Software Developer SPM

The Software Developer role will sit within Social Security Scotland's Chief Digital Office (CDO), which has a remit to provide infrastructure and systems to support both the wider social security programme and Social Security Scotland.

A developer delivers software components that form part of a product.

At This Role Level, You Will

• develop software to meet user needs
• follow best practice guidelines and help to improve those guidelines
• write clean, secure and well-tested code
• coach and mentor more junior colleagues
• operate the services you build and identify issues in production

We aim to develop within Social Security Scotland, a positive and inclusive culture, which supports our people to flourish, by embedding a working environment where we all treat each other with dignity and respect, and recognise each other's contributions.

Social Security Scotland, an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government, delivers 17 major benefits, reaching around 2 million people across Scotland. With an annual benefit budget of £6.7 billion for 2025–26, Social Security Scotland plays a central role in supporting low-income and disabled individuals, carers, and families, while contributing to the Scottish Government's statutory child poverty targets. Our Charter affirms the agency's values and commitments, ensuring that clients are treated with dignity, fairness and respect, and that their feedback informs service enhancements.

Social Security Scotland embeds a positive and inclusive organisational culture. This focuses on employee wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, professional development, and performance improvement. The agency recognises that its workforce is key to delivering high-quality public services and is committed to creating an environment where staff are empowered to grow and contribute meaningfully.

Responsibilities

• You manage service components to ensure they meet business needs and performance targets.
• You support specific activities to improve development processes.
• You identify obvious deficiencies in development processes.
• You participate in the information security process.
• You design and implement embedded security controls in solutions and services.
• You competently apply a modern standards approach and guide others to do so.
• You collaborate with others when necessary to review specifications.
• You use the agreed specifications to design, code, test and document programs or scripts of medium-to-high complexity, using the right standards and tools.
• You participate in team prototyping.
• You advocate for the use of prototypes and testing with others.
• You establish design patterns and iterate them.
• You use a variety of prototyping methods and choose the most appropriate.
• You help fix faults following agreed procedures.
• You carry out agreed maintenance tasks on infrastructure.
• You translate logical designs into physical designs.
• You produce detailed designs.
• You effectively document all work using required standards, methods and tools, including prototyping tools where appropriate.
• You design systems characterised by managed levels of risk, manageable business and technical complexity, and meaningful impact.
• You work with well understood technology and identify appropriate patterns.
• You build and test simple interfaces between systems.
• You work on more complex integration as part of a wider team.
• You collaborate with user researchers and can represent users internally.
• You champion user research to focus on all users.
• You prioritise and define approaches to understand the user story, guiding others in doing so.
• You offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to use.

Success Profiles
We use an assessment framework called 'Success Profiles' which lists the elements we test and provides detailed descriptions of each. Find out more about how we assess the Success Profile elements.

Essential Experience

• Your experience writing programs and scripts using Curam Social Program Management allows you to use agreed specifications to independently design, code, test and document programs or scripts of medium-to-high complexity, using the right standards and tools.
• Your experience developing and debugging Curam Social Program Management allows you to help identify and fix faults following agreed procedures and carry out agreed maintenance tasks.

Behaviours

• Communicating and Influencing (Level 3)
• Working Together (Level 3)

You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours here.

Technical / Professional Skills:
This role is aligned to General Developer within the Digital, Data and Technology Profession.

These skills will be tested during the Technical Assessment if you are successful at sift stage. They will be not be assessed at application stage. Please review the following to understand the skill expectations: Software developer - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework

How To Apply
Apply online,
you must provide a CV and Supporting Statement
(of no more
1000 words
). Your CV and Supporting Statement should clearly demonstrate how you meet the Experience and Behaviours required for the role as outlined in the Success Profiles above. Be sure to provide specific examples of work that you've done that showcase your relevant experience.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples 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, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.

In the event that we receive a high volume of applications, we may conduct an initial sift using the CV and Supporting Statement based on the first Experience criteria. Candidates who successfully pass this initial sift will have their applications fully assessed.

Candidates who are successful at sift stage will be invited to attend an Interview and Technical Assessment. The interview will further assess the Experience and Behaviours listed in the job advert and the Technical Assessment will evaluate the technical skills relevant to the role.

Candidates who pass the sift and are invited to the Interview and Technical Assessment stage will receive a Technical Assessment Candidate Pack, which will outline the skills to be assessed and the assessment methods to be used.

Following the application sift, there may be a telephone interview as part of the assessment process before the main interview.

We aim to provide feedback on request. However, if we receive a large number of applications it may not be possible for us to provide specific feedback on your application. We will provide feedback on request to candidates who attend an interview/assessment.

Expected Timeline (subject to change)
Sift - w/c 10th November

Interview – w/c 24th November & w/c 1st December

Location - In Person in either Dundee or Glasgow

Reserve List
In the event that there are more successful candidates than posts available, a reserve list will be kept for up to 12 months.

About Us
Social Security Scotland is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. Our benefits help people from all walks of life in Scotland. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles. We are committed to recruiting a diverse workforce that is representative of the clients we serve.  Find more about us here.

We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer.

As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

DDaT Pay Supplement
This post is part of the Scottish Government Digital, Data and Technology (DDAT) profession and as a member of the profession you will join the professional development system. This post currently attracts a £5,000 annual DDAT pay supplement, applicable after a 3 months competency qualifying period. The payment will be backdated to your start date in the role. Pay supplements are reviewed regularly and there is one currently underway. Changes will be communicated when the review is concluded.

Working Pattern
Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options, depending on the needs of the role. We embrace a hybrid working style where all colleagues will spend time in either our Glasgow or Dundee offices. There is an expectation of a minimum 2 days per week in your assigned location, which will be either Glasgow or Dundee.  If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.

Security Checks
Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre-employment checks – Identity, Right to work, Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions).

You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website, or read about the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide.

Equality Statement
Social Security Scotland are committed to equality and inclusion, and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.

Social Security Scotland are a Disability Confident Employer. We will consider and implement any reasonable adjustments you may require throughout the recruitment process and during the course of your employment, should you be successful in securing a post. If you feel you may require assistance with any part of our recruitment process, please contact us at

Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them.

Further Information
Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website.

Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes.

The successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 3 years unless successful in gaining promotion to a higher Band or Grade.

Social Security Scotland's recruitment processes are underpinned by the recruitment principles of the Civil Service Commissioner, which outline that selection for appointment be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition - Recruitment - Civil Service Commission ).

If you feel at any time your application has not been treated in accordance with the values in the Civil Service Code and/or if you feel the recruitment has been conducted in such a way that conflicts with the Civil Service Commissioner's Recruitment Principles, you can make a complaint, by contacting Social Security Scotland at   in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commissioner.

If you experience any difficulties accessing our website or completing the online application form, please contact the Resourcing Team via

Apply before
12th November 2025 at 23:55
Contact Name - Resourcing Team

Contact email –