Lead Developer

Job summary

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government.

Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:

1. joining up public sector services
2. harnessing the power of AI for the public good
3. strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
4. elevating leadership and investing in talent
5. funding for outcomes andprocuringfor growth and innovation
6. committing to transparency and driving accountability

We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government.

We’re part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol.

The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you’ll be working with some of the world’s most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale.

Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need.

Within GDS, the Digital Products Group is responsible for running and evolving some of the UK government’s most critical digital products and platforms. This includes GOV.UK, the trusted source of authoritative government services and information. GOV.UK supports millions of individuals and businesses each week to find information and complete tasks that are essential to live, work and do business in the UK.

The GOV.UK website supports an average of 88m visits per month, making it one of the most used digital services in the UK. But GOV.UK is now much more than a web platform, reaching users through an increasing variety of channels including GOV.UK Social, GOV.UK App and GOV.UK Chat. Together these form a core part of the UK’s digital public infrastructure.

This role will be working in the GOV.UK Web and Publishing teams. A key focus will be driving forward our technical strategy of multi-channel publishing and improved AI content discovery.

Job description

As a Lead Developer in GOV.UK, you’ll work across a business area of 1-3 related engineering teams, using your engineering experience to empower teams and guide technical work. Expect a mixture of engineering management, engineering design and technical strategy. You’ll shape technical strategy and take accountability for engineering outcomes in your area. You’ll grow engineering capability through recruitment and community engagement, helping to continuously improve how the engineering function operates across GOV.UK.

From time to time it might be beneficial to review code or pair / mob with engineers but that will be ad-hoc rather than regular, as this isn’t a hands-on technical role.

As a Lead Developer you’ll:

• work with 1-3 engineering teams in a related area, taking responsibility for engineering outcomes
• shape technical strategy in your area, collaborating with leadership peers and teams
• line-manage 4-6 technologists, supporting their career progression, development and wellbeing, and providing regular coaching and performance feedback
• set engineering teams up for success through empowerment, effective technical leadership and decision making support
• plan and develop engineering capability within your area, recruiting civil servants and interim/contractor technologists and championing inclusive recruitment practices
• be a visible champion of the engineering community in GOV.UK, developing the wider team and engineering practices
• support Head of Engineering with specific tasks to improve the engineering function at GOV.UK
• work with security colleagues to ensure the security of the services in your

Person specification

We’re interested in people who have:

• have experience leading and managing engineering teams / engineers
• substantial experience working in software engineering or a closely related technical discipline. (Note: not required to be a hands-on coder in the role)
• experience of upholding a high standard of engineering practices and optimising the development process
• an interest in making an impact beyond the team level
• ability to effectively communicate and influence at a programme leadership level
• a good understanding of security concerns and practices across the SDLC

If you meet a few of those criteria but think that you might not meet every last one then don’t let that stop you from submitting an application.

Benefits

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 28.97%
• 25 days of annual leave, increasing by a day each year up to a maximum of 30 days
• an extra day off for the King’s birthday
• an in-year bonus scheme to recognise high performance
• career progression and coaching, including a training budget for personal development
• 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

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

Office attendance
The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period.
DSIT does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).

Things you need to know

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 (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate an