Senior Software Developer - Returnship Programme

Job summary

The Returnship programme is intended for applicants returning from an extended career break.

A career returner is someone who has either been out of the workforce for 18 months or more, or who is currently working outside software development, but who has previously worked as a senior software developer or in a comparable role.

Eligibility will be assessed using the information provided in your CV and personal statement.

This returnship programme is designed for experienced software developers returning to work after an extended career break. It offers a supported route back into technical roles, recognising that returning is a transition and that confidence, working practices and tools may have changed during time away.

You’ll join a delivery team in either the Home Office or the Ministry of Justice, working on real digital services with structured onboarding, support, and development opportunities provided throughout the programme.

(Department‑specific information about the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, including benefits and example services, is provided in the candidate pack.)

Job description

This role aligns against Software Developer from the Government Digital and Data Framework

As a Senior Software Developer on the returnship programme, you will contribute to building, improving and maintaining digital services that need to be secure, reliableand user‑centred. You’ll work in multidisciplinary teams and help promote good engineering practices.

As a Senior Software Developer on the Returnship Programme you’ll:

• Design, build and maintain secure services (APIs, systems and applications), making sound engineering decisions that balance user needs, performance, resilience and security.

• Work confidently with existing codebases, improving quality, structure and maintainability.

• Improve the stability, resilience and operability of software by identifying and addressing technical risks early.

• Apply modern engineering practices that support continuous delivery, including automation, testing and safe deployment patterns.

• Collaborate across disciplines (for example: product, design, user research, delivery) to shape solutions through discovery, development and iteration.

• Help your team prioritise technical work, balancing new delivery with the needs of live services.

• Support and develop others through coaching, mentoring and technical leadership (line management may apply depending on role placement).

Note: The specific services and teams you work on will vary by department. More detailed department specific examples are included in the candidate pack linked at the bottom of the page (Home Office and Ministry of Justice sections).

Person specification

We’re interested in people who can demonstrate all of the below essential criteria:

• Experience delivering large and/or complex software solutions.

• Experience building web applications or back‑end systems using a modern object‑oriented language, and confidence learning new languages.

• Experience using modern development practices such as CI/CD, automated testing, and working safely with live services.

• A well established approach to software quality, including clean code, maintainable design, and appropriate documentation.

• Ability to work collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams and communicate technical decisions clearly.

• A systematic approach to problem solving and continuous improvement

Benefits

Details of the benefits of working at the Home Office or Justice Digital, Data and Science (Ministry of Justice) are set out in the attached candidate pack and available at the bottom of the advert.

Office attendance
Each department operates it own office attendance/hybrid working arrangements. More detail is available in the candidate pack. The Home Office has available locations in Sheffield & Salford. The Ministry of Justice has a wide range of national locations, available on this map and via the attachment at the bottom of the page.

Programme Q&A Session

We’ll also be hosting an informal drop‑in webinar on the 6th May 2026 from 12:00 - 12:45 for anyone who would like to learn more about the Returnship programme and the application process.

To join the session, please sign up in advance via Eventbrite

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

The selection process for the Returnship programme consists of:

1. Submission of a CV and a Cover Letter of up to 750 words

You must meet all essential criteria listed in the Person Specification.

However, in your Cover Letter you only need to provide evidence against the three criteria below. The remaining essential criteria will be assessed at interview.

Please evidence the following in your Cover Letter:

• Experience delivering large and/or complex software solutions
• Experience building web applications or back‑end systems using a modern object‑oriented language, and confidence learning new languages
• Ability to work collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams and communicate technical decisions clearly

2. Interview

Candidates who meet the required standard at sift will be invited to a 90‑minute panel interview, held remotely via video conference.

The interview will include:

• Behaviour‑based questions
• A technical assessment, which will include a short piece of pre‑work to be completed in advance. The technical task will be discussed during the interview.

In the event we receive a high volume of applications, we will conduct the initial sift against the lead criteria which is: Experience delivering large and/or complex software solutions

In the Civil Service, we use Success Profiles to evaluate your skills and ability. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, increases performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. We’ll be assessing your technical abilities, skills, experience and behaviours that are relevant to this role.

During the interview we will assess your Experience, Technical Skills, and the following Civil Service Behaviours:

• Working Together
• Developing Self and Others
• Making Effective Decisions

Recruitment Timeline

Programme Q & A Session: 12:00 - 12:45 6th May 2026 - Please sign up using this link

Sift completion: 21st May 2026

Panel interviews: Starting from the 28th May 2026

Please note, any delays to these target dates will be communicated to the candidates

Application Guidance

Please access the following link for guidance on how to apply and how to complete a Personal Statement.

Application Guidance

Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.

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

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 and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

Security

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

For meaningful checks to be carried out, you will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. Whilst a lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance, and expectation of UK residency may range from 3 to 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements needed for the role may result in the withdrawal of provisional jobs offers.

Additional checks may apply depending on the department and role placement. Please refer to the candidate pack for further details

Application Materials

Candidate pack (Online version)

MoJ Locations

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.

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 : Returnship@dsit.gov.uk
• Email : Returnship@dsit.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : gdsrecruitment@dsit.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, you should contact Returnship@dsit.gov.uk in the first instance.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission by email: info@csc.gov.uk Or in writing: Civil Service Commission, Room G/8 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ.

Attachments

Returnship Programme candidate pack 2026 1 Opens in new window (pdf, 943kB)MoJ Locations Opens in new window (pdf, 562kB)