About the job

Job summary

Please note this role requires you to pass Security Check clearance. For further information, please see 'Selection process details'.

Do you have strong SQL and/or Python data engineering skills? Would you like to put these to use whilst learning about cloud engineering, Informatica and/or SAS?

DWP is the UK's largest government department. We help people into work and make payments worth over £195bn a year to support some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

DWP Digital creates digital services that almost everyone in the UK relies on at some point in their lives. We’re carrying out a once-in-a-generation digital transformation - a task of size and scale unmatched elsewhere.

Join us with solid SQL or Python fundamentals, and we will teach you the rest.

There are two roles available – one role in each of the following teams:

1. Policy & Analysis - this team brings data in from several sources and systems and makes it available for our analytical community to make informed choices. The team warehouses and makes data efficient using Informatica and SAS.
2. Centric – this team builds data solutions for DWP and external organisations. The team matches, merges, and exploits data to give people a solution to their business problem.

You will be expected to regularly work from Newcastle as part of the Policy and Analysis team, and from Blackpool as part of the Centric team.

Job description

Working with a mix of legacy on-premises and modern cloud engineering technologies, you’ll support the development of data solutions or warehousing. The role is fast-paced and offers you the opportunity to work with incredibly large datasets – often millions of rows of data. You’ll use efficient code to make it productionised and document how it works.

There’ll be lots of interaction with customers and stakeholders – you’ll collaborate with product and delivery managers, business analysts and data scientists.

You’ll oversee a small team of data engineers and oversee specialist contractor data engineers. You will explore new ideas and support your team in developing their technical and interpersonal skills.

This role has an emphasis on data engineering technical leadership – you’ll guide other data engineers in terms of direction setting and developing their technical capability. Your time will roughly be split 70% hands-on data engineering and 30% leadership, strategy, and management.

You will be responsible for:

• Overseeing the team to deliver all aspects of data development activities.
• Translating complex user requirements and data models into effective, robust ETL solutions in line with DWP build standards.
• Developing reusable, robust, and scalable products.
• Ensuring adherence to standards, legal, regulatory and security requirements across the DWP Data Engineering community.

Person specification

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

• A deep understanding of data engineering using SQL or Python.

• Experience advising on technology and standards, setting direction, building, and maintaining networks and collaborating across teams with a diverse range of stakeholders.

• Experience designing, coding, and testing efficient data solutions of medium to high complexity within an enterprise-governed process.

• Experience building team capability through role modelling, mentoring, and coaching.

• You can maintain and update your own learning and skills development.

If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact felicity.smith@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.

Salary Information

Pay for this role is from £52,412 to £63,517.

The maximum salary for the grade is £63,517, however a Digital Allowance of up to £15,000 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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

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

3. Technical statement (up to 250 words):

• Technical Breadth - Describe your approach to building a fully automated productionised ETL or exploitation data engineering solution explaining the complications, user interactions and outcomes.

An initial sift will be conducted using the technical statement (Technical Breadth). Candidates who pass the initial sift will be progressed to a full sift. The sift panel will use the information in your employment history 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 or technical 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.

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

To help you prepare and settle into the interview you will be sent the interview questions in advance of the interview, at least 5 days prior to your interview. These questions should be treated as confidential and should not be shared. The interview panel may ask you other questions which will not be shared in advance, including follow-up questions, and those about your experience and abilities. Candidates may be asked further probing questions if their response is deemed to require further information to determine suitability for the role. 

Candidates are strongly encouraged to secure their interview slot promptly to ensure fairness in preparation time with the questions provided in advance. 

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. 

Security Clearance Requirement

You must meet the security requirements before you can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.

For meaningful checks to be carried out, you will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. Whilst a lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance, and expectation of UK residency may range from 3 to 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements needed for the role may result in the withdrawal of provisional jobs offers. 

NSV

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

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.

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. 

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.