Head of frontend development

Band 8c · Frontend developer · 646 job evaluation points

UK GDaD PCF level: Head of frontend development

Most often performed at Civil Service grade G6.

A head of frontend development is an expert practitioner with broad industry experience. They are an expert in many technical areas, or specialists with very deep knowledge in a particular technical area.
At this role level, you will:
define and assure best practice while influencing, leading and mentoring others
influence and develop organisational strategy and priorities, collaborating with counterpart colleagues across government
ensure the right conditions and environment for frontend developers to work effectively
develop departmental capability by facilitating internal mobility, shaping career paths and recruiting talent

Contains public sector information from the UK Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework (https://understand-digital-data-roles-skills.service.gov.uk/), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.

Responsibilities

Set the frontend strategy, standards, and practices for all of the organization's digital services.
Be accountable for the accessibility and usability of the organization's interfaces for patients and staff.
Advise senior leaders on frontend technology, design system investment, and the risks of poor interfaces to care.
Represent the organization in cross-organization design system and accessibility communities.
Lead and develop frontend developers across the organization, including recruitment and career paths.

Skills

Skill	Expected level	What this level means
AccessibilityUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: show a strong understanding of accessibility and be an advocate for users with accessibility needs build user interfaces that meet a predefined set of standards champion accessibility to internal and external stakeholders offer design solutions to mitigate the risk of failing accessibility testing recommend the best tools and methods to use when accessibility testing
Communicating informationUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: mediate between people and mend relationships, communicating with stakeholders at all levels manage stakeholder expectations and host or moderate discussions about high risk and complexity, even within constrained timescales speak on behalf of and represent the community to large audiences inside and outside of government
Community collaborationUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: solve and unblock issues between teams or departments at the highest level coach the organisation on team dynamics and conflict resolution, while also building and growing the community
Leadership and guidance (frontend developer)UK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: change organisational structures to fixable and sustainable designs lead on the strategy for the whole organisation, marrying business needs with innovative analysis make and justify decisions characterised by high levels of risk, impact and complexity build consensus between organisations (private or public) or highly independent stakeholders solve and unblock issues between teams or departments at the highest level understand the psychology of a team and have strong mediation skills coach the organisation on team dynamics and conflict resolution
Modern development standardsUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: identify and apply modern development standards to support complex projects and programmes lead others in applying modern development standards
Programming and build (frontend developer)UK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: advise on the right way to apply standards and methods to ensure compliance provide technical advice to stakeholders and set team-based standards for programming tools and techniques collaborate with others when required to review specifications use specifications to build, test and document user interfaces of high complexity, using the appropriate standards and tools
PrototypingUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: use a variety of prototyping methods share best practice and coach others look at strategic service design end to end
Strategic thinkingUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: lead the design and implementation of strategy, directing the evaluation of strategies and policies to ensure business requirements are being met
Systems design (frontend developer)UK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: design systems characterised by high levels of risk and technical complexity manage and document technical complexity to make sure work is easily maintained and reusable select the appropriate standards, methods and tools, and make sure they are applied effectively ensure others follow relevant technical strategies, policies, standards and practices work with well understood technology and can identify appropriate patterns to make effective use of technologies’ best features
Systems integration (frontend developer)UK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: define the static assets build co-ordinate all aspects of the integration and take responsibility for the tests around the user interface configure the part of the system that uses the network and test that it works as expected
User focus (frontend developer)UK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: collaborate with user researchers and interaction designers to represent user needs internally explain the difference between user needs and the desires of the user champion user research to focus on all users effectively prioritise and define approaches to understand the user story, guiding others to do so offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to use
Web performance optimisationUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: advocate for web performance optimisation best practices coach and guide others actively collect data from multiple tools to monitor and resolve web performance issues
Understanding health and care servicesThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: analyze how a service fits into care pathways across organizations work with clinicians, care staff, and patients to shape digital services explain the effect of digital decisions on care, safety, and staff workload
Clinical risk managementThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: lead hazard identification and risk assessment for a product or change write and maintain hazard logs and clinical safety case reports agree risk controls with product teams and check that they work advise teams on applying clinical risk management standards
Information governance and data protectionThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: lead data protection impact assessments and information sharing agreements advise teams on lawful basis, consent, confidentiality, and retention investigate incidents and recommend improvements
Equality, diversity, and inclusionThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: set inclusion strategy and hold the organization to account for it lead culture change on equality, diversity, and inclusion
Medical device software regulationThis reference	Working (2)	You can: follow a software life cycle process that meets medical device standards produce the records that such a process requires
People managementThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: lead managers and shape the culture of a large area design workforce plans and organizational change coach leaders and resolve complex people issues
Budget managementThis reference	Working (2)	You can: track spending against a small budget and raise variances authorize spending within your limit

Typical qualifications and experience

Extensive experience of leading frontend development across multiple teams or organizations.

Band 8c outline

Knowledge: Expert knowledge, and wide organizational and sector understanding.
Autonomy: Sets strategy for a function; accountable to a director.
Scope: A function or department.
Leadership: Leads a function through several management layers.
Accountability: A function's performance, workforce, and budget.

Job evaluation (illustrative)

Factor	Level	Level summary	Points
Communication and relationship skills	5	Gives highly complex or contentious information needing developed persuasion and negotiation, presents to large groups, or communicates where there are significant barriers to acceptance.	45
Knowledge, training, and experience	8	Advanced knowledge (doctorate plus further training or equivalent), or specialist knowledge across more than one discipline built over a long period.	240
Analytical and judgmental skills	5	Judgments on highly complex facts or situations needing analysis, interpretation, and comparison of options.	60
Planning and organizational skills	5	Forms long-term strategic plans, with uncertainty and effects across the organization.	60
Physical skills	2	Skills gained through practice, such as standard keyboard use or driving.	15
Responsibility for patient and client care	1	Helps patients, clients, or relatives during incidental contact.	4
Responsibility for policy and service development	5	Implements and develops a range of policies or services for a directorate.	45
Responsibility for financial and physical resources	3	Authorizes payments, buys some assets or supplies, monitors or holds a delegated budget, or maintains assets.	21
Responsibility for people	4	Line manages a function or department, designs training programs as a main duty, or delivers a full range of HR services.	32
Responsibility for information resources	5	Designs and develops major information systems, or runs information systems for several services as the main duty.	34
Responsibility for research and development	2	Regularly does research, development, trials, or equipment and system testing as part of the job.	12
Freedom to act	5	Works within general policies, and in most cases decides how to interpret them.	45
Physical effort	1	Sitting, standing, and walking, with little physical effort.	3
Mental effort	4	Frequent prolonged concentration, or occasional intense concentration.	18
Emotional effort	1	Rare exposure, or occasional indirect exposure, to distressing circumstances.	5
Working conditions	2	Occasional unpleasant conditions, frequent travel or outdoor work, or near-continuous screen use on most days.	7
Total (Band 8c: 630 to 674)			646