43052 - Senior Data Engineer, Data & Analytical Services Directorate

£38,638 - £52,248
7
12 Months
London
London
10 SOUTH COLONNADE LONDON, E14 4PU
SEO
Ba, Bb
Permanent
Full Time, Part Time, Part Time/Job Share, Flexible Working
Economics, Operational Research, Statistics, Analytical, Digital, Architecture and Data, Social Research

We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce and pride ourselves as being an employer of choice. To find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity

Overview

We have seven permanent Data Engineer roles within our expanding Data Engineering team within the Data & Analytical Services Directorate at Mid and Senior level (MoJ bands Ba/Bb).

Due to the ongoing pandemic you will be expected to work from home to begin with. In future your base location will be 10 South Colonnade, London, although you may be expected to spend some time working in 102 Petty France. Flexible working arrangements are available, including working from home over the longer term.

Interviews are likely to take place beginning of June. We will keep a merit list for a year for those who successfully pass the interview but are not offered a post.

 

About us

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has a vision to solve its thorniest problems by the smart use of data. At the heart of this vision is the data engineering team: a growing team with support from senior colleagues, working in an exciting area, solving problems and building products to transform analysis within government. Join us!

If you’d like to know a bit more about our approach and what we have achieved already, watch this video: https://youtu.be/M_R4VrRDK-E, or explore our codebase on GitHub: https://github.com/moj-analytical-services.

 

About you

We are seeking a skilled and motivated individual with relevant technical skills, and would welcome applicants from data engineering, devops, analytical, or data science backgrounds.

You should apply if:

  • you are keen to learn cutting-edge skills at the intersection of analysis, data science, software development, and data engineering
  • you want to sharpen your data skills to become a better analyst, data scientist, data engineer or developer
  • you want to help drive change in the way data is used in the public sector
  • you want to use your data or analysis skills to make prisons work better
  • you want to work with leading cloud platform technology

 

About the roles

There are six roles working with Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). HMPPS is reinventing how services in prisons and probation are delivered, and thereby producing new data sources. You will lead on getting this data from digital services to data users in a timely, auditable, robust, and reproducible way, leading to better decision making and improvements to the prison/probation system. In addition there is one role supporting the reform of HR/Shared Services in MoJ, in which you will be responsible for developing robust data pipelines from source systems direct to users, in order to enhance analytical processes and facilitate innovation.

You will be working within the data engineering team and report to a lead data engineer. The data engineering team works in close collaboration with analysts, data scientists, developers and technical architects across the MoJ. Some examples of the things you may be doing are: using infrastructure as code tools to deploy cloud infrastructure in AWS; building robust and scalable automated data pipelines; developing and improving tools, resources and processes that enable the best use of our data; helping data scientists productionise models and workflows within a modern microservices architecture; creating Python packages and deploying pipelines to test, predict and report on our data.

 

Salary and benefits

The salary will be negotiable within the pay range (£38,638-£52,248), depending on your skills and expertise. Benefits include employer pension contributions of 27%; flexible and home working; flexible office locations; time off in lieu if at any point you work more than your contracted hours; cycle to work scheme; quarterly reward and recognition scheme.

 

Recruitment process

We will ask for a CV and a statement of suitability (i.e. cover letter) to assess your experience and your technical skills. Based on this, we may invite you to interview where you will also complete a short scenario-based coding test.

Experience

You will be asked during the application to submit an anonymised CV.

Technical

In your statement of suitability, please explain why you are the right candidate for this role, based on the skill requirements below. Consider giving an example for each bullet point, using work you have completed to demonstrate how you meet each one.

 

While these requirements are important for the job, we do not expect candidates to be expert in all of them. Just give as much evidence as you can for each. If you are interested in applying but are not sure you have all the skills listed, please do so and give us the opportunity to consider you as a candidate.

We are looking for people with:

Highly Desirable

  • Programming experience, ideally using Python, though knowledge of R and SQL is also valuable

Desirable

  • Track record of developing strong quality assurance and automated testing culture, including use of version control software (preferably git).
  • Ability to quickly learn new languages and frameworks and willingness to pick the right tool for the job.
  • Experience translating complex, large or messy data sources into usable datasets to gain analytical insight into a system/process.
  • Experience of working with cloud computing environments, ideally AWS

Your statement of suitability should cover as many of the above points as possible.

