Apprentice Application Operations Engineer

Job summary

Please note this role requires you to pass Security Check clearance. For further information, please see 'Selection process details'.

Do you have an appetite for learning?

Would you like to apply and further develop your IT technical skills in an Organisation that makes a difference to UK citizens lives?

Do you want to help shape an emerging function in one of UK government’s largest IT environments?

The primary role of Centralised Application Support Services (CASS) is to provide application operations which deliver continuity of service for our users across DWP Digital services.

As an Apprentice Application Operations Engineer, you will learn how to:

• Work collaboratively with teams across Digital Group to ensure smooth running of operational processes

• Effectively utilise Incident, Problem, Change and Release Management processes as well as automating and innovating via continuous improvement to enhance the services we provide for citizens

• Be part of an Organisation that takes career development seriously working alongside other functions such as DevOps, SRE and other Engineering disciplines

If this is something that interests you, apply today.

Job description

As an Apprentice Application Operations Engineer, this is an exciting opportunity to earn as you learn and get hands on practice while you study towards a Level 4 Application Support Lead qualification.

You’ll receive formal learning to develop crucial skills, knowledge and behaviours for your career and be part of a great team. Upon completion of the required learning and practical experience, you will:

• Work in an established team and support other engineers in their daily work, under their direction
• Identify, investigate and ensure that application incidents are handled in accordance with ITIL standards and agreed process using Service Management toolset
• Use a knowledge-based tool to assist in analysis and application dependent tools for database queries, data analysis and providing fixes
• Impacting and actioning change work or reporting requests
• Attend and contribute to release management via implementation walkthroughs or execution of test scripts
• Contribute to the implementation of Continuous Service Improvement initiatives around process and procedure
• Manage your own workload so that agreed support levels are maintained, any issues are identified and escalated to appropriate contact points
• Maintain strong working relationships with colleagues, and where applicable, other stakeholders
• You may also be required to support your applications on your own and possibly out of hours through a scheduled-on call rota
• Be adaptable and flexible to meet changing business priorities

You will be supported by your line manager, skills coach, fellow apprentices, DWP Apprenticeship Team and the wider Digital and Transformation Directorate. You will have access to a variety of sources of encouragement to help you succeed. There is a lot to learn and do, so you need to be proactive, work hard and participate in the many opportunities you will be given to showcase your skills. If you wish to find out more about the Application Support Lead Apprenticeship, please click here

The Application Support Lead Apprenticeship is expected to take up to 24 months to complete, however the full learning journey for this role may take up to 30 months. You will be given time out from your role to work on your apprenticeship. You must be committed to seeing through the apprenticeship and completing the qualification within the appropriate time period.

To be eligible for this appointment and the apprenticeship funding, there are a number of eligibility criteria set out by the Department for Education.

Full details can be found at Apprenticeship funding rules - GOV.UK. Candidates should ensure that they can meet these before applying. Some key points are listed below:

• Have the right to live and work in the UK valid for the full 30-month duration of the apprenticeship and associated learning journey.
• Must have lived in the UK and/or EEA for 3 years prior to apprenticeship start date or hold some form of exemption see Department for Education funding rules. (Annex A)
• Not be in full-time education or be already undertaking another apprenticeship by the apprenticeship start date.
• If you are 16 or 17 you are required to stay in full time education or training until you are 18 – commencing this apprenticeship will allow you to meet this requirement.
• Apprentices aged 16 to 18 at the start of their apprenticeship, that do not already hold a relevant English or Maths qualification, will still be required to complete the appropriate functional skills qualifications to pass their apprenticeship.
• You must not hold an existing qualification at the same or higher level in a similar subject to the apprenticeship. A qualification in a non-related subject would be acceptable. Eligibility will be confirmed by our nominated training provider.
• You must not already have significant previous work experience covering the knowledge, skills and behaviours demonstrated in the apprenticeship standard identified above.
• If you have already worked in a similar field, you should consider applying for other vacancies that do not require you to complete the apprenticeship, as too much relevant experience will make you ineligible and we would need to withdraw the offer in these circumstances.

Please list your qualifications in the qualification section. Failure to meet any of the eligibility criteria or not listing your qualifications may result in you being withdrawn.

We expect the apprenticeship to start from January 2027. Please ensure that you are available for this date.

Please Note - Successful appointments to this role will be subject to completion of the apprenticeship programme. Failure to comply or failure to achieve the required apprenticeship may be dealt with under disciplinary or poor performance procedures and may lead to termination of the employment contract or exceptionally, redeployment into another DWP role.

Please note - If you are applying on a part-time basis, you are required to do a minimum of 30 hours per week as this role combines work and studies.

Person specification

When giving details in your employment history and personal statement you should highlight your experience in line with essential criteria below:

• Excellent communication and presentation skills for a fast-paced Application Operations team
• Desire to independently support critical systems both in and out of hours
• Previous experience being an active member of a team and contributing to its success
• Time management / prioritisation skills
• Ability to manage own workload and develop skills needed to complete an apprenticeship training programme alongside a hands-on role
• Motivated to complete an apprenticeship and become an Application Operation Engineer

If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact Oliver.Canham1@dwp.gov.uk.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Developing Self and Others

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,137, Department for Work and Pensions contributes £9,310 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

We also have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

• Working patterns to support work/life balance such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
• Generous annual leave – at least 23 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (pro–rata for part time employees), plus 9 days public and privilege leave.
• Support for financial wellbeing, including interest-free season ticket loans for travel, a cycle to work scheme and an employee discount scheme.
• Health and wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme for specialist advice and counselling and the opportunity to join HASSRA a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly).
• Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and shared parental leave pay after 1 year’s continuous service.
• Funded learning and development to support progress in your role and career. This includes industry recognised qualifications and accreditations, coaching, mentoring and talent development programmes.
• An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join professional and interpersonal networks including Women’s Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.

