Vacancy -- Specialist Infrastructure Engineer

Working for the Civil Service

The Welsh Government's recruitment processes are underpinned by the principle of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

Vacancy Details

Health and Social Services Group
Geography and Technology
SEO - £41,700 - £49,370
37,600
Full time (applications are welcome from people who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time)
Permanent
Pan Wales
'Pan Wales' means that the location in which the vacancy can be based is flexible, subject to the needs of the business. Please note it may not always be possible to accommodate a preference for a specific office location, but requests will be taken into consideration.
TBC

Purpose of Post:

The Welsh Government is growing its Digital, Data and Technology profession. Teams across WG are now looking to improve their services and policies using digital, data, technology; and you will be part of this exciting area of work. Just like everywhere else, the growth in the use of Digital / Data will continue to increase within Welsh Government, and this role will add an important contribution to this fast moving area. 

As a Specialist Infrastructure Engineer, you will provide ongoing technical support in the Knowledge and Analytical Services (KAS) team. You will work closely with Geographers, Statisticians, Data Analysts and DDaT professionals. You will be asked to take ownership of the existing Geography & Technology infrastructure, help deploy new digital solutions, as well as provide day-to-day technical expertise for the portfolio of data services/platforms. 

You will deal with the management (and commissioning) of data publication and data sharing platforms for Welsh Government and our public sector partners. This work will include maintaining a working knowledge of new and developing components/products from the infrastructure portfolio and development pipelines. 

You will be maintaining the security of solutions according to Welsh Government and departmental policies, improving system robustness, resilience and stability. You will also be helping to ensure the deployment of resources is undertaken in the most cost effective manner. 

Welsh Government is looking to grow its digital, data and technology profession and there is potential that other similar roles will become available within other teams.

Key tasks:

  • Responsible for the management of a multi-subscription Microsoft Azure infrastructure which serves a wide number of Welsh public sector organisations. 
  • Understand the architecture of the systems and their support arrangements developing a working relationship with colleagues and suppliers. 
  • Lead on the software and infrastructure patching of Virtual Machines and other components. 
  • Lead on service monitoring and capacity planning to improve the experience and usability for both internal and external users. 
  • Undertake digital rights administration including subscriptions, development pipelines, and platform privileges ensuring compliance with our security policies, collaboration and data/service sharing agreements. 
  • Responsible for adding, removing and configuring resources particularly with reference to Welsh Government’s Geo-spatial open data platform. 
  • Lead the technical and security test management (including the mandatory annual penetration tests), support remedial actions and the delivery of iterative change through the testing environments. 
  • Maintain an up to date working knowledge of new and developing components/products and lead on Microsoft driven technical changes and developments within the cloud industry relevant to the infrastructure. 
  • Use knowledge and expertise to contribute solutions to Business problems and translate these into technical initiatives. Design/create prototypes/proof of concepts to support the progression of the data agenda (collecting, analysing and presenting) and digital research within Welsh Government. 
  • Work with colleagues and the central digital administration services to translate architectural designs/proof of concepts into deliverable operational systems. 
  • Help advise stakeholders, senior management and policy leads on proposed design approaches and/or infrastructure components. 
  • Pro-active in establishing good working relationships with colleagues across Welsh Government.

Development opportunities:

Your role will form part of Welsh Government’s Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) profession. This is a growing profession and you will have the opportunity to be part of shaping and growing it. 

We are committed to developing the skills and capability of our staff and encouraging them to use five days of learning a year. To support this we offer a range of opportunities which could include: 

  • Shadowing
  • Mentoring
  • Work based learning
  • Qualifications
  • Coaching
  • Short Term Experience Programme (STEP)
  • Proactively making links and working with a wide range of Welsh Government teams and external partners including other Governments in the UK. 

Closing Date:

18/06/2019, 16:00

Eligibility

Posts recruited to as part of this recruitment campaign are broadly open to UK nationals, those with right to remain and work in the UK and those that meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules only. Check your eligibility here:

Prior to appointment, all successful applicants will be required to produce original, acceptable documents as part of the pre-employment checks. If it becomes apparent at a later stage in the process that you aren’t eligible to apply, your application will be withdrawn, or offer retracted.

Equality and Diversity

The Welsh Government is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and which promote equality of opportunity. This is underpinned by the Equality Act 2010 and will be adhered to at each stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure that these commitments are also embedded in our day-to-day working practices with all our customers, colleagues and partners.

We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and increasing diversity in the Welsh Government by removing barriers and supporting all our staff to reach their potential. We are committed to recruiting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and disabled people who are currently under-represented in Welsh Government.

We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, marriage and civil partnership (both same sex and opposite sex), impairment or health condition, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender identity or gender expression.

