Senior Infrastructure Engineer - Database Administrator - External

Job summary

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK’s largest producer of official statistics, covering a range of key economic, social and demographic topics. These include measuring changes in the value of the UK economy, estimating the size, geographic distribution and characteristics of the population, and providing indicators of price inflation, employment, earnings, crime and migration.

We are looking for an experienced Senior Infrastructure Engineer - Database Administrator to join our Database team working within our Corporate IT & Services Division, with strong background and skills in SQL to undertake support, change management and project activities for Business-critical SQL based services. To ensure the production environments are supported and managed proactively, and that maintenance work is planned and scheduled around Business activity.

Actively identifying areas for improvement for services supported. Proactive in documenting and sharing knowledge, enhancing the capability within the team and working collaboratively.

This campaign is for external candidates who wish to be based at either our Newport or Titchfield site. Therefore, this campaign has been linked with the internal advert 460251. If you are an internal candidate to ONS please apply via the other campaign. The selection and interview process will be combined, so you do not need to apply to both campaigns.

Job description

As a Senior Infrastructure Engineer you will builds, manages, and supports the infrastructure services that underpin all internal user services and services for an organisation.

Defining, building, bringing into service, operating, supporting, performance monitoring, continually improving and decommissioning Infrastructure services (SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS), products and platforms to serve a variety of user needs.

For the services, products and platforms supported:

• Managing incidents, requests, changes and problems.
• Managing the configuration, availability, security, capacity, performance, and cost.
• Engage in continuous improvement activities.
• Managing all aspects of the lifecycle of assets from acquisition through to disposal to include CMDB updates.

Maximising the use of tools and technologies to deliver operational excellence. Actively participates in the Infrastructure Engineering Community of Practice, identifying good practices operations can adopt and sharing experiences. Sharing knowledge of tools and techniques and collaborating to improve the capability of the team. Ensuring the team has a situational awareness of what each other is working on and how this relates to organisational strategies and user needs. Maintains an understanding of Agile methodology and applies an agile mindset to all aspects of their work, utilising an iterative method and flexible approach to enable rapid delivery.

Responsibilities

• Proactively manage and monitor production database instances, ensuring that the databases relied on by Business-critical systems are available for use and performant.
• Manage the databases used by pre-production and test systems, ensuring that these reflect live and that any necessary work to support project delivery is undertaken in a timely manner.
• Manage database patching and upgrade cycles, ensuring that work to deploy these is planned around business activity, and interruption to service is minimised.
• Own and resolve assigned Incidents, ensuring that effective communication with customers is maintained throughout and business impact is understood and minimised.
• Take a lead technical role in the management of major incidents ensuring that the incident is managed and communicated effectively.
• Ensure that assigned Service Requests are fulfilled in a timely manner and that customers are sent notification when work is complete.
• Document processes, procedures and review documents written by other team members, providing feedback where required.
• Participate in project and design workshops and meetings providing SQL technical knowledge to add value to the project.
• Follow agreed change management processes in order to implement new or changed services, ensuring that changes are communicated in advance of their planned implementation date.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Information Security (Working) - Use information security practices and available security controls to contribute to protecting solutions and services.
• Ownership and Initiative (Working) - Own a problem until a new owner has been found or the problem has been mitigated or resolved.
• Troubleshooting and problem resolution (Practitioner) - Break a problem down into its component parts to identify and diagnose root causes. Troubleshoot and identify problems across different technology capabilities.
• Technical Understanding (Practitioner) - Show a thorough understanding of the technical concepts required for the role, and can explain how these fit into the wider technical landscape.
• Service focus (Practitioner) - Take inputs from various sources and use these to guide the design, development, delivery and operation of a service. You always look to continually improve and get the best out of services you support.

Behaviours

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

• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Technical skills

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

• Information Security
• Ownership and Initiative
• Troubleshooting and problem resolution
• Technical Understanding

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,050, Office for National Statistics contributes £12,761 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

The Office for National Statistics is part of the Civil Service, and as such we share a number of key benefits with other departments, whilst also having our own unique offerings to support our valued colleagues across the organisation.

Whether you are hearing about us for the first time or already know a bit about our organisation, we hope that our careers site will give you a great insight into the benefits and facilities available to our colleagues, and our fantastic working culture.

Inclusion & Accessibility

At ONS we are always looking to attract the very best people from the widest possible talent pool, and we are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer. As a Disability Confident Leader we’re committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment process.

As part of our application process, you will be prompted to provide details of any reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process that you need. If you would like to discuss any reasonable adjustments before applying, please contact the recruitment team in the first instance.

If you would like an accessible version of any of the attachments or recruitment documents below or linked to in this advert, please contact the recruitment team who will be happy to assist.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

Security Clearance

For ONS the requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for 3 consecutive years immediately prior to applying and the department will consider eligibility by exception on a case-by-case basis. You will be asked to provide information regarding your UK residency during your application, and failure to provide this will result in your application being rejected.