Hybrid Working

This role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in their DWP office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work.

If a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for the role and for you, you will normally be required to spend a minimum of 60% of your contracted working hours from your DWP office.

If you have a disability, caring responsibilities, or other circumstances that may affect your ability to meet the minimum office attendance requirement, please discuss this with us using the contact details in this advert.

Salary Information

New entrants to the Civil Service will join on band minimum.

Existing Civil Servants who secure a new role on lateral transfer will maintain their current substantive salary.

Existing Civil Servants who gain promotion will move to the bottom of the grade pay scale or receive a 10% increase applied to their current substantive salary, whichever is greater.

Any temporary allowances that you are currently in receipt of will not form part of the calculation to determine your pay. Any allowances that are in payment will cease when you move into your new role.

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 and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

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

Stage 1: Application

Your application will consist of three parts:

1. A Personal Details application form.

2. Employment history - this should contain your work experience and any skills, qualifications and accomplishments relevant to the jobs you have completed based on the essential criteria.

3. Personal statement - up to 750 words. This statement should be used to provide examples of how you meet the essential criteria listed in the Person specification.

Ensure that all examples provided in your statement are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. If you choose to use gen-AI to support your statement, you must follow the guidelines outlined in the Artificial intelligence and recruitment guide.

The sift panel will use the information in your employment history and personal statement to assess your experience, skills and knowledge against the essential criteria.

You will be provided with one combined overall assessment score for both your CV and Personal Statement.

For Hints and Tips on completing your application visit Applying for jobs at DWP Digital.

Important Information

• You will be asked to complete your employment history. Any information that you would customarily share on a CV should therefore be entered onto the application form.
• Personal details that could be used to identify you including your name, contact details and address must be removed for your application to be considered.
• If your employment history/personal statement contains any personal details your application will be withdrawn.

Stage 2: Apprenticeship Eligibility and Skills Check - What you need to know

Candidates who reach the required pass mark at sift will progress to an eligibility check and their details will be passed to our external apprenticeship provider Velocity.

Velocity will contact each candidate via email at this stage and undertake a check of the following.

• Qualifications
• Eligibility
• Functional Skills (if required)
• Skills Scan

The Eligibility and Skills check is scheduled to be held from Mid-July to Mid-August 2026. These dates may be subject to change.

Please ensure you engage with Velocity to enable this check to take place as failure to do so may result us being unable to progress your application. Please add ivana@velocity-academy.co.uk to your safe senders list or monitor your spam folder to ensure safe receipt of the eligibility check via email.

Communications will be electronic and/or by telephone therefore it is important that you check your Civil Service Jobs account regularly, as well as your spam/junk email folder. Telephone calls may show as a withheld number, it is important that you answer so that your interview can be confirmed.

Stage 3: Interview

If you’re successful at sift stage and have satisfied the Apprenticeship Eligibility and Skills Check,you will be invited to a face to face interview in Newcastle at our Digital Hub office. There, you will be assessed against the following Behaviours:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Developing Self and Others

Interviews will take place in early September 2026. Interview dates to be confirmed.

Other information:

If high application volumes are received, the benchmark for candidates to proceed to the next stage may be raised. In line with our commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), we aim to advance all candidates applying under the DCS who meet the minimum standard. However, we may only progress those candidates who best meet the required standards.

All successful candidates and those placed on reserve will be posted in merit list order by location.

Please note that these vacancies are not currently eligible for new applications for Visa Sponsorship on the Skilled Worker route, for any candidates who do not currently have permission to be in the UK as a Skilled Worker where they were sponsored before 4 April 2024, even if relying on tradeable points (including the new entrant tradeable points option) as they are not included in the published Immigration Salary List. This information is offered as guidance only, and we recommend that applicants seek specialist advice on their eligibility for Visa Sponsorship (if applicable) when considering whether to apply for any role.

Security Clearance Requirement

You must meet the security requirements before you can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.

You must have resided continuously in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years, 2 of which must have been the immediately preceding years from the point of applying for this job.

Further Information

Find out more about Working for DWP

For Hints and Tips on completing your application visit Applying for jobs at DWP Digital.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Applications will be screened and if evidence of plagiarism or copying examples/answers from other sources is found, your application will be withdrawn. Internal DWP candidates may also face disciplinary action..

Reasonable Adjustment

At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce.

We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions, or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, or schizophrenia.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Government Recruitment Service via DigitalRecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Reasonable Adjustments” 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.

Reserve list candidates will be posted in merit order by location.

For further information on reasonable adjustments, terms and conditions and how we recruit visit the How we recruit page

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

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

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.

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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : Oliver Canham
• Email : Oliver.Canham1@dwp.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : digitalrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles. If you wish to make a complaint, please find further details here: https://careers.dwp.gov.uk/how-we-recruit/.

Attachments

DWP Terms and Conditions January 2024 Opens in new window (docx, 17kB)Success-Profiles-Candidate-Overview Opens in new window (pdf, 635kB)