Software developer

Band 6 · Software developer · 418 job evaluation points

UK GDaD PCF level: Developer

Most often performed at Civil Service grade HEO or SEO.

A developer delivers software components that form part of a product.
At this role level, you will:
develop software to meet user needs
follow best practice guidelines and help to improve those guidelines
write clean, secure and well-tested code
coach and mentor more junior colleagues
operate the services you build and identify issues in production

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

Design, build, and test features and services independently, choosing suitable approaches.
Review code and help maintain the team's engineering standards.
Build integrations with other health and care systems using open standards such as HL7 FHIR.
Take part in hazard identification and help put clinical safety controls into code and tests.
Investigate and fix problems in live services, including out-of-hours support where the service needs it.
Mentor junior and apprentice developers.

Skills

Skill	Expected level	What this level means
Availability and capacity managementUK GDaD PCF	Working (2)	You can: manage service components to ensure they meet business needs and key performance indicators (KPIs)
Development process optimisationUK GDaD PCF	Awareness (1)	You can: explain the importance of developing process efficiency and the common ways in which processes are optimised support specific activities to improve development processes identify obvious deficiencies
Information securityUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: design solutions and services with security controls included, specifically engineered to mitigate security threats
Modern development standardsUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: apply modern development standards and support others in applying them
Programming and build (software engineering)UK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: collaborate with others when necessary to review specifications use the agreed specifications to design, code, test and document programs or scripts of medium-to-high complexity, using the right standards and tools
PrototypingUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: approach prototyping as a team activity, actively soliciting prototypes and testing with others establish design patterns and iterate them use a variety of prototyping methods and choose the most appropriate
Service supportUK GDaD PCF	Working (2)	You can: help fix service faults following agreed procedures carry out maintenance tasks on service support infrastructure
Systems designUK GDaD PCF	Working (2)	You can: translate logical designs into physical designs produce detailed designs effectively document all work using required standards, methods and tools, including prototyping tools where appropriate design systems characterised by managed levels of risk, manageable business and technical complexity, and meaningful impact work with well understood technology and identify appropriate patterns
Systems integrationUK GDaD PCF	Working (2)	You can: build and test simple interfaces between systems work on more complex integration as part of a wider team
User focusUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: collaborate with user researchers and can represent users internally explain the difference between user needs and the desires of the user champion user research to focus on all users prioritise and define approaches to understand the user story, guiding others in doing so offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to use
Understanding health and care servicesThis reference	Working (2)	You can: explain the clinical and care workflows your work supports use common health care terms correctly with clinical and care colleagues recognize when a change could affect patient care and raise it
Clinical risk managementThis reference	Working (2)	You can: take part in hazard workshops and contribute to a hazard log follow the clinical risk management process for your work provide evidence for a clinical safety case, such as test results
Information governance and data protectionThis reference	Working (2)	You can: apply data protection principles to your work contribute to data protection impact assessments handle information requests and records correctly
Health data interoperabilityThis reference	Working (2)	You can: read and use FHIR resources, profiles, and APIs build or test simple integrations under guidance check messages against a specification

Typical qualifications and experience

A degree in computing or a related subject, or equivalent experience.
Experience of building and supporting production software.

Band 6 outline

Knowledge: Specialist knowledge across a range of procedures, built through further training or experience.
Autonomy: Works independently; interprets policy for own area; seeks advice on complex issues.
Scope: A product, service, or workstream.
Leadership: May lead a small team or mentor colleagues.
Accountability: Outcomes of own workstream and quality of advice given.

Job evaluation (illustrative)

Factor	Level	Level summary	Points
Communication and relationship skills	4	Gives complex, sensitive, or contentious information needing persuasion, negotiation, or training skills, or highly complex information.	32
Knowledge, training, and experience	6	Specialist knowledge across the range of the specialism (postgraduate diploma level or equivalent).	156
Analytical and judgmental skills	4	Judgments on complex facts or situations needing analysis, interpretation, and comparison of options.	42
Planning and organizational skills	3	Plans several complex activities, adjusting plans as needed.	27
Physical skills	3	Developed skills needing speed or accuracy, such as advanced keyboard use.	27
Responsibility for patient and client care	1	Helps patients, clients, or relatives during incidental contact.	4
Responsibility for policy and service development	2	Implements policies for own area and proposes changes to its practices.	12
Responsibility for financial and physical resources	1	Takes personal care of equipment and resources used in own work.	5
Responsibility for people	2	Supervises or coordinates staff day to day, trains others regularly, or gives basic HR advice.	12
Responsibility for information resources	4	Adapts or designs information systems to others' specifications, or runs information systems for a department as the main duty.	24
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	4	Results are defined, but the job holder decides how to achieve them, within broad policy.	32
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 6: 396 to 465)			418