Defence Business Services (DBS) Senior Kubernetes DevOps Engineer

Abbey Wood North, Stoke Gifford, Bristol, South West / Glasgow - Kentigern House

Job Summary

Are you a dedicated person who is passionate about making a difference?

Would you like to work for the Ministry of Defence?

Defence Business Services (DBS) is one of the largest shared service organisations in Europe that provides a wide range of corporate services, to over 1.2 million end users, including serving and past military and families, as well as MoD civil servants and industry. DBS delivers large scale administration and smaller specialist services to enable the wider MOD to focus on its core aims, maintaining the UK’s Defence and Security. Services include Human Resources, Pay, Veterans, Finance and Procurement.

• Our vision - To support UK defence customers with outstanding service every time.
• Our Mission - Together we will proudly support Defence, continuously improving and delivering flexible, timely, sustainable and value for money services that underpin the whole force and enhance operational capability.
  
  

DBS is committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues. We are building an inclusive culture and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society.

We want to maximise the potential of everyone who chooses to work for us through opportunities to develop your skills and experience. We also offer a range of flexible working patterns and support to make a fulfilling career accessible to you and offer a Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%. Where your role permits, we support a blended working approach alternatively known as hybrid working.

Come and join the DBS community today!

Job Description

You will join a team in DBS Digital, Information and Technology (DIT) responsible for configuring and managing software within Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) to coordinate changes across Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) models. Additionally, you will support and improve the Discover My Benefits (DMB) infrastructure on Microsoft Azure.

As a Senior DevOps Engineer, you will carry out the duties as defined by the Government Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) framework. You will be responsible for planning and designing large groups of stories, transforming technical requirements into an effective DevOps toolchain to enable product delivery. You will provide coaching and mentoring to junior colleagues, ensuring that deployment strategies for products are repeatable, scalable, and highly available. With deep technical knowledge, you will provide support to delivery teams and solve complex problems.

Role Specific Responsibilities:

• Configuring and administering DevOps technologies and services:
• Ensuring that deployment strategies for products are repeatable, scalable, and highly available.
• Providing technical leadership of the DBS containerisation platform.
• Designing, coding, testing, and documenting complex programmes or scripts, ensuring modern and appropriate standards, methods, and tools are applied.
• Designing solutions and services with security controls embedded.
• Providing support to delivery teams and solving complex problems.
• Building integrations between systems and undertaking and supporting testing activities.
  
  

Managing service components to ensure they meet business needs and performance targets.

You will join a team in DBS Digital, Information and Technology (DIT) responsible for configuring and managing software within Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) to coordinate changes across Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) models. Additionally, you will support and improve the Discover My Benefits (DMB) infrastructure on Microsoft Azure.

As a Senior DevOps Engineer, you will carry out the duties as defined by the Government Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) framework. You will be responsible for planning and designing large groups of stories, transforming technical requirements into an effective DevOps toolchain to enable product delivery. You will provide coaching and mentoring to junior colleagues, ensuring that deployment strategies for products are repeatable, scalable, and highly available. With deep technical knowledge, you will provide support to delivery teams and solve complex problems.

Role Specific Responsibilities:

• Configuring and administering DevOps technologies and services:
• Ensuring that deployment strategies for products are repeatable, scalable, and highly available.
• Providing technical leadership of the DBS containerisation platform.
• Designing, coding, testing, and documenting complex programmes or scripts, ensuring modern and appropriate standards, methods, and tools are applied.
• Designing solutions and services with security controls embedded.
• Providing support to delivery teams and solving complex problems.
• Building integrations between systems and undertaking and supporting testing activities.
  
  

Managing service components to ensure they meet business needs and performance targets.

Person specification

• A customer-focused approach to technology with a proactive attitude in finding opportunities to improve how DBS DIT meets its customers' needs.
• Eagerness to further develop your skills in DevOps engineering and actively seek opportunities to upskill.
• Ability to work collaboratively within a team and provide leadership and mentoring to junior colleagues.
• Deep technical knowledge in DevOps practices and tools, with experience in cloud hosting models and understanding of the responsibility split between hosting provider and customer in SaaS environments.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to resolve complex technical issues.
  
