Employer: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)
Location: Manchester
Salary: £42,005 per year
Grade: Higher Executive Officer (HEO)
Contract: Fixed term – 23 months
Working pattern: Full-time
Vacancies: 5
Closing date: Sunday 11 October 2026 at 11:55 pm
Reference: 483057
Visa Sponsorship
MHCLG does not offer visa sponsorship for this role.
Applicants must already have a valid visa or immigration status that allows them to work in the UK for the full duration of the 23-month employment.
About the Role
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is recruiting five Junior Developers to join its Digital, Data and Information Directorate in Manchester.
You’ll work within a multidisciplinary digital team alongside experienced developers and other digital professionals to build and improve services used by citizens, local authorities and MHCLG teams.
The role provides practical experience in software development, including pair programming, automated testing and working with colleagues across digital and policy teams.
Depending on the requirements of the work, you may use different programming languages or Microsoft Power Platform.
Key Responsibilities
As a Junior Developer, you will:
- Develop and maintain secure, reliable and user-focused software.
- Work with experienced developers and multidisciplinary teams.
- Use development practices including pair programming, test-driven development and automated testing.
- Help monitor systems and support production environments.
- Develop and maintain automated tests for continuous integration and deployment.
- Work with product managers, designers and user researchers to understand user needs.
- Share knowledge and contribute to the wider development community.
- Continue developing your technical skills and experience.
Essential Skills and Experience
Applicants should have:
- Experience with a modern programming language such as Python or Java, or experience with Microsoft Power Platform or Dynamics 365, potentially alongside JavaScript and C#.
- Experience developing web applications.
- An understanding of full-stack development, version control and cloud infrastructure such as AWS or Azure.
- Experience with RESTful APIs.
- An understanding of SQL and relational databases, ideally PostgreSQL or Microsoft Dataverse.
- Good communication and collaboration skills.
- A willingness to learn new technologies, tools and ways of working.
Salary and Benefits
The salary is £42,005 per year for the National role.
The role also includes a Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%, alongside other benefits including career development opportunities, flexible working and various employee schemes.
Selection Process
The recruitment process has two main stages:
Stage 1 – Sift
Your CV will be assessed against the job description and person specification.
The lead sift question asks applicants to explain something they have created, helped build or contributed to using software development skills, including the technologies used, why they were chosen and how they established that the solution worked as intended.
Stage 2 – Interview
The interview will assess:
- Developing Self and Others
- Working Together
- Technical skills
- Ability through a team challenge and technical exercise
Interviews are expected to take place in November 2026 in Manchester and will be held in person.
Successful applicants will also be required to complete a Digital and Data capability assessment after the interview.
Security Clearance
The successful candidate will need to meet the required security standards, including Security Check (SC) clearance.
Right to Work
This vacancy is broadly open to eligible UK nationals, Irish nationals, certain Commonwealth nationals with the right to work in the UK, eligible EUSS nationals and family members, and other groups listed under the Civil Service nationality requirements.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted through the official vacancy application process. Direct CV applications are not accepted.
The closing date is 11:55 pm on Sunday 11 October 2026.
Employer: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Job reference: 483057