Mainframe Software Engineer / Designer (Junior, Mid, Senior)

Location: Hybride / Skelmersdale / Manchester

Salary: £35,000- £65,000

35 hours, full time

Want to change the world? Choose a career that makes a difference

At The Co-operative Bank we’re proud to be different. We’re proud of our values and ethics, and our unique, customer-led Ethical Policy that shapes everything we do.

Born out of the co-operative movement over 150 years ago, you could say that doing the right thing has always been our thing. We don’t just help people with their money, but help people fight for justice and the causes they care about.

We put people at the heart of every decision we make and there’s never been a more important time for our Bank to stand up for the causes that matter most to our customers, colleagues and partner organisations.

Join us and help us continue to make progress in environmental and societal change, all with the UK’s original ethical bank.

We promote a hybrid working environment, which means you will work at our office in Skelmersdale or Manchester roughly once a week and then remotely from home. To enable you to work from home, you will need to have a suitable office set up which includes a desk and a chair in a location which is free from the interruptions of day-to-day life.

The role:

We’re looking for Mainframe Software Engineers at a mixture of levels including junior, mid & Senior. As part of the team, you will be working at the heart of our core banking platform. You will be designing, building and supporting applications that underpin our Retail and SME customer product suite, Digital channels & Online Banking platforms. You’ll be able to accurately analyse existing system behaviour, perform gap analysis and prepare detailed application design documents and program specifications for the Development team. Alongside tried and trusted coding methods you’ll also be working with some of the latest integration technologies which support our Digital and Online customer channels. Remembering, at all times, that our customers are at the core of everything we do!

Key Accountabilities:

• Working with logical solution design architects – collaborating on design, engineering and build capability for Mainframe IT solutions to support the enterprise and underpin Business objectives
• Providing technical analysis and design of software changes for applications on the Mainframe (through the design, build and unit test phases of the SDLC)
• Develop a good technical understanding of applications running on the Mainframe, in order to provide subject matter support and guidance for technical queries
• Able to contribute in all phases of the development lifecycle - developing and or modifying COBOL/CICS programs while providing expertise from concept and design through to functional testing and service transition
• Design, build & test activity of Mainframe COBOL/CICS solutions to meet Business objectives. Understanding requirements based on business analysis document to handle development enhancement and maintenance activities of various applications

Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required:

• Solid Background in IBM Mainframe COBOL/CICS solution delivery (ideally within a Banking or Financial Services environment)
• Evidence of experience in a previous role as an Application designer/developer in a z/OS Mainframe environment (preferable)
• Excellent problem solving and workload prioritisation prowess
• Technical competencies; z/OS, Enterprise COBOL, CICS, VSAM File Manipulation, JCL, TSO, ISPF, SDSF, FILE-AID, IBM Debug / Fault Analyzer, Endevor
• Datacom RDBMS – call-set build experience
• IBM Screen Definition facility(SDF) II – interactive map creation process
• z/OS Connect RESTful API integration – Design & Development via z/OS Explorer & Connect EE API toolkit (using GitLab as the source code repository)
• Experience in leading others and working with third-parties in order to achieve timely and quality software change and solution design to compliment business objectives
• Ability and confidence to effectively challenge others constructively, where necessary
• Excellent at problem solving and workload prioritisation
• Understanding of mainframe integration with internal & external systems with the ability to understand technical code and processes, both as workflow diagrams as well as conceptualise and document the solution

What You Can Expect From Us:

• Flexible and home working options
• 27 days holiday rising to 30 with service, plus opportunity to buy 5 extra days
• Competitive pension with up to 10% employer contribution
• Income protection / life assurance
• Commitment from employers on continued learning & development
• Wellbeing support ‘Help@Hand’ offers mental health support, physiotherapy, GP’s for both you and your family.
• 2 paid days for volunteering per year
• ‘MyReward’ corporate discount for over 800 retailers and Cycle to Work Scheme.
• Family friendly policies and supportive working environment
• Colleague network groups committed to inclusion and diversity within our Bank.

We can only consider candidates with the right to work in the UK at this time.

Our Bank is passionate and committed to continuing to create a diverse workforce and an inclusive environment where all colleagues can fulfil their potential.

At the beginning of the year, The Co-operative Bank officially became part of the Coventry Building Society Group. Together, we have shared values and an ethical approach towards our members, customers and colleagues.