Job Title: Senior Software Developer

Salary range: £30,280 – £31,326

Grade: Assembly Grade 7

Directorate: Parliamentary Services

Business Area/Office: Information Systems (IS) Office

Accountable to: Lead Software Developer

Accountable for: Software Developers and Junior Developers

Job Purpose

As a Senior Software Developer, you will be responsible for planning, developing and integrating related software components using an Agile approach and utilising Microsoft Visual Studio and Azure DevOps.

You will work on a range of systems, from simple workflow database applications to highly complex business-critical systems that interface with cloud technology. You will have an understanding of the whole system and take responsibility for teaching this to others.  You will work with other disciplines to understand what needs to be built.  You will coach and mentor more junior colleagues to ensure that software meets users’ needs, taking responsibility for writing clean, secure and effective code, following best practice guidelines and quality assurance processes.

Job Description:

Working in an Agile team environment and reporting directly to a Lead Software Developer, the main duties and responsibilities of the post are:

• plan and lead the analysis and development of sets of related user stories using Agile processes, including liaison with users throughout the organisation to create work item technical specifications;
• contribute to the system design and have an understanding of the whole system, and take responsibility for teaching this to others;
• contribute to systems integration design and build, including awareness of cross-system dependencies;
• design solutions and services with security controls embedded, specifically engineered as mitigation against security threats;
• design, code, test, review and document software components of medium to high complexity to agreed technical specification;
• develop software using the latest Microsoft technologies such as ASP.Net Core MVC, C#.Net, Entity Framework Core and SQL Server;
• support and maintain legacy systems developed using VB.Net, WinForm and WebForms;
• write clean, secure and effective code by adhering to software development policies, standards, and best practice guidelines;
• develop, support and provide technical advice on cloud-based technologies such as Microsoft Azure, Office 365, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint Online;
• develop and support software solutions that integrate 3rd party software such as EPiServer CMS and Umbraco CMS;
• provide technical support of bespoke systems, including support of business-critical procedural systems to ensure the smooth running of Plenary and Committee business;
• line management of Developers and Junior Developers, including monitoring of performance, quality assurance, coaching and mentoring;
• advice and training to Assembly Members and their staff in the use of ICT systems, including system demonstrations and the preparation of user documentation;
• assist in the development and implementation of relevant IT policy, strategy and standards;
• co-operation with other ICT staff in maintaining effective computing services;
• project management duties;
• assist in the development, implementation and monitoring of IT security measures;
• undertaking other duties in line with the needs and level of this post;
• comply with all of the Assembly Commission’s staff policies and procedures including Equal Opportunities and Dignity at Work policies and procedures;
• carry out other duties that the Assembly Commission reasonably requires of you.

Essential Criteria:

Applicants for the post must by the closing date for application:

1 a) Be in possession of a Bachelor’s (or higher) Degree in either Computing, Computer Science, Software Engineering, or other discipline relevant to Information Systems / Information Technology*.

AND

1 b) a minimum of two years’ relevant experience in each of the area described below at (i), (ii), (iii).

OR

2 a) Be in possession of an HND or Foundation Degree in Computing or other discipline relevant to Information Systems / Information Technology*.

AND

2 b) a minimum of three years’ relevant experience in each of the area described below at (i), (ii), (iii).

(i) Application Development

• Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 or later
• C#.NET and ASP.NET programming skills
• Web programming using HTML, JavaScript, CSS
• MVC Architecture
• Entity Framework
• Team Foundation Server

(ii) Azure DevOps

• Agile Development Processes
• Azure Boards

(iii) Database Design

• Database design including logical and physical data modelling
• Microsoft SQL Server 2012 or later
• Use of Structured Query Language (SQL)

*NB Only those courses with a computing content of 50% or more will be considered and applicants must give full details on the application form of how the content of the course meets this requirement.

Skills & Behaviours:

The following Assembly Skills and Behaviours will be assessed during the selection process:

Delivering a quality service 

…is about providing a high-quality and efficient service to our customers. It is thinking ahead, managing resources effectively and delivering work on time and to a high standard. It is also using professional or technical expertise to enhance service delivery.  

Building relationships and effective communication

…is creating and maintaining positive, professional and respectful internal and external working relationships through effective and appropriate communications.

Initiating improvement and delivering change

…is looking for and being open to new and innovative ideas and improvements to the service provided. It is being flexible and adapting positively and professionally to sustain performance when the situation changes, workloads increase or priorities change. It is about forming sound, evidence-based decisions and being accountable for results.