Apply Now
Details
Reference number
Salary
Job grade
Contract type
Business area
Type of role
Information Technology
Working pattern
Number of jobs available
Contents
Location
About the job
Job summary
GDS exists to help government make brilliant public services that empower people in the UK. We work at the very centre of government to drive digital transformation, focused on users. We build and maintain common platforms, products and tools for others to use and create great public services that are accessible, inclusive and easy to use. We also work with departments to identify patterns, share learning and create change to make government more efficient.
Our teams are organised around delivering on our priorities. These are:
- making it easier for people to find what they are looking for on GOV.UK
- building common service platforms to make it simpler and cheaper to build quality digital services
- promoting agile, user-centred design practices both in the UK and across the world
We are hiring Developers and Senior Developers for the GOV.UK team, which runs the www.gov.uk website and the publishing system that powers it. GOV.UK is one of the most visited websites in the UK, with 1.4 billion visits in 2022. We exist to make it simple for everyone to interact with government, and we’re putting growth at the heart of our strategy.
Almost all of GOV.UK’s code is open source, developed in the open on GitHub. Most applications use Ruby on Rails, and are deployed as a cluster of microservices to Amazon Web Services. Teams work in agile ways, using best practices such as continuous delivery and test driven development. You can read more about our work on the Inside GOV.UK Blog.
To learn more about life at GDS and for some tips on the application process, take a look at our video guides.
Job description
As a Developer on GOV.UK, youll:
- work as part of a multi-disciplinary agile team, getting involved with every part of the lifecycle of a service, from user research to continuously deploying code to production in our AWS environments
- build robust, performant Ruby on Rails web services to serve a variety of citizen and government needs, taking responsibility for the quality of code you produce
- implement tooling and automation to support development, operation, reliability, security and continuous improvement of the systems you work on
- support the live operation of the services we run, and participate in out-of-hours support rotas where necessary – you’ll be paid an allowance, and a further hourly payment, for any duties you perform when on call
- share your work and the things youve learned through blog posts and show and tells, with the option of presenting at conferences and meetups
- use your learning and development budget to develop your career
- help recruit other developers and, where appropriate, get involved with sifting and interviewing
Person specification
The skills we would expect a Developer to have:
- experience in back-end development, with knowledge of Ruby and Ruby on Rails
- an awareness of technologies used for cloud based web applications, such as databases, backups, CDNs and containerisation, and of Unix-like operating systems such as Linux and Mac OS
- understanding of software design principles, and an ability to apply them
- familiarity with modern software development approaches such as automated testing, test driven development, continuous integration, pair programming, code review and version control
- understanding of common web security risks such as OWASP Top 10, and the corresponding mitigations
- enjoy researching and learning new programming tools and techniques and sharing their skills with others
- have experience working in a collaborative environment, and an understanding of the benefits of agile and multi-disciplinary approaches
- a desire to use their skills and experience to make a genuine difference, and to work on important services that are used by millions of people
In addition to the above, Senior Developers would also:
- provide technical leadership within a team, advising and working with developers to identify the best approaches and solutions
- take responsibility for solving complex issues, drawing upon a broad knowledge of web technologies
- have proven experience of modern software development approaches including automated testing, test driven development, continuous integration, pair programming, code review and version control
- have experience in management, helping colleagues with their career development and coaching more junior staff members
- share knowledge among the GDS teams, ensuring that your team is understood by others and understanding the working of the wider organisation
If you meet a few of those criteria but think that you might not meet every last one then dont let that stop you from submitting an application.
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 Kings 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. Youll 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 telephone interview (may not be required depending on the volume of applicants)
- 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 1 hour face-to-face interview (conducted over video conferencing)
Depending on how many applications we get, there might also be an extra stage before the video interview, for example a phone interview or a technical exercise.
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. Well be assessing your technical abilities, skills, experience and behaviours that are relevant to this role.
For this role well be assessing you against the following Civil Service Behaviours:
Well also be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the Digital, Data and Technology Profession Capability Framework for the Developer or Senior Developer role:
- Programming and build (software engineering)
- Availability and capacity management
- Development process optimisation
- Information security
- Modern standards approach
- Prototyping
- Service support
- Systems design
- Systems integration
- User focus
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
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Apply and further information
You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : gds-recruitment@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk
- Email : gds-recruitment@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : gds-recruitment@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk
Further information
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission by email: info@csc.gov.uk Or in writing: Civil Service Commission, Room G/8 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ.
