Career Opportunities: Senior Platform Developer & Platforms Designer (55351)

Role Responsibilities

The Platform branch is looking for a Senior Platform Developer and a Platforms Designer. These positions report to the Manager of Common Platforms.

The responsibilities of these roles include:

Senior Platform Developer:

Platform Development

• Leading project teams, enterprise projects and initiatives utilizing project management knowledge and skills.
• Applying Agile delivery approaches and software development principles, including the fundamentals of platform service design, human-centered design and continuous delivery of value.
• Managing resources and contracts.
• Working with teams that also apply UX design, service design, design thinking, or human-centered design approaches.
• Proactively communicating, developing, and maintaining effective, collaborative and productive relationships with a wide variety of both internal and external stakeholders to identify issues and provide solutions in a timely manner.

Platform Practice and Governance

• Contributing to Platforms’ overarching collaborative practices and standards with a focus on data platforms.
• Promoting Platforms’ approach and value to facilitate them being embedded into ongoing team operations.
• Participating in promoting Platforms’ practices and governance.
• Providing recommendations to senior leaders to improve governance standards and practices.
• Building and maintaining successful networks, while balancing diverse needs and interests.
• Working within given constraints (including but not limited to technology, policy, regulatory, financial, legal, ethical, social, and user constraints).

Support the Manager and Director in achieving Unit goals and priorities

• Providing insight and recommendations on issues, opportunities, and challenges in performance measures and analytics practices and culture.
• Representing the branch and/or the division on department working groups and committees with diverse mandates and responsibilities.
• Developing content for reports, responses to queries etc.

Please click on this link to view the job description for this position.

Role Responsibilities

Platforms Designer:

Platform Design 

• Leading project teams, enterprise projects, and initiatives using project management knowledge and skills.
• Applying Agile delivery approaches and software development principles, including the fundamentals of platform service design, human-centered design, and continuous delivery of value.
• Providing leadership and guidance on problem definition and platform design, employing a systems thinking approach to help meet the needs of government and users.
• Working with product teams to transition solutions to operations, including the preparation of relevant documentation, processes, support scripts, etc.
• Applying emerging platform technologies to help build novel solutions and services aligned with product team requirements and current business objectives.

Platform Practice and Governance 

• Contributing to Platforms’ overarching collaborative practices and standards with a focus on data platforms.
• Promoting Platforms’ approach and value to facilitate them being embedded into ongoing team operations.
• Proactively communicating, developing, and maintaining effective and productive relationships with a wide variety of both internal and external stakeholders to identify issues and provide solutions in a timely manner.
• Providing recommendations to senior leaders to improve governance standards and practices.

Support  the Manager and Director in achieving Unit goals and priorities 

• Providing insight and recommendations on issues, opportunities, and challenges in performance measures and analytics practices and culture.
• Working collaboratively with team, unit, and branch staff to ensure appropriate coordination and integration of branch functions and delivery of products, tools, processes, and services.
• Establishing and maintaining relationships with department and GoA representatives, stakeholders, and partners.

APS Competencies

Competencies are behaviors that are essential to reach our goals in serving Albertans. We encourage you to have an in depth understanding of the competencies that are required for this opportunity and to be prepared to demonstrate them during the recruitment process.

This link will assist you with understanding competencies: https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/custom_downloaded_images/psc-alberta-public-service-competency-model.pdf.

Agility: Ability to anticipate, assess, and readily adapt to changing priorities, manage resilience in times of uncertainty and effectively work in a changing environment.

Drive for Results: Knowing what outcomes are important and maximizing resources to achieve results that are aligned with the goals of the organization, while maintaining accountability to each other and external stakeholders.

Develop self and others: A commitment to lifelong learning and the desire to invest in the development of the long-term capability of yourself and others.

Build Collaborative Environments: Leads and contributes to the conditions and environments that allow people to work collaboratively and productively to achieve outcomes.

Develop Networks: Proactively building networks, connecting, and building trust in relationships with different stakeholders.

