About the job

Job summary

Job title – Lead Specialist Engineer – Identity Automation

Profession- Engineer

Directorate – Technology

Full Time equivalent - 37.5 hours

No of Roles – 1

Contract Type – Permanent

Location –  Office Hybrid

UKHSA operates a hybrid working model where business needs allow.  This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata,(averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's locations (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London).  Specialist or regional roles will be based at the appropriate UKHSA site. For certain roles, some additional flexibility may be possible, which will be agreed upon with the hiring manager based on individual requirements and business needs.

Working Pattern – Full Time /Flexible Working / Hybrid Working

Grade & Salary – Grade SEO National banding- £38,724   - £44,393 Inner London –£42,716- £48,068 Outer London - £40,721- £46,231

This role comes with a Market Pay Supplement of up to £5,000

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.

The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

This role is to be appointed under Civil Service Terms & Conditions. Full details on the T&C’s are found https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/.

Closing Date – 07/01/2024. 23:55pm. Unfortunately, late applications will not be considered

Interview Date – W/C 22/01/2024 Please note, these dates are subject to change.

Introduction

The Technology Directorate provides business-critical systems and services to UKHSA business users at all locations at which UKHSA staff work. ICT has primary responsibility for technical infrastructure and the corporate services running upon it. ICT has staff at a number of locations throughout UKHSA. 

 

Job Overview

The Lead Specialist Engineer will work within the Specialist Identity and Access Management Team.  The Team operates an automation discipline which is managed by the Security Architect.

The Lead Specialist Engineer will work with the other team members, who between them will work within specified technical specialties and provide technical expertise in the configuration, implementation and automation of relevant technical areas.

Automation is the cornerstone of all work undertaken by the team, this role will focus heavily on developing and maintaining automated processes that underpin key technologies that are supported by the Identity & Access Management Team;

• Identity Lifecyle
• Windows PowerShell
• Active Directory
• Azure Active Directory
• ADFS
• DNS
• Group Policy
• Azure Administration
• DHCP
• IPAM
• Microsoft Certification Authority PKI
• End User operating System security policy (currently Windows 10)
• T-SQL
• Microsoft Defender
• MBAM
• Azure DevOps

The Lead Specialist Engineer will also have experience of administering as many of the above as possible.

Daily Operational Duties

• Incident and Request management via ITSM suite.
• Management and Monitoring of existing IAM automation services, predominately focusing on Microsoft PowerShell and Graph API.
• Development, Test and Release of additional Automation services following DevOps principals.
• Maintain Git repositories for IAM services.
• Ongoing alignment of services to best practices with Cyber Security.

 

Communication and key working relationships

Internal

• Other ICT engineers at all levels
• Colleagues in the ICT Department
• Customers within UKHSA at all levels.
• UKHSA Senior Managers and Executive
• Application managers and developers in other UKHSA directorates

 

External

• Relevant suppliers of hardware, software and services
• Maintenance organisations
• External customers as appropriate and as directed by line manager

 

 

Job description

• To assist the Senior Security Architect and the Identity and Access Management Team in ensuring that Security and Identity automation services are working, documented and reliable.

 

 

• Administration of user accounts for network access, including creation of accounts, modification of user permissions, and removal of accounts of staff leaving the Agency.

 

 

• Ensuring the provision of support and service to all customers during scheduled hours.

 

• Undertake Appropriate system and service Monitoring and Auditing to ensure service state and availability.

 

• To maintain awareness of technical developments in Security and Identity Management with a view to providing advice to the Senior Security Architect on suitable technical strategies for UKHSA.

 

• To conduct such work as directed by line management consistently with departmental standards and to agreed time scales.

 

• To comply with Departmental requirements for staff management activities, including the reporting of all absences and completion of Performance Development processes.

 

Person specification

Essential Experience

• Educated to degree level in relevant subject or equivalent level of experience of working at a similar level in specialist area
• Demonstratable PowerShell scripting / Automation knowledge and experience
• Experience in a technical support role, supporting Microsoft based Identity Management Services
• Experience/knowledge of Active Directory Group Policy Management
• Experience/knowledge of Azure Services (IaaS, PaaS, Serverless)
• Ability to assist various teams with process automation. Gathering requirements, designing and documenting solutions through to implementationClear communicator with excellent writing, report writing and presentation skills; capable of constructing and delivering clear ideas and concepts concisely and accurately for diverse audiences.
• Evidence of excellent customer service skills and a commitment to improving services and performance for end users.
• Skills for communication on complex matters and difficult situations, requiring persuasion and influence
• Skills for nurturing key relationships and maintaining personal networks
• Ability to analyse and interpret information, pre-empt and evaluate issues, and recommend and appropriate course of action to address the issues
• Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands
• Ability to engender trust and confidence and demonstrate integrity in the provision of advice and support
• Ability to work on own initiative and organise own workload without supervision working to tight and often changing timescales. ‘Can do’ attitude.

 

Desirable Criteria: 

• Azure DevOps Pipeline experience via Git repositories
• Terraforming and Container experience
• Any development experience/certificates or other scripting languages like python
• Formal technical qualification, e.g. MCSA\E or equivalent
• Knowledge of project management
• Previous experience in similar role in public sector
• A good understanding of the health and social care environment and roles and responsibilities within it

 

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £38,724, UK Health Security Agency contributes £13,455 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, and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Strengths

 

Stage 1: Application & Sift
As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide a Statement of Suitability in no more than 1000 words. This part of the selection process should outline how you consider your skills, experience and achievements, and provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria outlined.

When completing your statement of suitability, please read and understand the Essential Criteria thoroughly as this is what your written evidence will assessed against.

Please ensure you evidence the key personal requirements and what you have done that relates to these requirements. You don’t have to explain the whole process, just what you have done and the skills and experience you have used. Share with us why you are most suited to this role, what you can do, the skills you have that are transferable to the key requirements, and the life experiences or passion you have that are linked to this role.

You will also be asked to provide information within the ‘Employer/ Activity history’ section of the application form. This is equivalent to the information you would provide on a CV, setting out your career history. This will be used in sifting process and will be scored.

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview

 

Stage 2: Panel Interview

All candidates who are successful at the sift stage will be invited to an interview on site at Colindale, where you may be asked to do a presentation on a topic given to you prior to the interview

The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:

• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Making effective decisions

 

Reserve List:

Candidates who pass the interview criteria but are not offered a post will be kept on a reserve list for 12 months and may be contacted if similar roles become available.

If you are interviewed for the post and do not meet the required threshold for the specified grade, your application may be assessed against a similar, lower grade role and you may be offered the post should one be available.

 

Benefits

 

• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• Range of health and wellbeing support

 

Any move to UKHSA 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.

 

 

Eligibility Criteria

Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants)

Nationality requirements

Appointments to roles within UKHSA will be made in accordance with the Civil Service nationality rules. These can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
• Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
• Certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.

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 welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment.

Security clearance level requirement

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.  Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Basic Personnel Security Standard.  People working with government assets must complete Basic Personnel Security Standard checks.

For posts on UKHSA Civil Service terms and conditions, new entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. For existing Civil Servants and roles advertised across government, the rules of transfer apply, i.e., level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive a 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest. 

Complaint process:

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email: Complaints1@ukhsa.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website.

Contact Details – Sophie.Rigney@reed.com

 

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.