Scientific Developer (CR1289)

Are you someone who can lead and manage change in a challenging and dynamic environment? If so, we would love to hear from you!

APHA is a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued, have a voice and can be their authentic selves. We value difference and diversity because it helps us be more innovative and make better decisions. We are dedicated to being an inclusive employer, offering equitable opportunities for all individuals. Our goal is to build a diverse workforce, and we hope to attract applications from all backgrounds and underrepresented groups.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and works on behalf of the Scottish Government and Welsh Government. Our diverse teams of over 3,000 skilled and committed professionals come together to provide research, advice and support to UK Government for safeguarding animal, public and plant health for benefit of the environment and economy.

The Science Directorate (SD) delivers high quality, high impact and highly relevant multidisciplinary science. Our People are diverse, talented, engaged and inspired to deliver innovative outcomes.

The Data Systems Group (DSG) is a workgroup within the Department of Epidemiological Sciences (DES). The group undertakes the data management function within the Department and wider Science Directorate. It has systems development, data management, geographic information systems (GIS) capability, computational modelling and scientific computing environment (SCE). DSG has experience of the data associated with a wide range of animal health disease areas e.g. bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs) and liaises widely with Epidemiologists, Modellers and Statisticians both internally and externally (e.g. University research groups) over their analysis requirements.

You will work as a part of a team building and maintaining bespoke infrastructure and software applications spanning multiple high impact areas including disease management databases, simulation models to inform disease control policy, and specialist scientific computing infrastructure for scientists across the Defra group. Managing delivery on a range of technical science projects by negotiating scope; planning and monitoring delivery; quality assuring outputs; ensuring appropriate maintenance; and supporting effective resource allocation. You will specialise in the development of business applications for the collection and management of corporate data assets but also supporting software development and IT engineering activities of the wider team.

You will join a small team within the Data Systems Group (DSG) responsible for IT systems hosted on the corporate (Windows) environment.

• Technical focus will be across the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC).
• As the senior developer you will provide an Intelligent Customer Function while liaising with Stakeholders (both internal e.g. Defra and external e.g. University research depts.). Drawing on experience you will advise stakeholders and take a prominent role in leading on aspects relating to product design, typically this will include the capture of data from disparate sets and the automation of current paper-based systems.
• An important element of this role will be to provide consultancy on the data capture and processing; ensuring reliability, consistency and quality are maintained to, a minimum of, ISO9001 standards.
• A key element of the design process will be the creation and maintenance of all documentation for systems you are responsible for, including meta-data. Meeting customer goals by gathering business or scientific requirements and provide technical specifications.
• There will be an expectation of active involvement in the wider government initiatives.
• Line management responsibilities of staff.
• Active engagement with APHAs Data Information Unit who manage the overarching Agency's framework

Responsibility includes:

• Successful design, development and delivery of IT systems.
• Support of existing systems.
• Production of user manual, risk assessment and issues resolution.
• Technical assistance during data capture and reporting.
• Strong interpersonal skills to establish good working relationships with colleagues, both internal and external customers and wider stakeholders.
• Mentoring junior developers.
• Good written and oral communication skills.

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)

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

Application Process

You will be required to complete the following as part of the application.

• A CV-style application template submitted through an online tool accessed through the Civil Service Job website, There is no requirement to upload your personal CV.
• A 500-word personal statement of how you match the details in the Personal Specification. The written evidence you provide must relate to your own experiences. We encourage you to use the full word allowance of the Personal Statement but not to exceed it.
• A 250 word Behaviour Statement for both Behaviours ‘Delivering at Pace and Leadership’ Please use the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, and Result) to provide evidence of the Behaviours in your application.
• A 250 word Technical Statement giving details of your experience and evidence of usage of C#, JavaScript, Visual Basic, SQL, SSIS, SSRS.

CV Guidance

Your CV should consist of your career history, including any key achievements and your main responsibilities in each role and be no longer than 2 pages. Your CV will be used to provide further context on your Personal Statement and scored against the essential criteria.

Personal Statement Guidance

When completing your Personal Statement, please read and understand the Person Specification thoroughly, as this is what your written evidence will be assessed against. Please ensure you evidence the key personal qualities and experiences that align with the criteria. Consider the Job Description and look to demonstrate how your previous experience may align with the expectations and be applicable to the role. The written evidence you provide must relate to your own experiences. Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc.

Scoring for all criteria of the application is from 1 to 7 – A score of 4 and above in each area will progress to interview unless there is a large number of applications. In this instance, an initial sift will be conducted using the Personal Statement. The panel may agree a benchmark score higher than 4 with a rationale for the decision. .Any candidates applying under the Disability Confident Scheme who scores 4 or above on all of the criteria will be offered an interview. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

For further guidance and information on how to construct your application (CV style application, Personal Statement and Behaviours), you are encouraged to visit the Civil Service Careers website. How to write your CV , Civil Service Careers

Eligibility

Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. We understand mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days (Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we will not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake, please contact us via DefraRecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk with the vacancy reference number, your applicant reference number, and the closing date.

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on

• Your previous experiences relevant to the role requirements outlined in the advert following the Success Profiles: Experience - GOV.UK ·
• Technical skills (C#, JavaScript, Visual Basic, SQL, SSIS, SSRS) outlined in the advert following the Success Profiles: Technical - GOV.UK framework. Technical questions will explore your technical knowledge in specific areas during the presentation.
• Behaviours - Delivering at Pace, Communicating & Influencing, Working together, Making Effective Decisions and Leadership. The Behaviour criteria outlined in the Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours - GOV.UK framework for (SEO) positions. Please use the STAR technique (Situation Task, Action, Result) to provide evidence of the Behaviours in your interview.
• You will also be required to give a 10 minutes presentation, with slides, followed by 15 minutes of questions and answers. This will be assessed under (Technical criteria). Full details of the presentation will be given when you are invited for interview.

If you are selected for interview, you will receive an electronic notification to your Civil Service Jobs account.

Upon receiving the interview invitation, please log into the system to schedule your interview slot in advance.

Please note your interview will be conducted face to face at the APHA Weybridge Office, Woodham Lane, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

After the interview

Once all the interviews have been conducted, candidates will be notified of the outcome by email. If you are successful at the interview stage, we will be in touch to offer you a role. Offers will be made in merit order.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Further Information

Location

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s).

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

Salary

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to Defra 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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ 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.

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Visa Sponsorship Statement

Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.

Merit Lists

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be appointed in merit order for each location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.

Criminal Record Check

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Internal Fraud Database Check

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

All of these posts require the successful candidate to hold basic security clearance. Candidates posted to Weybridge may be subject to a higher level of clearance because of the security requirements for that location. Job offers to these posts are made on the basis of merit. Security vetting will only take place after the receipt of a job offer.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.