Quality Assurance Testing (QAT) Analyst

We are looking for multiple QAT Analysts to join us in the Government People Group (GPG) within the Cabinet Office, a unit that offers back-office services for the whole of government, in key areas such as HR, Finance, Pensions, and shared services. You will help to test and improve our Civil Service Jobs platform and wider recruitment service., As a QAT Analyst, you will play a crucial role in ensuring the quality and reliability of our new products, enhancements, and fixes. Your responsibilities will include testing new and modified functionality to meticulously identify and re-test any major defects in each release. Additionally, you will be responsible for ensuring impact assessments are easily testable, enabling the production of effective test scripts that consider both the business and operational impact. You will work collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary agile framework, alongside business analysts, configuration leads, and users as an integral part of the delivery team. You will also collaborate with our supplier development team, e.g. developers and quality assurance specialists., The Recruitment Transformation team: We are a digital team made of Service, Product and Delivery Managers, Business Analysts, a Service Designer, a Content Designer, an Interaction Designer and a User Researcher, who will all support you in your work. Our project is looking at Recruitment Transformation, to procure and build a new recruitment platform by 2026, which will enhance the recruitment service provision across government. Within GPG, we have job networks for each digital role - you will be able to collaborate with and get support from other QAT Analysts, as well as wider digital networks. There is also a testing community of practice within the Cabinet Office which you will be able to join and help shape the common testing best practises and network with other testers.

Civil Service Jobs enables the whole of government to recruit people more efficiently, without which the government could not deliver its work: hence our service brings far-reaching benefits for all citizens.

We also enjoy enabling people to find meaningful jobs, and teams to find great colleagues - contributing to a diverse culture that reflects the diversity in the UK.

The Interoperability One Data (IOD) team: Meanwhile in Interoperability One Data (IOD) we have 4 main projects, each with a product team delivering new interoperability services for the whole of the Civil Service, these are the Integration Hub, the Central Employee Identifier, Staff Transfers and Government Skills Campus. Each of these has a defined solution that is being delivered and will need comprehensive testing before go-live. As with Recruitment Transformation above the new testers will join our internal digital and data profession in the testing team for GPG and be assigned to particular IOD as and when testing requirements arise.

What you'll work on:

In the Recruitment Transformation team, you will join our cross-functional agile delivery team focusing on transforming Civil Service Jobs, and helping to redesign how the service should be delivered in the future.

Civil Service Jobs is used by over 3 million candidates per month to find and view vacancies across the Civil Service. Each year it handles over 2 million applications and advertises 140,000 posts. The live service is used by 219 organisations to advertise their vacancies and manage their recruitment processes. Currently, Civil Service Jobs is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provision that has been configured and enhanced to meet Civil Service recruitment, digital and security standards.

Along with the live service, we are running a Recruitment Transformation programme, looking at what the future service should look like. We've completed our Discovery and Alpha phases, where we did extensive user research and prototype design, to explore our user needs and potential solutions for the biggest areas of improvement.

We've decided that our service needs to procure rather than building our own, so we've now moved into the Beta procurement phase, which will result in appointing a new technology platform provider by summer 2024, followed by a build and migration phase to be completed by the end of 2026.

In Interoperability One Data (IOD) we have 4 main projects, each with a product team delivering new interoperability services for the whole of the Civil Service, these are the Integration Hub, the Central Employee Identifier, Staff Transfers and Government Skills Campus. Each of these has a defined solution that is being delivered and will need comprehensive testing before go-live. As with Recruitment Transformation above the new testers will join our internal digital and data profession in the testing team for GPG and be assigned to particular IOD as and when testing requirements arise.,

• Test new and modified functionality to ensure there are no major defects in each release of new products, enhancements or fixes


• Ensure impact assessments are testable to produce test scripts taking a business and operational view


• Work collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary agile framework alongside business analysts, configuration leads, developers, and users as part of the delivery team


• Design and execute a wide range of testing techniques and communicate test results to both technical and non-technical stakeholders


• Create and review documentation ensuring traceability back to source and analyse them for adherence to business objectives and consistency, challenging as appropriate


