Job Advert
*** COVID-19 – Please note that during this time all interviews will be conducted remotely. If successful, you will also initially be working remotely in line with the guidance from the Scottish Government***
Join us in building the Eyecare service and National Digital Platform
empowering NHS Scotland and its partners in improving Health & Care nationwide
We are happy to consider applicants seeking reduced working hours provided this is a minimum of 30 hours per week.
THE EYECARE TEAM
In this role, you would be joining the team leading NHS Scotland’s work to digitise patient care for eyecare. Both technically complex and rewarding our goal is to implement one of the first electronic patient records (EPR) for an entire care journey for ophthalmology.
As eyecare accounts for over 10% of all outpatient care appointments in Scotland you will be working at scale and having a positive impact on many people’s lives.
By integrating into the National Digital Platform (NDP) we are building provides a broader, holistic view on patient journeys - especially in areas including Diabetes where eyecare is a high priority area
Our work is already helping improve both the speed and quality of primary and secondary eyecare. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the eyecare team’s work with NHS Grampian enabled clinicians to work remotely and provide continuity of care. Focusing on one health board initially we are learning from this process to empower us to quickly scale to every health board in Scotland.
THE NATIONAL DIGITAL PLATFORM
Information is at the heart of great health care. Our mission is to build the National Digital Platform (NDP) – a single cloud-based canonical source of truth for health data for every citizen in Scotland.
Designed to be both safe and secure, the NDP supports the provision of excellent care at the point of contact, increases the range and speed at which new digital services become available and accelerates opportunities for research, planning and predictive modelling.
YOUR ROLE
Currently, we are focused on developing the infrastructure and systems which enable the Eyecare service to scale nationally. Moving to Kubernetes, improving resilience and addressing redundancy are just some of the areas you could be working on (and improving your skills in!).
Subsequently, we will pivot to greenfield data work which will also contribute to establishing best practice engineering norms in this area for all our teams. Connecting a wide mix of data sets from a diverse range of partners presents both technical complexity and the need for positive engagement with groups including NHS health boards, clinicians and 3rd parties involved in patient care.
As one of two teams in NDS working on direct clinician-facing systems, there is a great opportunity to define best practices within our work
After 6 Months…
You’ll be well integrated with the team, supporting the technical roadmap and actively contributing to engineering delivery. You’ll have identified key blockers and worked with the team to address these. Most of your time will have been spent helping your team while sharing lessons more widely across engineering.
You’re refining your technical skillset and contributing consistently to sprint ceremonies. You’re writing and shipping every day and thinking of ways to improve our processes.
After 12 Months
You are deeply involved in the eyecare data set and working to integrate this consistently and reliably with a wider range of clinical data sets taking a broader view on how eyecare data can help other areas of healthcare. You’re focusing on your personal development and looking for opportunities to lead on delivering milestones with the support of your peers.
ABOUT YOU
You will have a keen eye for delivery and a solid technical background which you can apply in a range of scenarios. You constructively suggest alternative solutions where necessary (e.g. through code reviews and proposals) and identify root issues and opportunities to continually improve.
You enjoy developing those around you and contributing to the wider development of engineering practices and the NDP
As such we are interested in Software Engineers with practical and/or theoretical experience of: -
- Agile methodologies and continuous improvement of development processes
- Version control (e.g. git), continuous integration, continuous deployment, unit testing, and test-driven development
- Cloud platforms (e.g. Azure, AWS, Google Cloud) and tools like Kubernetes to design, build, and deploy functioning systems in the cloud
Your core engineering experience is more important than the tools and languages you use
If you lack experience in any areas of our stack, we will provide the support you need to quickly learn and use these in your work.
It’s not essential to be in a Software Engineering role right now
You may be returning from a career break (e.g. maternity, paternity, caring for others) or returning to Software Engineering after working in another field. Your experiences elsewhere can bring a fresh perspective to our work.
We’d LOVE you to apply!
We recognise Software Engineers are a diverse bunch! If you feel you may be light in some areas don’t be put off – you may have strengths in other areas which could be valuable. If you’re considering applying and have any questions please contact matthew.hill@nhs.scot who will be happy to assist.
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
Developing a truly successful national service for Scotland is impossible without ensuring we consider the diverse needs, perspectives and backgrounds of everyone in Scotland in our work.
We are focused on hiring the very best talent available for NDS, and actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and aim to ensure everyone is treated fairly, with respect and has a positive recruitment experience – regardless of the outcome.
BENEFITS
As a valued employee of NHS Scotland, your benefits include…
- Life-work balance - with opportunities for flexible working, remote working, compressed and reduced hours
- 35+ Days Annual Holiday – 27 Days Annual Leave (increasing in line with service) plus 8 days public holiday
- The Opportunity to Learn and Grow – including funded AWS training (and certification if you wish), frequent knowledge sharing sessions with Clinicians and experts in the healthcare field, and a strong engineering department with a diverse background to learn from
- Financial Benefits
- Generous NHS pension scheme
- Extensive NHS discounts
APPLICANTS SHOULD NOTE….
- This position is offered on a 36-month Fixed Term Contract Basis
- During COVID-19, our recruitment process is 100% remote and if successful you would work remotely, only working from our offices once official guidance supports this
- For NHS employees considering this post, appointments will only be considered on a secondment or SLA basis, in the first instance