Systems Thinking: The work done within the APS is part of a larger integrated and inter-related environment. It is important to know that work done in one part of the APS impacts a variety of other groups/projects inside and outside the APS. Systems thinking allows us to keep broader impacts and connections in mind.

Creative Problem Solving: Ability to assess options and implications in new ways to achieve outcomes and solutions.

Qualifications

Senior Platform Developer:

Requirements:

• A University degree in a related field such as Computer Sciences, Information Technology, Business, Commerce, or Arts.
• Four (4) years of related experience in digital development and delivery approaches.
• Experience with leading project teams, enterprise projects and initiatives utilizing Agile delivery approaches including human-centered design and continuous delivery of value.
• Experience with managing resources and contracts.
• Experience with software development with good understanding of best practices and processes.
• Experience conveying technical information to non-technical people and advising decision-makers on technical options.
• Experience with design patterns and their application and software architecture considerations.
• Experience with database technologies, including relational databases and alternatives.
• In-depth knowledge in computing science principles and subject matter expertise in platform development.
• Broad understanding of GoA services, and more specifically of the needs of client-ministries to inform and shape the development of data models

Assets:

• Experience with financial management, access management, and/or mobile app development. 
• Understanding and working within given constraints (including but not limited to technology, policy, regulatory, financial, legal, ethical, social, user constraints).
• Advanced troubleshooting skills

Qualifications

Platforms Designer:

Requirements:

• A University degree in a related field such as Computer Sciences, Information Technology, Business, Commerce, or Arts.
• Four (4) years of related experience in cloud development and digital delivery approaches.
• Experience with leading project teams, enterprise projects and initiatives utilizing Agile delivery approaches including human-centered design and continuous delivery of value.
• Experience with managing resources and contracts.
• Experience analyzing research data and presenting findings in diverse ways.
• Experience with prototypes in different media across digital and physical channels.
• Experience moving through projects shifting focus from small details to understanding the whole system and the relationship between them.
• Experience using advanced oral and written communication skills with staff at all levels of an organization to address the value of service design.
• Experience creating journey maps, service blueprints or other visual representations to gain consensus within team and with partner programs.
• Experience planning and facilitating co-design workshops.
• Experience working with digital services (services including a significant digital component; may include other channels).

Assets:

• Experience with financial management, access management, and/or mobile app development.
• Understanding and working within given constraints (including but not limited to technology, policy, regulatory, financial, legal, ethical, social, user constraints).

Equivalencies:

• A related two-year diploma in related discipline from a recognized post-secondary institution and six (6) years related experience; or
• A related one-year certificate from a recognized post-secondary institution and seven (7) years related experience.

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification. 

Refer to https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-minimum-recruitment-standards.

Notes

Term of Employment: Permanent, Full-time position

Hours of Work: 7.25 hours daily / 36.25 weekly – Monday to Friday

Location: Remote across Alberta

This position is eligible for remote work. You must reside in Alberta to work remotely.

Final candidates will be required to undergo a security screening.

This competition may be used to fill future vacancies, across the Government of Alberta, at the same or lower classification level. 
 

Applicants are advised to provide a cover letter summarizing information that clearly and concisely demonstrates how their qualifications meet the advertised requirements, including education, experience, and relevant examples of required competencies. 

Additional Information:
In your resume, please include dates (including months and years) associated with all education and work experience. Also, please indicate whether your work experience is casual, part-time, or full-time. For example, January 15, 2006 - June 25, 2009: Assistant (PT three 8 hrs. shifts/week).

Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses, will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can obtain the required documents/checks from the province they currently reside in.

Links and information on what the GoA has to offer to prospective employees.

• Working for the Alberta Public Service - https://www.alberta.ca/advantages-working-for-alberta-public-service.aspx
• Pension plans:
• Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) - https://www.pspp.ca
• Alberta Public Service Benefit Information - https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-benefits
• Professional learning and development - https://www.alberta.ca/professional-development-support-directive
• Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool – https://researchapscareers.alberta.ca
• Positive workplace culture and work-life balance
• Opportunity to participate in flexible work arrangements such as working from home up to two days per week and modified work schedule agreement
• Leadership and mentorship programs