Newcastle University Hiring for Software Development Manager Job at Newcastle upon Tyne, England Full Time

We are a world class research-intensive university. We deliver teaching and learning of the highest quality. We play a leading role in economic, social and cultural development of the North East of England. Attracting and retaining high-calibre people is fundamental to our continued success.

Salary: £42,149 – £44,706 with progression to £50,296 per annum

Closing Date: 23 September 2021

The Role

An opportunity has arisen to lead the Software Engineering team within the IT service at Newcastle University. Reporting to the Head of Software Engineering and Enterprise Solutions you will be responsible for a team which develops and supports several applications which support, Learning, Research and administrative processes within the University.

The team is split into 3 functional areas. SAP BW and ABAP, Digital systems (Mobile app development, web publishing technologies) and Web App Development (.NET / PHP) and you will be responsible for managing the pipeline of work that comes into the team as well as providing line management for the team Working with the principal developer in each area you will be accountable for the development standards in the University and adopting industry best practises such as CI/CD and where possible move applications into the cloud using services offered by cloud providers. You will be encouraged to participate in local and national networking activities to ensure that the University continues to follow industry best practise and to support your continued professional development.

For informal enquiries please contact Dave Sharples, Head of Software Engineering and Enterprise Solutions at [email protected] .

Over the last 18 months, we have reimagined the way we deliver our University IT Services, forming a world-class IT department responsive to the needs of our global community. We’re growing significantly and we’ve created new opportunities and made changes to how we work. Our people have been at the centre of this change, with a particular focus on development and opportunities to learn new skills.

The University is an exciting and dynamic place to work, dedicated to learning and research. You will be based on campus in the centre of Newcastle and have access to fantastic resources on-site and the opportunity to attend relevant conferences and training courses. Benefits include excellent pension; 30 days holiday, 8 bank holidays plus an additional 4 discretionary closure days over the Christmas and New Year; discounted travel for the Metro and local bus services; and discounts for national retailers.

Key Accountabilities

Lead the engagement with stakeholders and steering groups to understand potential development requirements, manage priorities and expectations so that the team can be deployed to projects according to business need

Act as service owner for key corporate systems (such as MOFS, NESS) with responsibility for coordination of development, escalation point, and change management

Engage with stakeholders and developers to clarify, validate and document functional and non-functional requirements on projects where there is no dedicated analyst resource available

Embed agile working practices and tooling within the software development team and wider community by acting as subject matter expert to ensure the entire SDLC is efficient and responsive

Manage team’s investigation and adoption of emergent best practices and processes such as TDD, CI/CD, cloud technologies etc, through use of objectives, team goals, knowledge sharing sessions and documentation

Take responsibility for all service provision within this team, ensure there are systems and processes to deliver the required level of support and to recover from support issues as quickly as possible. Ensure cost-effective delivery of services to meet University needs and respond with the agility required to address changing business priorities

To work with senior developers and architects to establish appropriate technologies and approaches for new system developments to ensure that solutions delivered are robust and fit for purpose

Lead NUITs application development brokerage service by working with customers, suppliers and procurement to ensure projects are delivered by an appropriate source where NUIT doesn’t have capacity to work on a funded project

Create and maintain a Technology Roadmap for the Software Development team to clearly indicate areas of risk, show upgrade paths and timelines and feed into overall NUIT planning processes. Own the technology landscape within the scope of this area, be a subject matter expert (SME), and have a deep understanding of current and future technologies

Lead the team to ensure they are motivated, engaged and have personal development plans, carry out annual appraisals and ensure there is a people plan for the whole team. Ensure that the work of the team is properly prioritised, resourced, managed and executed efficiently and effectively

Engage with stakeholders across NUIT and the University to build and maintain good working relationships and ensure there is a clear understanding of University requirements within the team

Act as a trusted advisor, building robust and collaborative relationships with other IT and University leaders to develop a clear understanding of business needs

Lead on any project or change related activity as part of wider NUIT or NU project teams

Manage the budget (people and third party spend) assigned to this area

Champion the team’s involvement in the IT organisation’s innovation efforts and its role in experimenting with new solutions to take advantage of business opportunities.

Be responsible for developing best-practise policies, standards, procedures and guidelines for management of this area, guided by NUIT standards and other stakeholders

Any other reasonable duties that fall within the scope of the post, as allocated by the line manager

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Substantial experience of running software development and support team in a similar size and complexity organisation

Technical background in the software development technologies used by NUIT

Substantial experience of multiple development methodologies including Agile and waterfall and their successful implementation

Substantial experience of delivering software development and support services to a dispersed customer base in multiple locations

Substantial experience of working with third party vendors and delivering an effective service using their services

Substantial experience of working with Information Security teams and other governance groups to ensure that University assets are protected from internal and external attacks. A working knowledge of Cybersecurity processes and practices is essential

Attributes and Behaviour

Develops plans that meet the architecture/technology needs of the organisation

Incorporates business priorities, strategies, goals, emerging technologies, industry trends and economic viability

Solicits advice, support, championship, sponsorship and commitment from key stakeholders for the success of their team and work

Communicates ideas or positions in a persuasive manner that builds support, agreement or commitment

Builds both formal and informal professional networks, and extends these networks within, across and external to organizational boundaries

Encourages and facilitates collaboration, cooperation and results

Inspires, motivates and guides team members

Acts as the organizational change agent for improving maturity and practices, in support of University goals and strategy

Mobilizes others within and outside of their team to support and enable change efforts

Sets and accomplishes challenging goals

Defines standards in terms of doing what is appropriate and doing it well

Leads by example in delivering high quality outcomes that they take responsibility for

Qualifications

A bachelor’s degree in Computing Science or related subject or equivalent experience

A relevant technical qualification or equivalent technical experience

Newcastle University is committed to being a fully inclusive Global University which actively recruits, supports and retains staff from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from everybody, regardless of race, sex, ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital status/civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, as well as being open to flexible working practices.

The University holds a silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. The University also holds the HR Excellence in Research award for our work to support the career development of our researchers, and is a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

Requisition ID: 9624