Development Manager

The Role:

The Development Manager will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the software development lifecycle, managing a team of skilled developers, and collaborating with stakeholders to align technology solutions with business objectives. This role requires a balance of technical expertise, leadership skills, and project management capabilities.

Key Responsibilities...

Team Leadership:

Lead, mentor, and manage a team of software developers.

Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and accountability.

Conduct regular performance reviews and identify opportunities for professional growth.

Be an advocate for self-learning and continuous improvement within the team, encouraging developers to upskill and stay current with emerging technologies.

Manage the hybrid working arrangements of the development team, ensuring clear communication and productivity.

Support leads in managing holiday schedules to maintain coverage for critical system functions at all times.

Project Management:

Oversee planning, prioritisation, and execution of development projects.

Ensure project milestones are met on time.

Collaborate with product management, QA, and other departments to ensure alignment with business goals.

Technical Oversight:

Ensure that the technical approaches championed by the DevOps Lead (for infrastructure) and the Principal Developer (for development) are applied consistently and effectively across teams.

Act as a bridge between technical leadership and development teams, ensuring alignment on strategies and goals.

Facilitate the adoption of best practices in code quality, architecture, and development workflows.

Support troubleshooting and resolution of complex issues, leveraging insights from technical leads when necessary.

Process Improvement:

Ensure that no bottlenecks or inefficiencies form within the development and/or release processes.

Empower team members by fostering an environment where they can work effectively and autonomously.

Ensure code reviews are completed promptly and consistently.

Set clear expectations regarding the path stories take, whether going into formal QA processes or other routes, ensuring clarity and accountability.

Maintain quality at all times, ensuring that best practices and robust testing processes are in place to support reliable releases.

Regularly review workflows and processes, identifying opportunities to optimise team performance.

Defect Management:

To ensure defects are tracked, managed, and resolved in line with agreed SLAs.

To collaborate with QA and development teams to prioritize defect resolution effectively.

To monitor recurring issues and work with technical leads to implement preventive measures.

Stakeholder Communication:

To act as a conduit between the development team and the product team, ensuring nothing is lost in translation during the handoff of requirements and priorities.

To provide regular updates on project progress, risks, and solutions.

To facilitate effective collaboration between technical teams and non-technical stakeholders to ensure alignment on goals and expectations.

Advocacy for Technical Debt and Innovation:

To act as a figurehead and champion for the team in addressing technical debt and fostering engineering-led innovation.

To advocate for balancing business priorities with the need for technical improvements, ensuring long-term system health and maintainability.

To encourage innovation within the team, identifying and supporting opportunities to adopt new tools, techniques, and practices to improve efficiency and quality.

Required Skills and Experience

• Proven experience as a Development Manager, Lead Developer, or similar role in a software company.

• Strong understanding of the software development lifecycle (SDLC).

• Excellent leadership and team-building skills.

• Solid project management skills, with a track record of delivering projects on time.

• Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities.

• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.

• Experience with agile methodologies (e.g., Scrum, Kanban).

• Knowledge of DevOps practices.

• Knowledge of full-stack modern web development practices.