Senior Integration and Platform Developer

Job summary
Thames Valley Integrated Care Board is looking for a Senior Integration and Platform Developer to provide senior technical leadership in the design, development and delivery of our cloud-based data, integration and interoperability services.

Connected Care is Thames Valley's expert-led, integrated healthcare-data ecosystem. Since 2016 it has grown from a simple shared care record into a powerful intelligence tool enabling provider collaboration and proactive, direct patient care across the Thames Valley system. This is a direct care function, not a commissioning role.

You'll work closely with the Lead Platform Engineer and the wider platform team, taking hands-on technical ownership of our data integration platform and Azure resources -- a custom-built part of Connected Care that expands the data available to the shared care record and integrates insights back from the population health system into clinical records -- to keep clinicians and care teams supported with reliable, secure and interoperable information.

You'll play a central technical role in one of the largest Connected Care programmes in the country, working alongside the Lead Platform Engineer to shape how data integration and Azure infrastructure support direct patient care for 2.5 million people across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire.

Location: One of Thames Valley ICB's offices
Function: Connected Care / Population Health, Analytics and Planning
Directorate: Strategy & Commissioning

Main duties of the job

• Leading hands-on technical delivery across development, coding, data engineering and interoperability workstreams for our Connected Care platform.
• Supporting and maintaining Azure-based data and integration platforms, including Azure Data Factory, Azure SQL and Azure Health Data Services.
• Ensuring delivered solutions meet agreed quality, performance, security and interoperability standards, including FHIR.
• Leading project teams in the delivery of integration and platform work, managing risks, dependencies and stakeholders.
• Holding budget responsibility for assigned function/team resources, including technical procurement.
• Line managing and developing engineers, including recruitment, appraisal and performance management
• Promoting best practice in coding, DevOps, testing, documentation and technical governance.

About us
We value and promote diversity and are committed to equality of opportunity for all. We believe that the best employers are those that reflect the communities they serve. We want to increase the diversity of our NHS leadership and particularly encourage applications from women, people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, LGBT communities, younger candidates and from people with lived experience of disability, who we know are all under-represented in these important roles. We are committed to delivering a trustworthy, flexible and responsible staff culture.

At our Organisation, our selection process ensures we recruit candidates with the right skills and values. We monitor AI use in applications and remain alert to misuse that misrepresents abilities. You must declare any AI use when submitting your application.

Job responsibilities
You'll be an experienced senior technical professional in software development, data engineering or cloud infrastructure, ready to take hands-on technical ownership within a complex, multi-organisational NHS environment. You'll have:

• A degree or master's in computer science, software engineering, data engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent senior technical experience.
• Significant practical experience with Azure cloud services, data engineering, DevOps and system integration
• Experience leading technical delivery and managing a team, including budget involvement.
• The ability to present complex technical detail to a range of stakeholders and manage competing priorities.
• An understanding of the NHS landscape ICBs, NHS England, and how strategic commissioning and direct care functions relate.

The post holder will provide senior technical leadership in the design, development and delivery of cloud-based data, integration and interoperability services, supporting the organisations transformation and digital strategy.

The role combines advanced software development, data engineering and cloud infrastructure expertise to deliver robust, scalable and secure integration and data platform solutions. The post holder will lead hands-on technical delivery across development, coding, data engineering and interoperability workstreams, ensuring high-quality services aligned to NHS standards and best practice.

The job description and person specification outline the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of the role. The post holder will carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by their line manager. The job description and person specification may be reviewed in accordance with the changing needs of the Department and the Organisation.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Educated to degree or master's level in computer science, software engineering, data engineering, information systems or a related discipline, or equivalent experience working at a senior technical level in a specialist digital or data environment.

Knowledge, Experience
Essential

• Evidence of post-qualification and continuing professional development in relevant technologies such as Azure cloud services, data engineering, DevOps, interoperability or cyber security.
• Extensive knowledge of software development, data engineering, cloud infrastructure and system integration, acquired through formal training and significant practical experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Membership of relevant professional bodies or possession of relevant technical certifications (e.g. Azure Developer or Data Engineer, HL7/FHIR, BCS) is desirable.
• Strong understanding of NHS digital and data strategy, national interoperability standards and healthcare information governance, and appreciation of their implications for technical solution design.
• A good understanding of the relationship between the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, Integrated Care Systems (including Integrated Care Boards), and individual provider organisations.
• Experience of interpreting national policy and experience of researching best practice (globally, private and public sector), interpreting its relevance and processes/ practices which could be implemented successfully to achieve system reform (e.g. advising on policy implementation).
• Experience of managing and motivating a team, including managing performance of individuals and team.
• Experience of working with, and building and developing successful professional relationships with, a range of stakeholders (internal and external).
• Previous experience of budget responsibility, involvement in budget setting and working knowledge of financial processes.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel etc.) with intermediate keyboard skills.
• Comprehensive experience of project principles techniques and tools such as Prince 2 and Managing Successful Projects.

Skills, Capabilities, Attributes
Essential

• Ability to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues (e.g. performance and change).
• Able to use initiative to decide relevant actions and make recommendations to sponsor/manager, with the aim of improving deliverables and compliance to policies.
• Able to make decisions autonomously when required, on difficult and contentious issues where there may be a number of courses of action, working to tight and often changing timescales.
• Able to present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups.
• Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands.
• Able to analyse complex facts and situations and develop a range of options.
• Strategic thinking - ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise.
• Demonstrable ability to plan over short, medium and long-term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly.
• Able to prioritise own work effectively and be able to direct activities of others.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.