Job Description

ID 2837

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The Welsh Government operates name-free recruitment. The recruiting panel will not see personal information such as a candidate's name and address during the sifting process. This policy is in line with our commitment to end bias and promote equality and diversity.
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Vacancy details

Vacancy title
Lead Drupal Developer


Closing date
19/08/2025, 16:00


Advertising basis
Permanent
Actual starting salary
A starting salary between 58,918 and 70,450 will be offered to the successful candidate based on their skills, knowledge experience and performance at interview. This range is not negotiable."
Salary range or pay band
Grade 7 58,918 to 70,450
Allowances
Yes
Allowance
Other
Allowance
As of 1st April 2025, Welsh Government has introduced a DDaT Allowance for posts categorised as Group 1. This post has been categorised as a Group 1 post and is therefore eligible for the allowance. Upon appointment, the post-holder will be eligible for the 'Developing' proficiency level of Welsh Government's DDaT Allowance which will be 3,750 for G7. Further information will be provided upon appointment.
Work pattern
Full time (applications are welcome from people who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time)
Group
First Minister's Group
Directorate
Communications
Branch
Corporate Digital Team
Location (s)
Pan Wales
Pan Wales' means that the location in which the vacancy can be based is flexible, subject to the needs of the business. A list of the Welsh Government's offices can be found on www.gov.wales/welsh-government-offices. Please note it may not always be possible to accommodate a preference for a specific office location.
Purpose of post

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.

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.

Key tasks
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.

Development opportunities
Your role will form part of Welsh Government's Digital, Data and Technology profession. You will have the opportunity to work with multiple projects and programmes across all areas of Welsh Government, with staff at all levels including senior staff, Ministers, and our Digital Apprentice cohort.


You will help build and improve links and collaboration within the cross-government Digital, Data and Technology community.



Other vacancy related information
A reserve list may be held for this opportunity. Any candidate who is successful in being offered a reserve status, will remain on the reserve list for 12 months. Candidates who successfully demonstrate that they meet the minimum Experience Criteria will be invited to interview. You will receive a technical scenario for you to prepare a response to ready for your interview. The technical scenario and instructions will be emailed to you 5 days before your interview. The role will occasionally necessitate working outside of standard hours during major service changes, as well as participating in a security rotation every three weeks for security updates.

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.



Vetting level
SC - Candidates applying for a role that requires SC clearance must have normally resided in the UK for a minimum of the last 5 years
Number of posts
1
Contact point for further information regarding the post
digital@gov.wales