We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion and a Disability Confident Level 3 (Leader) organisation. Key to supporting this work and providing peer support are five Board sponsored Staff Networks (Disability Awareness and Support (DAAS); Minority Ethnic Support Network (MESN); Mind Matters (Mental health and well-being); PRISM (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex +) and Women Together.

Disability Confident

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Welsh Language Requirements

The Welsh Government is a bilingual organisation and Welsh language skills are considered an asset to the organisation. We encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills in the workplace. 

The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the line manager on behalf of the Welsh Government of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

Not necessary to undertake the duties of this post

Social Partnership

In Welsh Government, the relationship between the employer and trade unions is based on social partnership. We believe our goals can best be achieved by management and trade unions working together.

Our 3 recognised trade unions are:
•         PCS
•         Prospect
•         FDA

This relationship is underpinned by a partnership agreement. This sets out how our unions work with Welsh Government on issues such as:
•         pay
•         terms and conditions
•         policies and procedures
•         organisational change.

Our Welsh Government trade union colleagues work together to give their members a real say in the workplace. They make sure that the interests of their members are promoted and protected. They also help reduce inequalities and improve terms and conditions.

The Welsh Government has an excellent track record of working in partnership with its trade unions. We encourage staff to get involved. We support you to join a recognised trade union, to ensure your voice is heard in the workplace. and to learn more about trade unions and partnership working.

Competencies / Job Specific Criteria

Please see the 'Other vacancy related information' section for the job requeirments and information on how to apply.

Assessment Process

Other Information

  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘actual starting salary’, all candidates will start at the minimum of the pay scale being appointed to (this includes existing civil servants).This is not negotiable.
  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘type of opportunity’, this recruitment advert is not open on a Loan or Secondment basis.
  • For more information on the eligibility criteria and terms and conditions for Loan and Secondment positions in Welsh Government, please see external recruitment candidate guidance.
  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘Location of Post’ the role/s recruited to via this campaign can only be worked in the UK, not overseas.

To apply please prepare a personal statement that outlines how you meet the following ESSENTIAL skills for the role.  


You must reference the following as a minimum:

 


Technical understanding


The ability to understand problems from a technical perspective as well as from a business perspective.


 


Information Security


Experience of maintaining security in complex ICT systems.


 


IT Infrastructure


Demonstrable experience of Cloud Infrastructure Management and/or Design.


 


Systems design


The ability to create specifications and designs of systems to meet defined business needs. The ability to work with business and technology stakeholders to translate business problems into technical designs understood by all. Ability to create optimal designs through an iterative process, aligning the user need with the system requirements and organisational objectives.


 


Systems integration


Experience of integrating and testing components, systems and their interfaces to create optimal operational services.


 


Troubleshooting and problem resolution


Ability to dissect a problem into its component parts to identify and diagnose root causes, allowing problem resolution. Experience of troubleshooting and identifying problems across different technologies.


 


Additionally please attach a CV which demonstrates your ability in relation to these ESSENTIAL technical skills.


 


  • Experience of delivering high performing digital services specifically including:
    • Cloud services (e.g. Microsoft Azure)
    • Continuous Integration and Deployment (Open Source and Azure Pipelines)
    • Anti-Virus and OS patching (e.g. Microsoft Servers)
    • Managing IT Health Checks / Information Security
    • Testing Management
    • To have an understanding of common web application architectures

 


Additional skills that may be referenced are given here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/digital-data-and-technology-profession-capability-framework#technical:-specialist-infrastructure-engineer-


 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/senior-infrastructure-engineer-skills-they-need/senior-infrastructure-engineer-skills-they-need#civil-service-success-profiles-framework .

Mason Davis – 03000 257932

How to apply

All applications for this vacancy should be made online via the Welsh Government's online application system.  If you have a disability which would prevent you from applying on-line, please e-mail SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales to request an application pack in an alternative format, or to request a reasonable adjustment related to a disability in order to submit your application.

To apply, you'll need to have an account on our online application system.  Click the 'Apply' button below, and you'll be asked to 'Log in' if you already have an account, or 'Register' if you don't yet have an account.  Registration takes just a few minutes to complete.  You'll need an e-mail address to be able to register.  Once you've registered for an account and logged in, you'll be taken to the online application form, which you'll need to fully complete and submit before the deadline on the closing date.  

If you’d like to apply for this vacancy in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

For further information regarding the Welsh Government recruitment process, please see the Recruitment Guidance for External Candidates (link).

When evidencing your suitability for the post, it is recommended that you refer to the Civil Service Competency Framework (link)

Grievance and Complaints

Anyone who believes they have been treated unfairly, or has a grievance or complaint, about how the process was conducted should either write to the Head of Resourcing, Welsh Government, Cathays Park 2, Cardiff CF10 3NQ or email SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales.  If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaint raised with the Welsh Government and feel that the principles of appointment on merit through fair and open competition have not been met you have the right to pursue your grievance with the Civil Service Commission.

This vacancy is closed to applications.