 

Applicants Invited for Interview

If you successfully reach the interview stage you will be assessed on the following:

Behaviours

  • Changing & improving - tell us when and how you have driven a change in your workplace culture or practices.
  • Managing a quality service –tell us when and how you have worked with colleagues to set priorities, objectives and timescales under challenging circumstances.

Please see the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade (Level 3 - HEO and SEO or equivalent):

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717275/CS_Behaviours_2018.pdf

Technical

  • We will also ask you to complete a short scenario-based programming test, followed by a discussion.
  • We will ask you some further questions specific to data engineering

 You may be eligible for membership of an analytical profession depending on your skills. We will determine this from your experience.

For Further Information:

If you have any queries about the role, or wish to discuss, please contact Sam Tazzyman at Samuel.Tazzyman@justice.gov.uk

Working Arrangements & Further Information

Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.

Flexible working hours

The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices.

Benefits

The MoJ offers a range of benefits:

Annual Leave

Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years’ service.

There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

Pension

The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Training

The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.

Support

  • A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
  • Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits,retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
  • For any moves across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to carry on claiming childcare vouchers
  • Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
  • Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.

Networks

The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

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. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order

1-     To Shared Service Connected Ltd (0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com);

2-     To Ministry of Justice Resourcing (resourcing-services@justice.gov.uk);

3-     To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity.

There is a guaranteed interview scheme (GIS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Grading Structure Review

The Ministry of Justice is currently undergoing a review of posts which are currently graded at Band A to realign our grading structure with the majority of the wider Civil Service.

Posts advertised at Band A may be graded at either Grade 6 or Grade 7 once the review has taken place.  

Interviews are likely to take place beginning of June.

13/05/2021, 23:55 hours.

If you require any assistance please call 0845 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or email MoJ-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com Please quote the job reference

If you have any queries about the role, or wish to discuss, please contact Sam Tazzyman at Samuel.Tazzyman@justice.gov.uk

To apply for roles in MOJ you will need to confirm your employment history for at least 3 years prior to the date of application so that pre-employment checks (BPSS) can be undertaken. If you have spent significant time abroad (a total of 6 months in the past 3 years) you would be required to give a reasonable account of the reasons why. 

For some roles you will be required to successfully complete National Security Vetting at Counter Terrorism (CTC), Security Clearance (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV) level as a condition of appointment. To meet CTC/SC/DV requirements you will normally need to have been resident in the UK for at least 3/5/10 years prior to the date of application (The level of checks that are required are stated in the advert).

If you do not meet the above requirements, you may still be considered if, for example:

  • You've been serving overseas with HM Forces or in some other official capacity as a representative of HM Government
  • You were studying abroad
  • You were living overseas with parents

In such cases you will need to be able to provide referee cover for the period(s) of residence overseas. The duration of overseas residence and the country of abode will also be taken into account.

Success Profiles will enable a fairer and more inclusive method of recruitment by enabling us to assess the range of experiences, abilities, strengths, behaviours and technical/professional skills required for different roles. This flexible approach to recruitment focuses more on finding the right candidate for the specific role. To find out more about Success Profiles to support your application please click here for further guidance.

if you feel that your application has not been treated in line with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance

We have provided detail of the assessment stages and areas being assessed to help you prepare for completing your application form, and to advise of what will be assessed following this, if you successfully pass the application stage.


Application form stage assessments

Experience
CV
Statement of Suitability - 750 word limit
Are you a member of a civil service analytical profession? Please answer in one word: GORS, GSS, GSR or GES. If you do not belong to a profession or are unsure, please state None. - 250 word limit

Interview stage assessments

There is 1 interview stage for this vacancy.
Behaviours
Changing and Improving
Managing a Quality Service
Technical Skills
We will ask you to complete a short scenario-based programming test, followed by a discussion.
We will ask you some further questions specific to data engineering
Additional Assessment(s)
Technical Test

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ are committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.

MoJ are able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidate's will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.

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) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families

· 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) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

This Vacancy is closed to applications.