Job Description

Details

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Reference number

419843

Salary

58,918 - 70,450
GBP

Job grade

Grade 7

Contract type

Permanent

Type of role

Digital

Working pattern

Full-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

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Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information

Location

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Wales

About the job

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Job summary

Purpose of Post:

The UK wide Civil Service Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) profession consists of people who work in a digital, data or technology specialist role. They design, build, and run government digital services. They are responsible for the way we find, access and use data and for the technology infrastructure which support those services. There are currently about 25,000 people working in the Profession.


The DDaT profession in the Welsh Government supports a range of digital services across the whole organisation. As part of our DDaT profession, you will be a key part of the Corporate Digital team and will make a significant and direct contribution for the people of Wales.

Background;

The Welsh Government is the devolved government for Wales with an annual budget of around 15 billion. We are responsible for key aspects of public life in Wales including health, education, the economy, transport, agriculture, and the environment. Welsh Ministers are supported by a workforce of more than 5,000 people with offices in Wales, London and overseas.


Welsh Government priorities are outlined in Welsh Government Programme for government with an overall ambition to build a Wales which is a self-confident, prosperous, healthy nation and a society which is fair to all. The Welsh Government has set out clear priorities for Wales following the UK's exit from the European Union.


We are looking for people who can provide excellent advice and support, can focus resources and have energy and expertise. The Well Being and Future Generations Act provides context for our work.


Digital transformation of public services is vital to delivering the services that the people of Wales expect and need. The Welsh Government currently delivers digital services to people and business across Wales. Led by our Chief Digital Officer, the Welsh Government is increasingly delivering more services online. The Chief Digital Officer provides a consultancy service of digital and data expertise to business areas across the Welsh Government.

Team Overview:

You will form part of the Corporate Digital Team which manages several high-priority services on behalf of the organisation. This multidisciplinary team includes various DDaT specialisms, and the role will involve close collaboration with all these experts as part of an agile development team.

Job description

Role:

As the Lead Drupal Developer in the Corporate Digital Team, you will be responsible for guiding the development and maintenance of high-profile Drupal-based digital services that are critical to the Welsh Government's digital transformation.


Your role will involve mentoring a team of developers, setting and maintaining coding standards, and ensuring the highest levels of technical excellence in Drupal development.


You will oversee the management of CI/CD pipelines, containerisation with Docker, and the implementation of robust, secure, and efficient development practices specific to Drupal.


A key part of your role will be to enforce security and compliance standards, troubleshoot complex issues, and collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless integration and functionality across digital services.


Additionally, you will conduct thorough code reviews, maintain up-to-date security practices, and foster a high-performance, innovative, and collaborative work environment, ensuring that the team is aligned with best practices and the organisation's strategic goals.


You will also play a crucial part in shaping the direction of the Corporate Digital Team, making impactful technical decisions, and driving continuous improvement to enhance service reliability, scalability, and user experience within the Drupal ecosystem.


Moreover, you will actively contribute to the developer community within the organisation, promote knowledge sharing, and encourage the adoption of Drupal best practices across teams. Through mentorship, documentation, and regular knowledge-sharing sessions, you will support the professional development of team members and help create a culture of continuous learning and innovation

Essential Skills:

Leadership and Communication:

Strong leadership and mentoring capabilities, with a track record of leading development teams. Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams. Excellent communication skills and the ability to articulate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.

Technical Proficiency:

demonstrable experience developing and maintaining large-scale Drupal websites, with expertise in Drupal 8+ Proficiency in PHP, HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, including modern frameworks and libraries.

CI/CD and Automation:

Experience in implementing and managing CI/CD pipelines with Jenkins or similar tools. Strong experience with configuration management and automation in Linux based environments.

Development Practices:

Experience using Test Driven Development (TDD) / Behaviour Driven Development (BDD) automated testing platforms and unit tests (e.g., PHPUnit, Behat, Nightwatch). Familiarity with agile methodologies (Scrum)

Tools and Version Control:

Advanced knowledge of Git for version control, including branching strategies and code review workflows. Familiarity with code review tools or platforms such as GitLab.

Person specification

Provide technical leadership and direction, mentoring a team of back-end and front-end developers, and fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation and excellence. Lead the development and maintenance of high-profile bilingual Drupal websites and microsites, ensuring a seamless and accessible user experience across multiple domains. Develop and implement new features, upgrades, and integrations to deliver user-focused customer experiences on the Drupal platform. Translate business problems into technical designs; visualise the ideal user service and explore different approaches to develop solutions that are fit for purpose. Apply modern industry standards for programming tools and techniques throughout the development and testing lifecycle. Maintain technical responsibility for all stages and iterations of software development projects, ensuring adherence to coding standards and best practices. Ensure the security, confidentiality, and integrity of information systems by designing, implementing, and managing controls that comply with relevant regulations, policies, and standards. Keep up to date with Drupal security practices and maintain CMS codebases with relevant patches and updates. Establish and coordinate continuous delivery (CI) and continuous integration (CD) systems using GITlab, ensuring efficient working practices. Use version control tools (e.g., Git) for branching strategies and code review workflows, facilitating knowledge sharing and improvements. Oversee the use of containerisation technologies (e.g., Docker) to streamline development workflows and deployments. Collaborate with heads of other disciplines, such as Interaction Design and Content Design, to ensure seamless integration and alignment of solutions. Identify, locate, and competently fix complex or service-affecting faults, ensuring minimal disruption to live environments. Ensure code quality through rigorous code reviews, automated testing (e.g., Behat), and adherence to coding standards. Transition to headless and decoupled Drupal architecture, using APIs (e.g., JSON API) to integrate front-end and back-end systems effectively.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:


Leadership Working Together

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:


Programming and build (software engineering) - provide technical advice to stakeholders and set the team-based standards for programming tools and techniques. Modern standards approach - demonstrate a strong understanding of the most appropriate modern standards and practices, and how they are applied.

Benefits

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Learning and development tailored to your role An environment with flexible working options A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

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Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

The Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our AI candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection Process and Stages

Welsh Government, like all other Government Departments use Success Profiles when we recruit. For each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job. It raises performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.
The selection process and stages are:

Number of Stages:

2 stage process

Stage 1 Application Form


Stage 2 Interview

Data Notice:

Welsh Government are working in partnership with a recruitment agency in relation to this vacancy (Yolk Recruitment). Therefore, your application will be shared with Yolk Recruitment as part of this process and Yolk may contact you directly in relation to this vacancy. Your information will be held on file by Yolk Recruitment for a period of up to 6 months and then deleted.



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 .



See our vetting charter .
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) 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

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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 .
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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

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This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.
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Contact point for applicants

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Job contact :

Name : Corporate Digital Team Email : digital@gov.wales
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Recruitment team

Email : SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales

Further information

Recruitment principles and complaints




We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition. Please see the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles on the Commission's website.




If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and wish to make a complaint please email complaints@gov.wales. Please ensure that you refer to the vacancy reference number.




If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Welsh Government, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: info@csc.gov.uk