This role currently receives a discretionary Recruitment & Retention payment of up to 5,150. This is a temporary allowance, under ongoing review, and may be withdrawn at any time.
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP
Job grade
Grade 7
Contract type
Permanent
Business area
Insolvency - Change and Technology Services
Type of role
Digital
Working pattern
Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-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
The Insolvency Service is a leading Government agency which plays a crucial role in providing essential services to the public and to business. The work we do is important to the proper functioning of markets, the economy in general and support for thousands of people each year who are in financial difficulty.
Inclusive and diverse teams are important to us. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups underrepresented in our workforce. The Insolvency Service strives to ensure that the agency is a safe, inclusive, and welcoming place for everybody to bring their true self to work and to help the agency to achieve its diversity objectives. We have 9 active employee network groups available to join or become an ally, these include, Carers Network, Disability network group, Employee Assistance, Representatives, FACES Network Group, LGBT+, Mind Matters, Part Time Workers, The Shed - Men?s Network Group and Women?s Network Group.
We have an exciting opportunity for a talented, enthusiastic Lead DevOps Engineer within our Digital Services team. We are responsible for developing, maintaining and supporting the agency?s line of business applications.
Job description
Digital Services is a an in-house team, which has recently moved from using a 3rd party DevOps function to bringing it in-house. We are also consolidating our technology stack and moving away from legacy services, so this is a fantastic opportunity to help shape our digital services and the way we work for a sustainable, user-centric future. We would love for you to be part of that team.
Digital services is part of Change and Technology Services (CTS) who support and improve applications and systems across the agencies IT landscape. CTS provide key services including digital services, cyber security and information governance, service architecture and governance and digital programme delivery.
DevOps look after the deployment and infrastructure of the applications and products we deliver. They keep the lights on and are first to identify and resolve any issues with the live services. They work closely with developers and QAT to ensure the products meet the demands of the users, whilst also ensuring it meets cyber-security demands.
As a lead DevOps engineer you will lead the DevOps team and contribute to the development of the strategic direction of Digital Services.
At this role level, you will:
act as a subject matter for all DevOps responsibilities
provide technical leadership and guidance through coaching and mentoring
work with Principal Technical Architect to develop technical strategy, define standards and help shape Digital Services knowledge and good practice
Responsibilities
As a Lead DevOps Engineer you will be responsible:
for keeping the applications running in production and non-production environments
for ensuring that applications are deployed in a timely and secure manner
for defining standards for the successful operation of a DevOps function within the Insolvency Service
for contributing to priority incident bridge calls and root cause analysis
for providing estimates to upcoming DevOps activities that are related to the delivery roadmap
for working with and providing support to development and operations teams
for updating and building deployment pipelines in line with the build and deployment model
for raising changes to go through and attending CAB to represent those changes
for contributing to the overall improvement of the application technology stack
for ensuring that documentation conforms to documentation standards and is up-to-date and reflective of any changes
Additional Information
If you do not currently hold Security Check (SC) clearance, we will support you through the vetting process following a conditional offer of employment. As SC clearance is essential for this role, appointment is dependent on successfully obtaining and maintaining it. We will provide guidance and support throughout the process.
Person specification
The ideal candidate will:
you will have an inquisitive mind and be able to constructively challenge at all levels to achieve the right results
you are able to keep your own and the teams efforts focused on Digital Services goals to help the delivery of our roadmap and value to the business
you will have a keen eye for detail and a tenacious approach to work. You will need to be able to ask difficult and unpopular questions and make decisions that are evidence based and for the benefit of Digital Services and the wider Insolvency Service
you will have a strong analytical and problem solving skills to be able to identify patterns, draw conclusions and resolve repeatable incidents
you will have the ability to build and establish key relationships with key stakeholders to support the delivery of business outcomes, in a secure stable manner
you will possess good interpersonal and communication skills both written and verbal
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
Managing a Quality Service
Changing and Improving
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
During the interview the candidate will be given a hypothetical technical scenario that will assess their technical knowledge and approach. The candidates will not be required to create a presentation beforehand.
Benefits
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Alongside your salary of 57,367, Insolvency Service contributes 16,619 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
We want you to have a good work-life balance and want to support you in all that you do, so we offer a great benefits package including:
flexible working arrangements and flexi-time
full time new entrants to the Civil Service and those Civil Servants on modernised terms and conditions will be entitled to 25 days leave increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years? service
in addition to this you are entitled to 8 public/bank holidays plus an additional day of privilege leave
competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave
5 days paid leave for learning and development
5 days paid for volunteering
a Cycle to work scheme
staff have access to an employee assistance programme, Workplace Wellness, for confidential, independent support and advice during difficult times in either their professional or personal life
Your pension is a valuable part of your total reward package where the employer makes a significant contribution to the cost of your pension. Your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken. This means, if you pay tax, your take-home pay will not be reduced by the full amount of your contribution; and your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire. For more information, visit www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk
Things you need to know
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Artificial intelligence
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 candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.
As part of the sift process, you will be asked to complete:
CV
Personal Statement
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the CV & Personal Statement assessing candidates against the essential criteria. Only those who meet the essential criteria at this stage will proceed to a full assessment of their application. If a candidate does not meet the minimum requirements during the initial sift, the remainder of their application will not be reviewed. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.
CV Guidance
Your CV should provide a clear overview of your employment history, key responsibilities, relevant qualifications, and the skills and experience you?ve gained throughout your career including any notable achievements.
Note: Your CV will be scored as part of the assessment process and will be assessed against the criteria outlined in the job advert.
Personal Statement Guidance
Your personal statement should be no more than 500 words and must demonstrate how your personal skills, qualities, and experience align with the requirements of the role. Please ensure your statement references the essential criteria outlined in the person specification.
If successful at the sift stage, at interview, you will be assessed on the following:
Experience
Behaviours - assessed through:
Behaviour 1 - Managing a Quality Service
Behaviour 2 - Changing and Improving
Technical Skills
During the interview the candidate will be given a hypothetical technical scenario that will assess their technical knowledge and approach. The candidates will not be required to create a presentation beforehand or prepare anything ahead of the interview.
Expected timeline (subject to change)
Sift ? week commencing 19th January 2026
Interview ? week commencing 26th January 2026
Location - MS Teams
Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of this if you are selected for interview. Candidates are asked to note the above timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process.
Visa Applicants
To sponsor a candidate under the Skilled Worker visa, a sponsorship licence is required. The Insolvency Service does not currently hold this licence and therefore, cannot legally sponsor Skilled Worker visa applicants.
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.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
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Job contact :
Name : Michael Crowe
Email : corporatesupportteam@insolvency.gov.uk
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Recruitment team
Email : hr.recruitment@insolvency.gov.uk
Further information
A candidate can raise a complaint to the Insolvency Service by emailing the contact point for applicants (as listed on the vacancy advert), if they think that: They have been discriminated against under the Equality Act 2010 there have been procedural irregularities at any stage of the recruitment process All complaints must be received by the contact point for applicants within 24 hours from the date the applicant is advised of their non-success at sift, assessment or interview. Complaints will be considered by an independent third-party outside of recruitment campaign. The decision will be conveyed to the applicant, in writing, within 5 working days of receipt of the complaint. The recruitment process will usually be put on hold until the complaint has been resolved. Complaints may also be made to the Civil Service Commission at any time if the individual believes their application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles (appointment on merit through fair and open competition). However, complaints must first have been raised to the Insolvency Service