Would you like the opportunity to grow and develop your digital skills in a role that covers managing the operation, maintenance, support and testing of services that impact on the lives of the people of Scotland? If the answer to the above is yes, then this exciting opportunity could be for you!
National Records of Scotland (NRS) IT/Digital directorate provides technology for the services NRS delivers to our customers, including Architecture & Business Analysis, Project and Programme Delivery, Service Management, Cyber Security, Infrastructure Engineering & Support, Data and Digital Engineering & Support. This role sits within the digital and data engineering team, which is comprised of software engineers, data engineers, a data analyst, a test engineer, and an application operations engineer (this post).
The main purpose of the role is to manage the day-to-day operations of a suite of applications, including deploying releases, carrying out maintenance activities, supporting the resolution of technical problems, and liaising with end-users of services as required.
An application operations engineer maintains services and is responsible for conducting user and security administration. At this role level, you will monitor applications, provide technical support, maintain middleware, and liaise with colleagues across other digital functions to ensure secure operations of services.
The post holder will be responsible for managing a suite of applications. They will gain specialist knowledge of the applications that they support, and an understanding of the platforms and environments that support these.
This role is aligned to the Application operations engineer role within the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework
Please review the above link to understand the skill expectations. This role does not require a level 3 service management framework qualification as stated in the above link.
Lead criteria 1 Experience managing or supporting systems and providing application support, delivering effective, user‑focused solutions that meet the needs of stakeholders across operational environments.
Working together (Level 2)
You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours, here: Behaviours - Success profiles: candidate guide - gov.scot
Apply online, providing a CV and Supporting Statement (of no more than 750 words) which provides evidence of how you meet the experience listed in the Success Profile above.
We will test your experience as part of the sift process, and if successful, you will be invited to an assessment and interview where we will test these again, along with the behaviours and technical skills listed above. Full details of the selection process will be made available to shortlisted candidates once the sift has been completed.
In the event of a large number of applications, an initial sift will be conducted using the CV and supporting statement on Lead Experience 1 as listed above. Candidates who pass the initial sift will have their applications fully assessed against the other Experience criteria.
If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview and a practical coding exercise, which candidates will be asked to summarise and demonstrate as part of a presentation, in order to test the required technical skills. Details of the exercise and presentation will be shared in advance of the interview. Candidates will also be asked a series of questions to test their behaviours and experience.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.
Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.
Sift – w/c 13 July
Interviews – w/c 3 August or w/c 10 August
This role is open to internal candidates and Common citizenship organisations only.
Recruitment Principles
As a government organisation, we adhere to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles and we investigate any complaints received in relation to recruitment cases.
National Records of Scotland (NRS) is Scotland’s record keeper. Our purpose is to collect, preserve and produce information about Scotland's people and history and make it available to inform current and future generations. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles.
NRS is a Non-Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government and our staff are part UK Civil Service, working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland.
We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer
As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules
Working pattern
Our standard hours are 35 hours per week, we offer a range of flexible and hybrid working options depending on the needs of the role. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.
Security checks
Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre-employment checks – Identity, Right to work, Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions).
You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website, or read about the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide
In addition to the standard pre-employment checks, this vacancy will also require all candidates to obtain National Security Vetting (NSV) at Security Check (SC) clearance level. This type of check normally includes meeting a minimum UK residency period, which for SC level is 5 years.
Further information about NSV checks can be found on the UK Government website - National security vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK
If you have any questions about this, please contact ScottishGovernmentRecruitment@gov.scot
This post is part of the Government Digital and Data (GDD) profession within the Scottish Government and currently attracts a £3,000 annual pay supplement. Pay supplements are reviewed regularly and a review has recently been completed.
The devolved government for Scotland is responsible for matters that are devolved from Westminster. Areas of responsibility include the economy, health, education, justice, rural affairs, environment, and transport.
