Business Systems Configurator

Join us as a Business Systems Configurator and play a key role in transforming critical systems, modernising legacy applications, and shaping the future of digital services. 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.

The Operational Delivery Profession (ODP) is the largest profession in the Civil Service. ODP’s 200,000+ members work in a wide range of operational delivery roles across government, providing essential services that support and protect UK citizens at home and overseas.

You will work as part of the Life Events Processing (LEP) team to support, maintain, and enhance the existing application estate, including MS Access and MS Excel based systems. You will help ensure that these systems continue to meet evolving user, business, and regulatory requirements, while also supporting the organisation’s longer term ambition to modernise and migrate away from legacy technologies.

The Business Systems Configurator works collaboratively with colleagues, contributing to identifying opportunities to improve processing efficiency, automation, data quality, and control, as well as supporting better user enablement and the streamlining of repeatable processes. The role balances day to day operational support with involvement in change and improvement activity.

You will play an active role in the maintenance and support of live systems, helping to resolve incidents in a timely manner, carrying out investigation and analysis of underlying issues, and supporting any related follow up change or enhancement work.

As part of the wider transformational change agenda, you will contribute to system redevelopment and modernisation activity, including supporting the migration or refactoring of functionality from MS Access and VBA based solutions to modern platforms such as .NET/C# and the Power Platform (Power Apps and Power Automate).

You will support the evaluation and use of appropriate development approaches and tools, apply agreed standards and best practices, and contribute to activities such as peer reviews, testing, and documentation to ensure solutions are secure, reliable, and supportable.

The role involves working closely with colleagues within LEP, across Population Statistics Directorate, Digital Services Team, and the wider ONS, as well as with external partners where required. You will contribute to changes driven by regulation, technology updates, data framework changes, or continuous improvement initiatives. Projects and changes may vary in size and complexity.

You will develop and maintain a broad understanding of end to end processing activity within Life Events Processing, including cause of death and occupation coding, associated systems, interfaces, and the wider data journey.

You will be encouraged to continue developing your technical skills and knowledge, learning new technologies and approaches to ensure alignment with the ONS technology strategy. This includes contributing to small prototypes or proof of concept activities to explore and test new ideas before wider adoption.

You will work with colleagues at different levels across the organisation, contributing positively to the team environment, sharing knowledge, and providing constructive support to less experienced colleagues where appropriate.

Responsibilities

• Support the development, maintenance, and day to day running of the application estate, including MS Access and Excel based legacy systems, helping to ensure they remain reliable, secure, and fit for purpose.
• Contribute to the planned modernisation of legacy applications, supporting work to migrate or refactor functionality to modern platforms such as .NET/C# and the Power Platform, under agreed architectural and organisational direction.
• Provide regular support for live systems and data, responding to incidents and issues, carrying out investigation and root cause analysis, and helping to deliver effective and timely resolutions.
• Assist with the review and improvement of existing systems, identifying opportunities to automate processes, improve efficiency, enhance data quality, and strengthen controls.
• Support the implementation, integration, and ongoing use of IRIS and G Code software, working with colleagues to ensure these specialist systems operate effectively across desktop and server environments.
• Be part of our transformational change capability with specific responsibility for system (re)development and functionality, working with a broad set of colleagues and partners.
• Actively contribute to our continuous improvement capability focusing on our systems and data.
• Always work collaboratively with colleagues within LEP and across wider teams within Population Statistics Directorate, Digital Services and the wider organisation.
• Build and maintain positive working relationships with external customers and stakeholders.
• Apply appropriate software development approaches, tools, and ways of working, following agreed standards and practices to ensure solutions are proportionate, maintainable, and secure.
• Participate in code reviews and solution reviews, helping to maintain good coding standards, quality, and alignment with security and support requirements, while learning from more experienced colleagues.
• Support the development of prototypes and proof of concept solutions, testing and validating new ideas or technologies before they are adopted more widely.
• Produce and maintain relevant documentation to cover system implementation, management, and support, to aid business continuity and future change and migration.
• Share knowledge and provide constructive support to colleagues, seeking guidance when needed and continuously developing your own technical skills and understanding.

Person specification

Essential Skills Criteria

• Demonstrable experience of using C# .NET, Python and/or Java for application development, data processing, or system integration, along with good software design concepts such as object oriented programming (OOP), SOLID and design patterns.
• Experience of, or exposure to, legacy system modernisation or migration, particularly from desktop or Access based solutions to web, cloud, or low code platforms.
• Experience of working within a live operational environment, balancing system support responsibilities alongside development and change activity.
• Experience of working collaboratively across teams, including engaging with IT support, security, and infrastructure functions, and contributing to collective delivery outcomes.
• Working knowledge of version control, testing approaches, and structured change delivery.
• Experience working in data sensitive or regulated environments, with an understanding of access control, auditability, and data protection requirements.

Behaviours

• Changing and Improving
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,587, Office for National Statistics contributes £10,019 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

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.