Strategic Delivery Partner

Description

Summary of work Ofqual’s DDaT team are seeking to appoint a highly engaging and collaborative strategic digital, data and cloud infrastructure delivery partner who, periodically, can supplement an existing, (permanent), agile delivery team with technical development and design capabilities in order to improve velocity and business outcomes. Where the supplied staff will work West Midlands Where the supplied staff will work No specific location (for example they can work remotely) Why the work is being done Ofqual’s Digital, Data and Technology (DDAT) team continuously deliver a programme of strategic improvements in order to meet the organisations evolving needs as it continues to meet its Regulatory and Compliance responsibilities across Education in England. The in-house team is working to deliver key business priorities agreed by Ofqual’s DDaT programme board from a prioritised backlog. This work is of significant strategic importance for Ofqual; delivery will improve efficiency, cross-team communication, enable better case management, and improve public accessibility and confidence in our services, ultimately to deliver better outcomes for learners. Our key priority is to establish a highly collaborative, culturally aligned and value driven working relationship with an experienced strategic partner who can immediately contribute as part of our existing Agile delivery team. In line with wider government ways of working and User Centred Design practices, required expertise ranges from interaction design, user research, software development, test automation, data engineering and analysis; but with potential for other disciplines as outcomes require. Desired mobilisation is anticipated to be no more than 4 weeks on each occasion; ideally faster. The business problem Ofqual are seeking to engage with a strategic partner to deliver the following benefits: • Tactically increase velocity of delivering business outcomes for priority DDaT activities • Supplement existing DDaT technical skills and experience to constructively challenge and enrich the design and implementation of solutions • Augment DDaT working and cultural routines with industry tried and tested, best practice methodologies. The people who will use the product or service User type: Public Definition: Our public-facing services are used by citizens to make complaints to or about Ofqual, ask questions via public enquiries, and to make freedom of information requests. These services are developed in line with GDS standards and integrate with our internal-facing Portal, allowing Ofqual to manage cases and interactions with citizens in one place. People offering teaching, assessment, and industrial expertise to Ofqual to aid in regulation use our experts gateway to register and access commissions to do work on Ofqual’s behalf. Organisations seeking to become regulated Awarding Organisations (AOs) use our recognition gateway, before being onboarded in the Portal, should their application be successful. Users of our Portal system include Ofqual staff, regulated AOs and Northern Ireland regulator (CCEA Regulation). Data and statistic links are shared with a range of stakeholders, including the Welsh Regulator (Qualification Wales) and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. Regulated AOs use the Portal to create and maintain their qualifications, submit event notifications and data to Ofqual, or to contact Ofqual or CCEA Regulator with queries. Data from the Portal, among other sources, is collated into our data lake, which is used for analysis and BI reporting for both Ofqual and awarding organisation users. Any pre-market engagement done None Work done so far The DDaT team sits within the Regulatory & Corporate Services Directorate, managing several software products supporting business critical functions. Ofqual’s regulatory IT system, the Portal, was first developed in-house in 2015. It manages interactions with regulated awarding organisations, enabling them to manage qualifications and units data; also, to notify Ofqual of any events that may cause adverse effects to learners. Using Agile methodologies, the DDAT team deliver against programme priorities set by the DDaT Programme Board. We are currently on a journey to improve our delivery cadence through the adoption of Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, DevSecOps, and Product Management practices. Which phase the project is in Live Existing team The Ofqual Information Management team is supported by a broad mix of skills, which cover five key disciplines: • Digital development • Information assurance • Cloud and infrastructure • Delivery, engagement, and management (project and programme management, procurement, business analysis, user guidance, process improvement) • Data services (data engineering and analysis) The existing team is around 30 permanent staff. The DDaT team use an Agile approach to delivery, with daily stand-ups, sprint planning, sprint reviews, and sprint retrospectives ceremonies to facilitate fortnightly deliveries. You can learn more about the wider Ofqual organisation here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofqual/about#:~:text=and%20A%20levels.-,Who%20we%20are,are%20based%20in%20central%20Coventry Address where the work will be done Remote by default, with the potential need to visit Ofqual’s offices (Earlsdon Park (7th Floor), 53-55 Butts Rd, Coventry CV1 3BH) as needs arise. Working arrangements 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday • Engaging and participating in Agile ceremonies • Engaging permanent Ofqual DDaT experts in all architecturally significant decisions • Ensuring consistency in software design and development across Ofqual’s estate • Adhering to Ofqual Software development practices, standards and guardrails • Meet, conform to and highlight where necessary, all pertinent security standards, policies, risks or potential risks • Clearly presenting delivered work back to Ofqual staff during Agile ceremonies and reviews. As a partner of Ofqual, we always expect high professional standards, and strong, demonstrable values of corporate social responsibility. Security and vetting requirements No security clearance needed Latest start date 15 January 2024 Expected contract length Contract length: 2 years 0 months 0 days Optional extension: 1 years 0 months 0 days Budget Indicative maximum: £800000 Indicative minimum: The contract value is not specified by the buyer Contracted out service or supply of resource? Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply