Quality Assurance & Test (QAT) - Senior QAT Analyst Croydon, England
Job description
Details
Reference number
Salary
Job grade
Contract type
Business area
Type of role
Information Technology
Quality
Working pattern
Number of jobs available
Contents
Location
About the job
Benefits
Things you need to know
Apply and further information
Location
About the job
Job summary
The first duty of the government is to keep citizens safe and the country secure. The Home Office has been at the front line of this effort since 1782. As such, we play a fundamental role in maintaining the security and economic prosperity of the UK.
The Home Office leads on immigration and passports, refugee protection, counter-terrorism, policing, fire services, and crime and drugs policy.
Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) enables the Home Office to keep the UK safe and secure. We design and build the services that help people apply for visas or passports; support policing and counter-terrorism operations; and protect the UK’s borders.
This is an exciting time to be at the Home Office. You’ll have a chance to shape the future and support our mission to deliver exceptional public services that work for everyone.
Our work is guided by these principles:
-
We put user needs first
- We value delivery and outcomes over process
- We work in the open
Our flexible working policy ensures a healthy work-life balance. We also nurture talent and offer a broad range of learning and development opportunities that will help you flourish in your role.
We work hard to maintain a positive working culture and are committed to helping you fulfil your potential. We value diversity and provide an open, inclusive and supportive environment to help you do your best work.
You can keep up-to-date with our work on the Home Office DDaT blog.
https://hodigital.blog.gov.uk/
Job description
As a Senior QAT Analyst, you will deliver quality assurance across your project or at sprint level. You will take a user centred approach to Quality Assurance and Testing (QAT) and develop and implement QAT approaches to help meet user needs. You will work in collaboration with delivery partners to make sure QAT is embedded by default into the development approach. To help the QAT practice thrive, you will develop knowledge of new and emerging tools and approaches and apply these to help the organisation deliver better success.
Working within a programme team, you will have an opportunity to promote quality outcomes and values. You will further develop your own analytical and delivery management with a focus on helping the programme team deliver high quality outcomes at pace whilst honing stakeholder engagement and continuous improvement skills.
You will work with business stakeholders, developing an understanding of their needs and translating them into a QAT approach. As part of the DDaT community, you will share, collaborate and promote the value of QAT.
Successful candidates will be based in the Automation Centre which was set up in April 2022 to help speed the Home Office’s journey towards providing more efficient digital services. Across the Home Office, we use hundreds of manual processes to transfer information, manage workloads and communicate with customers. Many of these processes could be automated to remove duplication and manual inputting, as well as to reduce the risk of errors. The goal of the Automation Centre is to make people’s roles easier, so that they can focus on providing a good service to the public rather than on processing data.
Quality Assurance and Testing (QAT) is an important part of the Home Office mission. Everyone is responsible for quality and we have a team of skilled people who make sure quality is delivered in the most effective way. This means getting fast feedback, understanding how a service performs, and helping the development team to make more informed decisions. We value automating as much of the test effort as possible allowing our team of specialists and domain experts to undertake better evaluations.
Working within a significant area of IT delivery you will have an opportunity to promote quality outcomes and value across the organisation, further developing your own analytical, delivery management and leadership skills with a focus on helping the organisation to deliver high quality outcomes at pace whilst honing stakeholder engagement and continuous improvement.
Recruitment and Retention Allowance (RRA):
This post is eligible for a DDaT Recruitment and retention Allowance. Successful candidates with exceptional skills and experience may apply for a recruitment and retention allowance (RRA) up to a maximum of £7,300 this will be assessed further at interview. This allowance is subject to initial review within six months of taking up the post and thereafter an annual review in-line with departmental priorities and could be reduced or withdrawn at any time.
Location:
QAT base locations are primarily in Croydon, with a small number of roles in Central London. All QAT roles require flexibility of location, including working from supplier sites and other business locations across the UK and occasionally abroad.
Please note: if you are currently an agency member of staff working within the Home Office, you can only apply for roles that are advertised externally, i.e. outside the civil service. If you are eligible to apply for a role, you are required to select yourself as an external applicant and not internal when submitting your application on Civil Service jobs. This will prevent any delays in pre-employment checks should you become successful in being made an offer of employment after the Interview stage.
Person specification
Your main day-to-day responsibilities will be (but not limited to):
- Taking a user centred approach to implementing team or sprint level quality assurance and testing activities, providing practical, risk-based solutions including formal test analysis, design and exploratory or experience-based methods.
- Applying QAT practices to different technical delivery environments and delivery lifecycles including agile teams and continuous release pipelines.
- Working in collaboration with delivery partners in QAT, DDaT and more broadly across the organisation, to ensure that effective and efficient QAT capabilities are developed and integrated into the software development process.
- Driving forward the development of QAT capabilities within the QAT organisation, including continuous professional development and identifying new and emerging industry leading technologies.
- Providing technical advice and assurance on the wider application of QAT solutions, influencing the effectiveness and delivery of quality practices throughout the team or sprint level.
Other day to day activities may depend on the delivery approach, business area or requirements of the product team
Essential criteria
You will have a demonstrable passion for Quality Assurance and Testing, with the following skills or some experience in:
- Translating QAT and development strategies into practical, risk-based quality assurance and testing activities across the delivery lifecycle, ensuring alignment to user needs, technical dependencies and organisational standards.
- Analysing a range of complex user needs, business requirements and technical designs at project or service level, identifying or assuring test goals, test case specifications and acceptance criteria.
- Working in a technical environment, requiring a broad range of internal and external integration, ensuring the deployment of a broad range of tools and test environment options including open source technologies, automation frameworks and modern platforms.
- Applying knowledge and experience of a specific technical or business domain to enable the delivery of quality assurance and testing.
- Establishing and maintaining relationships with multiple delivery partners including technical and non-technical stakeholders, communicating the goals and progress of quality assurance and testing activities as an embedded member of the delivery team or across a specialist area of delivery.
- Developing yourself and the wider team through a range of activities that achieve current business goals, help to meet future challenges and build a capacity for change.
The skills listed above are reflective of the Home Office DDaT Profession Skills and Competency Model (based on the industry standard SFIA framework). Please see below for the relevant skills required for your role:
- Strategy and Architecture
- Strategic Planning (ITSP) – Level 3
- Test Analysis, Design and Execution – Level 3
- Automation and Tooling – Level 3
- Performance Testing – Level 3
- Integration and Assurance – Level 3
- Domain Experience – Level 3
Desirable criteria
Desirable skills may depend on the requirements of the role.
You may also hold the following desirable qualifications or have equivalent experience:
- ISTQB – Advanced Test Analyst
- BCS Agile Practitioner
- ISQi Certified Agile Tester
- PRINCE2 Foundation
- MBCS Level Membership
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Working Together
- Communicating and Influencing
- Changing and Improving
Benefits
You’ll also have access to the same benefits available to all civil servants in the Home Office:
- An in-year performance bonus scheme.
- A Civil Service pension with employer contribution rates of between 26.6% and 30.3%, depending upon salary.
- 25 days annual leave on appointment, plus 8 days public holidays and 1 day for the King’s Birthday, rising further with service.
- Flexible working options to enable you to achieve the work life balance that right for you including part-time, flexi time and job sharing.
- Training and development opportunities tailored to your role.
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
- Season ticket loans and rental deposit loans.
- Cycle to work and payroll giving.
- Employee discounts - including a huge number of retailers, Microsoft Home Use programme and gym membership.
- A variety of staff recognition schemes including thank you vouchers.
- Health and wellbeing initiatives including monthly mindfulness sessions.
- Staff support networks.
- Maternity, adoption or shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks full pay followed by 13 weeks of statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid.
- Maternity and adoption support leave (paternity leave) of 2 weeks full pay.
- Up to five days paid leave for volunteering.
- Study leave and support for studying for a qualification or other accredited development relevant to your role.
You can find more information at Benefits - Home Office Careers
Things you need to know
Selection process details
This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV detailing job history/qualifications/skills and statement of suitability (personal statement) (maximum:1250 words)
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Please note your Statement of Suitability should concisely explain your motivation for applying to this role, and evidencing how you meet the Essential criteria listed on the job advertisement.
The sift will be based on the statement of suitability (personal statement).
The CV is for information purposes only and will not be marked.
Candidates shortlisted will be invited to an interview which will entail behaviour-based questions and experience-based questions.
Sift and Interview dates
Sift is expected to take place week commencing Monday 5th June 2023.
Interviews are expected to take place week commencing Monday 26th June 2023.
We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert, however on occasions these dates may change.
Interviews will be carried out via video. Candidates will be required to have access to:
- A laptop (personal or work) with a working webcam
- Good internet connection
- Microsoft Teams
PLEASE NOTE: Due to time constraints we may not be able to offer alternative interview date(s). It is therefore expected that candidates who are successful at sift stage will make themselves available during the above time frame given.
Further information
Please read the essential skills for this position carefully. We will only consider those who meet the listed requirement.
If you have previously made an unsuccessful application for a role with the same essential skills and are not able to demonstrate how you have developed these skills since your last application please reconsider applying as your application is unlikely to be successful.
For meaningful checks to be carried out, individuals 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. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 3 years if the role requires CTC clearance, 5 years for SC clearance and 10 years for DV. A lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder/Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (SC). Job offers to this post are made on the basis of merit. Security vetting will only take place after the receipt of a job offer.
People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard check.
Visa Sponsorship Statement
Please take note that the Home Office DDaT does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License and are unable to sponsor any individuals via Skilled Worker Sponsorship / Tier 2 (General) work visa.
A reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position.
We often have similar roles available at different grade. If a candidate is suitable for a similar role or at a lower grade then they applied for, we may offer the candidate that role without the need to go through a further selection process providing the role has the same competencies and essential criteria.
Every day, Home Office civil servants do brilliant work to develop and deliver policies and services that affect the lives of people across the country and beyond. To do this effectively and fairly, the Home Office is committed to representing modern Britain in all its diversity, and creating a welcoming, inclusive workplace where all our people are able to bring their whole selves to work and perform at their best.
We are flexible, skilled, professional and diverse. We work to recruit and retain disabled staff and area Disability Confident Leader. We are proud to be one of the most ethnically diverse departments in the civil service. We are a Social Mobility Foundation top 75 employer.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant's details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
For further information please see the attached notes for candidates which must be read before making an application.
Existing Civil Servants should note that some of the Home Office terms and conditions of employment have changed. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the Terms and Conditions they will adopt should they be successful in application and should refer to the notes for candidates for further details.
Transfer Terms: Voluntary.
If you are invited to an interview you will be required to bring a range of documentation for the purposes of establishing identity and to aid any pre-employment checks.
Please see the attached list of Home Office acceptable ID documents.
Any move to the Home Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
Reasonable Adjustments
If a person with disabilities is at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
- Contact Government Recruitment Service via [email protected] as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs
- Complete the “Assistance Required” section in the “Additional Requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a language service professional
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.
Feedback
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
- relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
- certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team
Further information
