Our client is looking for a Head of Software Development who will form part of the technology leadership team reporting into the CTO. You will be responsible for all development activities on the client's platform. Your mission is to give developers and QA engineers the support they need to perform to their best – while also providing your peers in Product Management and Operations with a partner they can trust to help develop and operate the product further. You will drive technical approaches and decisions, best engineering practices, and provide relentless improvement to deliver better and faster, to ultimately delight our customers. From initial scoping to final deployment, you will be there to provide oversight. You can, and should, delegate to the development leads reporting to you, but be ready to verify that things are being done properly and jump in if they are not.
Description:
- Lead the translation of business goals into technical strategies, and ensuring alignment between company, product and technology objectives
- Liaise and cooperates with team members, product managers and stakeholders as necessary in designing, writing and releasing software, as well as supporting and maintaining said software
- Be responsible for continuous improvement of software development processes and key technology metrics for the teams within their remit
- Own people management responsibilities for the developers and QA engineers – including recruitment, regular one-on-one’s with individual team leads and team members, providing continuous performance feedback, and enabling team and individual growth from on-boarding to ongoing learning and development.
- Source and manage outsourcing relationships including selection, setting up, coordination and building relationships to support the development needs of the company and to complement internal resources.
- Fluent written and verbal English communication skills.
- ICT-related degree (including engineering-related, and other numerate disciplines), or skills and experience to match.
- 8+ years of experience in a software development and technology environment – minimum 5 years in hands-on software development roles; minimum 3 years of people management experience.
- 5+ years of development experience, ideally in Java, including implementing and consuming REST APIs, with good knowledge of web development – HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
- 3+ years practicing Agile
- Communicates effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences including senior management and other stakeholders; instills confidence while setting expectations appropriately.
- Thorough understanding of software engineering principles, the software development lifecycle, and modern software development methods.
- Knowledge of and experience implementing XP development practices such as unit testing, continuous integration, pair programming, and code refactoring.
- Resourceful, intelligent and high-energy individual who is flexible at doing what needs to be done. In a small business, it’s essential for even senior execs to be hands-on, able to handle ambiguity and to operate with limited resources.
- A practical problem solver who will be able to communicate vision and engage effectively with strong leadership and communication skills