Junior Software Developer

Details
Reference number

434020

Salary

£36,000

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

Higher Executive Officer

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

DFE - Operations and Infrastructure Group - Enterprise Data for Funding and Oversight (EDFO)

Type of role

Analytical

Architecture and Data

Digital

Engineering

Information Technology

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

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

Location

Bristol BS2 0EL, Coventry CV1 2WT, Darlington DL1 5QE, Manchester M1 2WD, Sheffield S1 2FJ, Nottingham NG2 1AW

Please note – Bristol and Nottingham currently have site controls in place. Therefore, this location option is only available to existing DfE employees already assigned to this office location.

About the job
Job summary

This post is based in the Online Collection team within the Enterprise Data for Funding and Oversight division.

We provide an online collection service to the department. We model data for a range of users, including internal analysts, providers, ministers, and the wider education sector across further education, apprenticeships, skills, and schools.

The team oversees the running and development of the Achieve and .NET form builder environments. EDFO is a fast-paced data service providing department wide services and to the Department for Education. This role will give you the opportunity to develop knowledge wider and allow you to provide practical application of your skills. To enable you to get the most from this role we will offer you a range of roles in the team to give you exposure to a wide variety of exciting projects.

It is an exciting time to join the team, as we are modernising our software development function, using new and exciting technologies. As a software developer, you will play a key role in shaping the service offering, ensuring that we continue to meet the needs of our diverse user base.

Job description

You will collaborate with user researchers, product managers, designers, business analysts, delivery managers, and content specialists as part of a multi-disciplinary team to directly deliver better outcomes for users. You will innovate to radically transform how public services are delivered and improved.

As a Junior Developer you will be learning the latest technologies and trends, whilst delivering working software early and often. Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team, you'll develop your skills to build a career as a software developer.

You will:

• Be responsible for the development of features of Government services.
• Gain experience with modern software development practices such as Test-Driven Development, CI/CD, and DevOps as well as modern development workflows using GitHub and Azure DevOps.
• Learn to work in an agile environment.
• With the support of senior developers and the wider community, learn to build user-centred, open source, RESTful web systems to serve a variety of citizen and government needs.
• Share knowledge of tools and techniques with the wider team and community, both developers and non-developers.
• Help build and maintain a diverse, inclusive culture across the development community, growing awareness, inclusivity, and balance.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Basic coding skills in C# .NET.
• Basic understanding of SQL and relational databases.
• Basic understanding of the Software Development lifecycle.
• Some experience of communicating technical information to a non-technical audience, including senior leaders.
• Ability to research and learn new programming tools and techniques.
• An awareness of workflow and source control tools, for example Azure DevOps, and delivering in Agile and Kanban methodologies.

Desirable Criteria:

• A degree in a STEM-related subject (preferably Mathematics or Computing related), or relevant certification.

Desirable criteria will only be assessed at interview, in the event of a tie break situation, to make an informed decision.

Technical skills

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

• Coding languages
• Technical Processes
• Software Development

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £36,000, Department for Education contributes £10,429 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department's transfer / promotion policies.

As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK.

You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years' service. In addition, all staff receive the King's Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days' bank and public holidays.

We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.

Most DfE employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending at least 60% of their time in an office or work setting. Changes to these working arrangements are available in exceptional circumstances but must be agreed with the line manager and in line with the requirements of the role.

Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.

As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities.

Things you need to know
Selection process details

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

Application

To apply for this role, you will be required to provide a CV and Statement of Suitability (statement max word count 750 words).

We will use your CV and statement to assess your suitability for the role against the essential criteria listed in the person specification section above.

To confirm, the maximum word count for the statement of suitability is 750. Please adhere to this limit as anything over 750 words will not be taken into account.

You will be required to provide a 250 word example demonstrating how you meet the technical skills listed above.

Interview

We will only supply feedback if we invite you to an interview.

For interview, candidates will be asked to complete a 10 min presentation on 'a recent software development project that you led or have been a part of, where you've written code and developed a solution to solve a problem. This may be followed up by additional questions based on what was presented'. The presentation will be assessed against the technical skills listed above.

At interview you will be asked questions to assess your experience in line with the essential criteria listed above.

At interview you will also be asked questions around the technical skills mentioned in your application.

Other Information

Interviews may be via Microsoft teams or face to face; the vacancy manager will confirm prior to the Interview.

In your application, please don't include personal information that identifies you.

This means we can recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - it's called name blind recruitment .

Please ensure that you remove from your application, all references to your:

• name/title
• educational institutions
• age
• gender
• email address
• postal address
• phone number
• nationality/immigration status

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.

We reserve the right to raise the minimum pass mark in the event of a high volume or strong field of candidates.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK from the location options provided and not from overseas.

The government is committed to supporting apprenticeships, enabling people to learn and progress in a role whilst earning. We want to monitor the number of people who have completed apprenticeships who are now applying to progress further in their career and are asking this question to all candidates, on all vacancies. You will be asked a question as part of the application process about any previous apprenticeships you have completed. Your response to this question will not affect your application and it is not a requirement of the role to have completed a previous apprenticeship.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check maybe 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 circumstance some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Department of Education of your intention by emailing Pre- stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Department for Education do not cover the cost of travel to your interview/assessment unless otherwise stated.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

Candidates will be posted in merit order based upon location preference. Where more than one location is advertised you will be asked to state your preferred location.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

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.

Terms and conditions of candidates transferring from ALBs and NDPBs

Bodies that are not accredited by the Civil Service Commission and are not able to advertise at Across Government on Civil Service jobs will be treated as external new starters and will come into DfE on modernised terms and conditions with a salary at the band minimum.

Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission but do not have civil service status will be offered modernised terms and will not have continuous service recognised for leave or sickness benefits. Salaries should be offered at band minimum, but there is some flexibility where this would cause a detriment to the individual.

Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission and do have Civil Service status will be treated as OGD transfers. Staff appointed on lateral transfer will move on to pre-modernised DfE terms (unless they were on modernised terms in their previous organisation). Staff appointed on promotion will move on to modernised DfE terms. Staff will transfer over on their existing salary (on lateral transfer) and any pay above the DfE pay band maximum will be paid as a mark time allowance. Staff moving on promotion will have their salaries calculated using the principles set out in the attached OGD transfer supplementary information.

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 Department of Education via 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.

Please refer to the attached 'Reasonable Adjustments Guide 05_2025 – accessible version' at the bottom of the advert, for further information.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to Department for Education (DfE) will mean you will no longer be able to carry on claiming 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

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

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.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

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

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

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
Job contact :

• Name : Sam Brennan
• Email :

Recruitment team

• Email :

Further information

The Department for Education's recruitment processes are underpinned by the Civil Service Commissioners Recruitment Principles, which outlines that selection for appointment is made on merit based on fair and open competition. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly with the department concerned via If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages

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