At the point of SC application, you will need to provide or give access to the following evidence:

• Departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records)
• UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records
• Your credit and financial history with a credit reference agencyy
• Security Services records

Please note we will reach out to you once the advert has closed to confirm eligibility for this role, this will be via an e-mail. Please check your junk e-mails for any
correspondence.

Visa Sponsorship

ONS are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role. Applicants are expected to hold a valid right to work in the UK when employment commences. If you are applying on a time-limited visa, this will need to be valid for at least 18 months.

To work at the ONS, candidates must meet both UK right to work and security clearance requirements (where applicable).

If you are unsure whether you meet the appropriate right to work or security clearance eligibility criteria, please refer to the guidance on Gov.uk or contact the recruitment email provided in the advert before applying. Failure to meet these requirements will result in your application being rejected and employment offers being withdrawn.

Application Process

Number of Stages: 2 stage process

Stage 1: Application

Stage 2: Interview

Stage 1 – Application

The assessment process at the application stage will be based on your work history, CV, skills, experience, and personal statement. It is important that your application is tailored to highlight the skills, knowledge, and experience relevant to the role.

A personal statement is required at application stage, the maximum word count allowed is 1250 words, which should not be exceeded. You should provide evidence for each essential skill criterion listed in the person specification. As these criteria are scored, it is advisable to give clear examples for each one, including the impact of your actions, ideally utilising the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, Result).

Please note that Success Profiles Behaviour examples are not required at this stage of the application process.

In instances where a high number of applications are received, the sift pass mark may be adjusted, and candidates will be invited to interview based on merit order, i.e., those with the highest scores.

We often have similar roles available at different grades. If a candidate is suitable for a similar role or a lower grade than they have applied for, we may offer the candidate that role without the need to go through a further selection process providing the role has the same behaviours, and essential skills.

Stage 2 – Interview

If invited to interview, you will be assessed using techniques aligned with the Civil Service Success Profiles framework, covering all behaviours listed in the job advert and any required technical skills.

Interviews will be via Microsoft Teams.

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

Important Dates

• Eligibility checks 27/05 - 03/06. Please note we will reach out to you once the advert has closed to confirm eligibility for this role, this will be via an e-mail.
• Sift will be conducted from 04/06/2026
• Interviews will be conducted from 23/06/2026

For the full terms and conditions of the post, please see attachment.

Please note that all campaigns may be subject to withdrawal at any stage if the internal resource position changes.

This role is eligible for the Government Digital and Data (GDD) Capability and Pay Framework. If you are successful at interview, your salary will be directly linked to your capability outcome, as determined by your performance in the Technical section of the interview.

• Capability Outcome: Assessed based on scores achieved during the technical interview.
• Salary Determination: Your starting salary will reflect the capability level assigned.
• Feedback: Full feedback on your capability outcome will be provided at the point of offer.

All successful candidates are required to undertake an annual capability assessment as part of their ongoing employment terms. The outcome of this assessment directly influences individual pay levels:

• Higher Capability Outcome: Results in an increase in pay.
• Lower Capability Outcome: Results in a decrease in pay.

Completion of the assessment is mandatory. Failure to complete the annual capability assessment will result in the individual being transitioned to ONS pay terms and conditions, with a corresponding adjustment to their pay.

If you're already in a GDD Group 1 role and receiving GDD pay, and you make a lateral move (i.e. same grade, different role):

Initial Capability Assessment:

• You’ll be assessed in your new role through the interview process.
• If your proficiency level is lower than your current one, you retain your current level and pay for 6 months.

If your proficiency level is higher than your current one, you will move to that level of pay.

Development Plan:

• During those 6 months, you’ll work with your line manager to create and follow a development plan to build the required skills.

Reassessment at 6 Months:

• If you reach your previous proficiency level, you keep your current pay.
• If your proficiency is still lower, your pay will decrease to match the new level.
• If your proficiency level is higher, your pay will increase to match the new level.

Starting salary for roles within the Government Digital and Data (GDD) Capability and Pay Framework is determined solely by the capability outcome achieved during the recruitment process.

Please note:

• Existing allowances (scarce skills) will not be taken into account when calculating starting salary.
• This policy applies to all candidates, including existing Civil Servants and ONS colleagues transitioning to the GDD Capability and Pay Framework.

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) (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.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 : Government Digital and Data Recruitment
• Email : Government-Digital-and-Data-Recruitment@ons.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Government-Digital-and-Data-Recruitment@ons.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact recruitment.complaints@ons.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission

Attachments

GDD_ONS_External_Vacancy_Terms (3) Opens in new window (pdf, 31kB)