  

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service
  
  

Technical skills

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

• Programming and build (software engineering)
• Service support
• Systems integration
• Prototyping
  
  

Alongside your salary of £44,590, Ministry of Defence contributes £12,917 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• An environment with flexible working options Monday-Friday
• 25 days paid annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years’ service (pro rata). In addition to 8 public holidays per year, you will also receive leave for HM The Sovereign's birthday
• Hybrid working where role permits
• An opportunity to be considered for Reward and Recognition - £250-£5000 per year
• Family-friendly policies including - parental leave and adoption leave
• Learning and development tailored to your role
• Professional and personal development of skills
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• Minimum of 15 days special leave in a rolling 12 month period for volunteer reserve commitments
• Special paid leave to volunteer up to 6 days per year
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
  
  

Allowances

The post does not offer relocation expenses.

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.

This post is eligible for a Digital Skills Allowance of up to £11,400 per annum. Eligibility for this allowance will be assessed at interview against the 4 core technical skills only and reviewed annually in line with departmental policy.

Employment Hours

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Selection process details

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

Please ensure that at the application and interview stages of the campaign you review the Success Profiles Framework to assist you in the demonstration of your skills and experience.

Your suitability for the role will be assessed using the Success Profile elements that have been chosen for this campaign. Each element will be scored accordingly, and the successful candidate will be appointed on merit. When choosing your Behaviour examples, please make sure you use real life scenarios that relate to your own experiences. Whilst technology may help to enhance your written submission, presenting the ideas of others or those generated by technology, could result in your application being rejected.

Applications Will Be Sifted On All Success Profile Elements, But In The Event Of a High Number Of Applications, An Initial Sift Will Be Conducted On The Folowing Success Profile Elements:

Primary: Experience - CV

Secondary: Experience - Personal statement

In this instance the remaining elements will be tested at interview.

At application stage you will be assessed against the following:

Experience:

• CV
• Personal Statement
  
  

Behaviours:

At interview you will be assessed against the following:

• Technical - Senior DevOps - Programming and build (software engineering)
• Technical - Senior DevOps - Service support
• Technical - Senior DevOps - Systems integration
• Technical - Senior DevOps - Prototyping
• Behaviour - Making Effective Decisions
• Behaviour - Managing a Quality Service
  
  

In The Rare Case Where Individuals Have Exact Matching Scores, The Order Of Merit Will Be Determined Based On The Behaviour Scores At Interview In The Following Order:

• - Technical - Senior DevOps - Programming and build (software engineering)
• - Technical - Senior DevOps - Service support
• - Technical - Senior DevOps - Systems integration
• - Technical - Senior DevOps - Prototyping
• - Behaviour - Making Effective Decisions
• - Behaviour - Managing a Quality Service
  
  

If Candidate Scores Are Still Exact, The Merit Order Will Then Be Determined On The Sift Score In The Below Order Or Priority:

• - Experience - CV
• - Experience - Personal statement
  
  

We want to offer opportunities to all who are successful at interview for our roles, but this isn’t always possible, so we do hold candidates on an active reserve list for 12 months.

Application sifting to take place late January.

Interviews are currently taking place via ms teams and will be conducted early February.

A minimum of 2 full working days’ notice will be provided for interviews.We endeavour to stick to these dates, but these are subject to change around business needs.The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact: [email protected]. MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – we may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical.

The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected, and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

To assist with your application please find attached -

DBS Candidate Information Guide - Working for Defence Business Services - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

• UK Ministry of Defence: Life , LinkedIn
  
  

Technical Skills Framework Guide - Please See Attached Documents.

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

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).

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) (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)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).

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.

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).

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 (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) 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 : Adam Lang
• Email : [email protected]
  
  

Recruitment team

• Email : [email protected]
  
  

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles and would like to raise this, please contact [email protected] in the first instance. If the role has been advertised externally (outside of the Civil Service) and 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: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitment/complaints/