Senior Test Engineer

Companies House

Apply before 11:55 pm on Tuesday 30th April 2024

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Details

Reference number

348849

Salary

£33,134 - £38,000

Base salary is £33,134 - £38,000 with an additional DDaT allowance of £4,350 - £11,000 available. The final salary and allowance awarded will be based on an assessment of your skills and experience as demonstrated at interview.

A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Job grade

Higher Executive Officer

DDaT Senior

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

CH - Digital Services

Type of role

Digital

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Homeworking

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location

Cardiff, Wales, CF14 3UZ

About the job

Job summary

This is an exciting opportunity in the Digital Services team. You’ll be joining our team at a time of transformation and you will be part of shaping the future of our department. We use Agile Methodologies and promote a culture of continuous improvement.

We are looking for an enthusiastic Senior Test Engineer with great technical skills able to coach and mentor other testers.

This is a rewarding role within the Test Team and provides an opportunity to contribute to the success of existing and future services provided by Companies House.

We offer an excellent benefits package that includes a generous 30 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays and 1 privilege day, and enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme with a contribution rate averaging 28%. To find out more about what a great place Companies House is to work visit Companies House

Job description

You'll join a dynamic scrum team focused on transforming our automated testing approach for Companies House services. You will encourage an automated first approach. We're migrating from Java/Selenium and BDD frameworks to the state-of-the-art Playwright/TypeScript stack, integrated with BrowserStack Automate. As a key member, you'll take ownership of our test strategy, emphasising automation. You'll collaborate closely with the team to drive quality throughout development.

What We're Seeking:

• Proven experience designing and automating software tests, ideally in web and API applications.
• Strong proficiency in Java/Selenium or similar modern testing frameworks.
• Experience in automating Playwright & Typescript would be advantageous.
• Familiarity with cloud-based testing platforms (e.g., Browserstack Automate).
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments.

Person specification

We are looking for the following experience, which will be assessed at sift and at interview. Please refer to the experience and technical sections when writing your personal statement.   

Experience

• Proven experience designing and automating software tests, ideally in web and API applications.
• Strong proficiency in Java/Selenium or similar modern testing frameworks.
• Experience in automating Playwright & Typescript would be advantageous.
• Familiarity with cloud-based testing platforms (e.g., Browserstack Automate).
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments.

The following would be beneficial but not essential:

• Certified Agile Tester or equivalent Agile working experience.
• Experience of Non Functional testing practices including Security, Performance and Accessibility Testing.

Technical Skills 

A relevant certification to either ISTQB or ISEB standard or relevant functional and non-functional technical testing experience is essential.   

You will be proficient in Automation Testing. You will be expected to coach and mentor Test Engineers. 

Some experience of any of the following would also be beneficial; 

• API
• AWS
• BrowserStack
• Concourse / Jenkins
• Docker
• JMeter
• Karate/Rest API
• MongoDB
• Oracle
• Playwright
• Postman/SOAP UI
• Selenium Grid
• SQL
• Typescript
• Unix based systems
• Version control
• XML

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Developing Self and Others

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £33,134, Companies House contributes £9,575 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Head to Our benefits - Working for us - Recruitment (companieshouse.gov.uk) to find out more about the fantastic benefits package we have at Companies House.  

Please note that the minimum salary does not reflect the 2023/24 pay deal and we are therefore expecting this to increase in the near future.

We believe that our success is driven by the well-being and satisfaction of our team members at all levels of the organisation. At Companies House we’re committed to providing a comprehensive benefits package that goes beyond the ordinary, ensuring your career journey with us is not only fulfilling, but also rewarding. We pride ourselves on offering a quality work-life balance with our employee wellbeing being central to our working practices. 

We celebrate diversity... 

As an equal opportunity employer, we celebrate diversity, being committed to ensuring we’re representative of the citizens we serve and creating an inclusive environment. Everyone in Companies House brings something different, and so will you. To fulfil our commitment to recruiting and attracting diverse talent we welcome applications from underrepresented groups. We also welcome applications from Welsh speakers. 

We are proud to be a disability confident leader.  Our recruitment process is fully inclusive and we can make adjustments as needed through our process. These could include having an interview buddy, extra time at interviews/assessments and receiving interview questions in advance, to name a few. We will be happy to discuss any person-centred adjustments, please contact us by emailing recruitmentCH@companieshouse.gov.uk 

Where will you be working? 

You will be aligned to our Cardiff Office, where we are currently using a hybrid approach to the way we work. Our approach to hybrid working provides opportunities for you to be adaptable in the way you work so that you can achieve a healthy balance between your work and home life. The degree of choice you have will depend on business need, your role and your day-to-day work activities and will be discussed at offer stage.  The expected office attendance for this role is 1 day per week, in our Cardiff office.  

We're currently exploring options for new office space in the Cardiff and surrounding areas as we're due to be moving from our current building - join us on this journey where we can support you in your career and professional growth. Details are still being confirmed about our new building and we're keeping all our colleagues updated. 

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

In your application form we’d like you to:

1. Tell us about your employment history, including any key responsibilities and achievements. 
2. Write a personal statement of 1250 words where you demonstrate how you meet the experience and technical skills listed in the person specification.

At sift candidates will be assessed against experience as well as the behaviours listed in the advert and are asked to supply work history/personal statement and reference any transferable skills using the job description for reference.  The personal statement should address how you demonstrate the experience and technical skills listed in the person specification.  

At interview candidates will be assessed against the behaviours listed in the advert and we will use Success Profiles Behaviours and Strengths.  As part of the interview you will be asked to complete a task, details will be outlined in your interview confirmation email.  

We’re committed to being diverse and inclusive, so please make your application anonymous by removing all identifying personal information (such as names and dates) from your employment history and personal statement.

We understand that you might use AI and other resources for your application; however, please ensure all information you provide is factually accurate, truthful, and original and doesn’t include ideas or work that isn’t your own. This is so that your application is authentically and credibly your own.

What will the process look like?

• We will sift applications and then invite successful candidates from the sift stage to attend a virtual interview.

Read more information and guidance about Applying for Your New Job.   

Companies House uses a blended interview technique, allowing us to find out more about you. We use the Success Profile framework and may include Strength based questions in the interview. 

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of recruitment based on fair and open competition with decisions made on the basis of merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles. 

Successful candidates must pass a Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) check before they can be appointed. 

BPSS is an entry level security check. It uses the Police National Computer (PNC) to make sure a candidate has no convictions. The check returns evidence of any current criminal record and un-spent convictions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. 

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements for Security Check (SC) before they can be appointed.  

To gain SC clearance you will normally need to have been a UK resident for a minimum of 5 years and will need to successfully complete all stages of the vetting process. More information can be found at National security vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)   

Nationality statement  

Candidates will be subject to UK immigration requirements as well as Civil Service nationality rules. If you're applying for a role requiring security clearance, please be aware that foreign or dual nationality is not an automatic bar. However certain posts may have restrictions which could affect those who do not have sole British nationality or who have personal connections with certain countries outside the UK. 

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 (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) 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) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for 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 (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).

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.