Senior Software Developer (Ref: 14037)

Job summary

Please refer to Job Description

Job description

HM Courts and Tribunals Service

Directorate: Digital Technology Services (DTS)

Pay Band: G7

Job Title: 1 x Senior Software Developer

Location: London / National

Travel between sites may be required and successful applicants will be expected to be office based 3 days per week in any HMCTS Office (subject to business availability). The frequency may change in the future.

Term:Permanent

Interview: Video conference via Teams

Level of Clearance: To apply for this role, you will be required to successfully complete Security Clearance (SC) level as a condition of appointment.

Important salary details:

New recruits to the Civil Service joining MoJ are expected to join at the band minimum.

Existing Civil Servants applying on promotion, will usually be appointed on the salary minimum of the new pay band, or receive an increase of 10 percent on the current base salary, whichever is higher (This is restricted to the pay maximum of the new band).

Government Digital and Data (GDD) will be used to determine if you will be paid an additional allowance, on top of your basic salary.

This role aligns against from the Government Digital and Data Framework

Introduction:

These are exciting times at HM Court and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). As an agency of the MoJ, we support the judiciary across England and Wales to deliver justice by running courts and tribunals and processing outcomes, and we are looking for talented people to help us achieve our ambitions. It will be challenging, important and rewarding.

HMCTS Digital and Technology Services (DTS) is a specialist technology directorate which provides support to HMCTS in the use of IT and Digital. DTS is creating a place in which it is great to do work and part of our offer is brilliant training opportunities and support from expert colleagues. As well as that you’ll find flexible working, an inclusive culture and a place where your opinion is valued.

Please follow this link for further information about HMCTS: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service

Job Description:

As a Senior Software Developer at HMCTS you will work with a wide range of stakeholders such as user researchers, product managers, designers, business analysts, delivery managers and digital architects, all of whom share a vision for making better government through smarter use of technology. You will innovate to radically transform public services for the better.

The development squad you are placed on will be agreed closer to your start date, but examples of products can be found in our GitHub repository:

• https://github.com/hmcts

You can find more information about our ways of working in the HMCTS Way: https://hmcts.github.io

Technologies we rely heavily on:

• Java and Spring Boot to write our backend services
• js to write our frontend services
• Power Platform for low-code development
• Jenkins for CI/CD
• Dynatrace for application monitoring
• Kubernetes and Docker to run our services
• Azure for most of our infrastructure
• Terraform for infrastructure as code
• Postgres and Redis as our databases.
• UK Design System for our web interfaces
• Macs to do all the above
• In addition, we use a range of other technologies and continue to evolve by employing new technologies that help us deliver better services to our users

As a Senior Developer in HMCTS you will:

• Develop, improve and document code, following best practices and internal standards.
• Continuously learn and stay up to date with relevant technologies, identifying potential issues.
• Ensure product security, data confidentiality, and integrity, raising risks as needed.
• Support and maintain software, including limited out-of-hours work when required.
• Plan development, coordinate integration, and contribute to process improvement.
• Manage service availability effectively and cost-efficiently.
• Build and test system interfaces.
• Use test-driven development, write automation scripts, and participate in code reviews.
• Mentor junior colleagues and share technical expertise.
• Take ownership of the technical roadmap and promote best practice across the development lifecycle.
• Influence product strategy by providing technical insight to stakeholders
• Design and develop software based on user stories.
• Participate in recruitment and procurement.

Person Specification

We’re seeking a full stack developer with the ability to develop and deploy high-quality code. The ideal candidate will have:

• Experience in building scalable enterprise applications using Java.
• Strong frontend proficiency with modern JavaScript frameworks (e.g., Angular, React, or Vue).
• A solid grasp of RESTful API design and relational database architecture (e.g., PostgreSQL).
• Proficiency in cloud-native architecture including infrastructure as code (e.g., Microsoft Azure, Terraform)
• Knowledge of the full development lifecycle, including CI/CD, authentication (OAuth2/OIDC), and system monitoring.
• Leadership capabilities, with a proven track record of mentoring junior engineers and driving technical standards.
• Experience utilising DevOps practices and containerisation tools (Docker/Kubernetes).
• A security-first mindset, with the ability to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities (OWASP top 10) during the design phase.

Application Process:

Coding Task

When submitting your application please complete the following coding task and provide a link to the repository:

https://github.com/hmcts/dts-developer-challenge

Please note the Civil Service application process is name-blind, so ensure that the repository containing your code does not include any personal information that would identify you.

The following areas of the Success Profile Framework will be used to assess and score your application during the sift, and interview.

Experience – As demonstrated in your application form.

Technical – Coding task and interview. If successful, you will move on to the interview stage, which will include an extension exercise to the coding task you submit in your Personal Statement

During the interview, you will be assessed against the Government Digital and Data (GDD) Capability Framework.

• Capability Skill 1- Programming and Build
• Capability Skill 2- Systems integration
• Capability Skill 3- Service support
• Capability Skill 4 - Information security
• Capability Skill 5 - Systems design

Presentation - You will be required to present your solution during the interview and there will be an extension exercise you will also be asked to do.

Behaviours – You will be required to provide evidence of the following key behaviours at G7 Level.

• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace

• Level of Clearance - To apply for this role, youwill be required to successfully complete Security Clearance (SC) level as a condition of appointment. To meet these requirements, you will normally need to have been resident in the UK for at least:
  • CTC - 3 years
  • SC - 5 years
  • DV - 10 years

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/sc-guidance-pack-for-applicants

Reserve List:

HMCTS run a Reserve List, where candidates who are unsuccessful at interview by only a few points, can be offered other roles, at the same band, for up to 12 months. You will be able to view your status via the application screen. If you have been added to the Reserve List, your status will show either Merit or Reserve list.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

• Capability Skill 1 - Programming and Build
• Capability Skill 2 - Systems integration
• Capability Skill 3 - Service support
• Capability Skill 4 - Information security
• Capability Skill 5 - Systems design
• Coding Challenge

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £58,511, HM Courts and Tribunals Service contributes £16,950 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Access to learning and development
• A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Annual Leave
• Public Holidays
• Season Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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.https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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 : SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team
• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk
• Telephone : 0345 241 5359

Recruitment team

• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

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 SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) 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-recruitm…

https://jobs.justice.gov.uk/careers/JobDetail/14037?entityId=14037