Digital Delivery Senior Automation Tester - Newport in Yarmouth

The IPO is a modern organisation which depends on its IT services to operate and innovate effectively. In order to provide up to date services to our customers both nationally and internationally, systems need to be developed, improved and maintained. You will have the opportunity to work on the latest cutting-edge cloud technologies, use modern delivery processes and work on innovative projects including the use of AI and ML. Working alongside experts in their fields, you will have the opportunity to make valuable contributions without compromising on quality. You will need the appetite to learn new technologies and methodologies for delivering high quality IT services.

In this role, you will work within a multi-disciplined squad using several technologies to build enterprise grade services. You will be expected to be proactive and take accountability for the squad assigned deliveries. The role will also require the investigation, diagnosis and fix of any system issues. A Senior Test Engineer is expected to contribute to the technical strategy for the department.

As a multi-skilled individual, you will have the opportunities to develop and mature skills in a core role but extend this to skills typically aligned to other role types. You will have a high level of input in defining which additional skills you can develop.

We are recruiting for multiple roles of which one role is slightly biased towards application testing post infrastructure changes.

Working Style

This role will be carried out in-line with IPO Hybrid working arrangements where staff are currently expected to spend at least 20% of their time working onsite from one of our offices. This role is based in our Newport Office. The requirement for attendance at an office location can vary by role so we would encourage candidates to discuss working arrangements with the recruiting manager to agree a reasonable balance between working from home and the office.

Main duties consist of but are not limited to:

• Responsible for writing, executing and maintaining functional/non-functional automated UI and API tests/suites aligned against acceptance criteria to support our continuous deployment environment.
• Be responsible for the design, coding, testing, maintenance, and documentation for robust, scalable and reusable solutions that deliver exceptional user experience using DevOps best practice.
• Proactively investigate problems and opportunities in existing processes, evaluating and communicating findings and recommendations to stakeholders.
• Work closely with software developers to reach a common understanding of the code base and test coverage at unit level.
• Work within a multi-disciplinary team to deliver highly user focused and successful digital services ensuring governance standards are adhered to.
• Identify and manage defects, incidents, risks and issues in line with IPO standards.
• Build automated test solutions from scratch in line with IPO Test Strategy and IPO Engineering Principles.
• Contribute to the design, coding, testing and documentation of small scale to large, complex or mission critical programs.
• Implement toolkits and APIs for purposes such as integration, performance optimisation, security and scalability.

Person specification

Essential Experience

• Has been a key player in delivering technical solutions as part of large projects.
• Experience of working with cloud technologies including Azure.
• Experience of using data models.
• Experience in test documentation, such as strategies and approaches.
• Experience in testing front-end and back-end web services.
• Experienced with Agile delivery model.
• Working knowledge of Azure DevOps.

Essential Technical

• Experience with Automation tools, including MS Visual Studio with C#, Selenium, BDD, SpecFlow, MSTest, RestSharp and JavaScript.
• Working knowledge of non-functional test tools including JMeter and Azure Load Test.
• Experience with Github.
• Has a deep understanding of architectural principles with design patterns.
• Experience of writing SQL statements.

How to Apply

Click the 'Apply now' button and complete the application form by providing the following: Your CV. Upload an anonymised copy of your current CV. Please remove all identifying markers such as name, title, education institution etc. Make sure it clearly shows how you meet the essential criteria listed in the Person Specification.

For further information on the sift and interview stages of this recruitment campaign, please head to our 'Things you need to know' section below.

If you require job-specific information, please contact The Recruitment Team.

Behaviours

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

• Developing Self and Others
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process: At interview you will be assessed on technical criteria.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of 47,766, Intellectual Property Office contributes 13,837 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Unlimited Pluralsight video learning access. Access to Microsoft's ESI training suite. Hybrid working with no core hours. Substantial support for career progression. 25 days annual leave moving to 30 days in annual increments. You will also get 8 days public leave and 1 day privilege leave.

For more information about what's on offer at the Intellectual Property Office please review our IPO benefit pack attached to the bottom of this advert. Please note that benefits may be subject to change.

Things you need to know

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.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills. Additional details on security and vetting. Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check and if successful you must also hold, or be willing to obtain, a higher Security Clearance. For meaningful checks to be carried out individuals will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, depending on the level of clearance, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. For this role the successful individual will need to have consistently lived in the UK for a minimum of 5 years in order to meet the relevant security clearance.

Further information on the vetting process can be found at National security vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK. If you have questions regarding this or are unsure if you meet the eligibility criteria, please contact.

Stage 1 - Sift

An initial sift of applications will be carried out to create a shortlist. This will be based on the evidence provided for the following Success Profile elements: Experience. Your CV will be used to assess your suitability for the role.

Stage 2 - Experience Call

Candidates who are successful at application will then be invited to a 15 minute virtual interview where they be assessed on Experience skills.

Stage 3 - Interviews

If invited to interview, Behaviours and Technical based questioning will be used. Please note candidates that proceed to the interview stage will be required to complete a Technical Exercise. Details will be provided in the invite to interview information. Specific information regarding the Success Profile elements that will be assessed at interview will be contained within the interview invitation. Interviews for this role will be carried out virtually via Microsoft Teams (video). The successful candidate would be expected to remain in the role for a minimum of 12 months before applying for another role.

The Recruitment team operational hours are 09:00 to 17:00 Monday - Friday excluding bank holidays. Applicants to note: CVs sent direct to the IPO will not be accepted. There may be important information contained within the job role profile candidates may also wish to refer to. We recommend candidates download and save a copy of the role profile for reference.

This post is being advertised to Internal, across Government and external candidates at the same time. Incomplete and/or late submissions will not be accepted or considered. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. We do not routinely reimburse travel expenses for candidates, however if participating in the selection process would cause you undue financial hardship or if it restricts your ability to participate, please contact the recruitment team for more information.

In line with Government guidance, successfully appointed candidates will need to provide documents for our Right to Work checks. Information on this will be sent within the invite to interview text. If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process, then please let the recruitment team know.

In the event of a high volume of applications, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) reserves the right to raise the minimum qualifying score at sift to manage volumes and ensure a proportionate and fair assessment process. Please be aware that only one application per candidate is permitted for each recruitment campaign. Multiple applications, including those made using different accounts, may result in your application being withdrawn or rejected at any stage of the process.

For more information on the IPO's terms and conditions, please review the attached IPO Modernised Terms and Conditions document attached at the bottom of this advert. 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. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard 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), 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 can be found.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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. 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.