Annual leave rising up to 30 days, (based on your working pattern).
• Family friendly flexible working arrangements, such as hybrid working, job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
• Learning and development tailored to your role this could include industry recognised qualifications, coaching and mentoring. 
• An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join staff networks including: Women’s Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.

This job role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in their DWP office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business need but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post. 

Salary Information

Pay for this role is from £69,869 to £89,995.

The maximum salary for the grade is £77,740, however a Digital Allowance of up to £12,255 per annum is available for exceptional candidates, based on our assessment of your skills and experience.

Our offer to successful candidates will be based on an assessment of your skills and experience as demonstrated at interview.

Existing Civil Servants who secure a new role on lateral transfer should maintain their current salary.

Existing Civil Servants who gain promotion may move to the bottom of the next grade pay scale or 10% increase in salary whichever would be the greater.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Stage 1: Application

Your application will consist of three parts:

1. A Personal Details application form.

2. Your employment history detailing your responsibilities, skills, accomplishments, plus your qualifications and relevant training. Please copy this information into the box field provided.

3. Personal statement up to 1000 words. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

When giving details in your employment history and personal statement you should highlight your experience in line with essential criteria listed in the Person Specification.

The sift panel will use the information in your employment history and personal statement to assess your experience, skills and knowledge against the essential criteria above.

For Hints and Tips on completing your application visit Applying for jobs at DWP Digital.

Important Information

• You will be asked to complete your employment history any information that you would customarily share on a CV should therefore be entered onto the application form.
• Personal details that could be used to identify you including your name, contact details and address must be removed for your application to be considered.
• If your employment history/personal statement contains any personal details your application will be withdrawn.

Stage 2: Interview

If you’re successful at sift stage you will be invited to a video interview via Microsoft Teams. There, you will be assessed against the experiences listed in the essential criteria.

You will be asked to do a 15 -minute presentation on a specific topic.  There will be a further 15 minutes for questions.  Further details will be provided to candidates invited to interview. 

Interviews will take place from mid August 2024. Interview dates to be confirmed.

Further information:

Find out more about Working for DWP

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

All successful candidates and those placed on reserve will be posted in merit list order by location. 

Reasonable Adjustment

At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce.

We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions, or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, or schizophrenia.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Government Recruitment Service via DigitalRecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Reasonable Adjustments” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

For further information on reasonable adjustments, terms and conditions and how we recruit visit the How we recruit page. 

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Applications will be screened and if evidence of plagiarism or copying examples/answers from other sources is found, your application will be withdrawn. Internal DWP candidates may also face disciplinary action.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.