• Contribute to building a testing strategy / methodology for our builds


• Contribute to Change Management - collaborating with customers and Subject Matter Experts - who will be helping with testing as Subject Matter Experts


• Use automation test scripts and be willing to upskill yourself or other team members on this where necessary


• Use Accessibility testing, upskill your knowledge and sharing this with other team members, and work closely with external Accessibility auditors to identify accessibility fixes as needed, We'll assess you against these Civil Service behaviours (see Success Profiles for details of what's required for each behaviour at Level 3) during the selection process:


• Changing and Improving - Seek out opportunities to create effective change and suggest innovative ideas for improvement. Review ways of working, including seeking and providing feedback.



• Managing a Quality Service - Deliver service objectives with professional excellence, expertise and efficiency, taking account of diverse customer needs.



• Delivering at Pace - Take responsibility for delivering timely and quality results with focus and drive, We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:


• Changing and Improving


• Delivering at Pace


• Managing a Quality Service


Technical skills

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

• Functional Testing


• Non-functional Testing


• Agile Delivery (Testing), Assessed against the essential criteria using:


• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements.


• A Personal Statement against the skills and experience (maximum 1000 words)


Stage 3 - Online Interview including presentation

Assessed against:

• Technical skills (Presentation will be required - candidates will be informed at the interview stage)


• Civil Service Behaviours, If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes., Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.


Any move to Cabinet 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

A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out., After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Numerical Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 30/05/2024. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.,
• 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
  
  To be considered for this role, it is essential that you have experience in both functional and non-functional testing techniques, demonstrating a proficiency in executing test scenarios and accurately identifying and documenting defects. You should also be familiar with running tests written by others and have a good understanding of testing processes. A comprehensive understanding of a range of standard testing techniques is required. Additionally, proficiency in various phases of testing, such as Functional Test, Non-Functional Test, Acceptance Test, Performance Test, Usability Test, Accessibility Test, and Regression Test, along with a strong grasp of the associated standards, is necessary., We follow the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability job description model for a QAT Analyst. We'd expect the role to have a good understanding of the Government Digital Service Manual, the GDS Design System, and our Technology Code of Practice.


We're looking for people who are passionate about creating accessible services that are simple enough for everyone to use.,
• Please refer to the QAT Analyst capability for a full list of skills required for this role


• Experience of both functional and non-functional testing techniques. You can execute test scenarios and identify defects, raising awareness of them. You know how to run tests others have written and know the processes to do so. You understand a range of standard testing techniques


• Understanding of the following test phases and standards associated with: Functional Test, Non-Functional Test, Acceptance Test, Performance Test, Usability Test, Accessibility Test and Regression Test


Desirable criteria:

• Experience of working in a complex, multi-disciplinary environment, delivering products within specific time-scales and engaging with multiple senior stakeholders


• Agile Methodologies - with experience of BDD (Behaviour Driven Development) and TDD (Test Driven Development) processes, and an understanding of the key principles to develop a modern standards approach to testing


• Foundation ISTQB qualification or equivalent


• An understanding of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and experience of testing for accessibility, for example with the use of a screen readers like JAWS, NVDA or VoiceOver, Functional and Non-functional testing


• Agile Delivery (testing)


• An awareness of a range of testing tools and techniques including but not limited to accessibility tools such as Browserstack or Assistiv Labs and automated test tools such as Selenium, Appium or Cucumber., This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills., Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Government People Group (GPG) is a large business unit of the Cabinet Office with around 610 staff bringing together back office services across government. It supports the Civil Service with high-volume HR and finance processes, aligning with the Government's modernisation agenda. Established in August 2020, it covers Shared Services, Government Recruitment, Civil Service and Royal Mail Pensions, and the Platforms and Services to support these. GPG delivers services for around 480,000 civil servants across government, it supports 1.5m pension scheme members alongside Royal Mail and provides recruitment services for around 70% of all Civil Service recruitment.

Alongside your salary of £40,850, Cabinet Office contributes £11,030 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role.


• An environment with flexible working options.


• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.


• A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and average employer contributions of 27%.


• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.


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