Senior Developer - Application Development

Information Services (IS)

Reporting to: Application Development Team Lead

Salary:£37,394 - £45,954per annum (pro rata) depending on skills and experience.Salary progression beyond this scale is subject to performance

Job Family and level:5

Contract Status:Permanent

Hours of Work: Full time

Location:Kings Meadow Campus

You are a deep technicalexpertand established software developer with a track record of delivering solutions of high quality and to expected standards. You will be the technical design authority within your teams for the portfolio of software projects which underpin the University’s business processes. You are delivery-focussed and will help to create the environment in which individuals and teams are encouraged to be innovative and agileto help secure success as we respond to the constantly evolving IT landscape.

The University

The University of Nottingham (UoN) is ranked in the UK’s top 10 and the world’s top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings, placing it in the top 1% of all universities worldwide. UoN has award-winning campuses in the UK, China and Malaysia and is committed to providing a truly inspiring and international education.

Described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as ‘the embodiment of the modern international university’ – the University of Nottingham is uniquely enterprising and renowned for its production of world-leading research.

Information Services

Many of our services are typical of any business and offer similar challenges: Managed desktops and laptops, data storage, email, printing, web content management for the internet and intranet, data and voice networking, multimedia design and production, and the major applications underpinning finance, HR/payroll, marketing, facilities management, conferencing and a range of commercial enterprises, including incubator premises for new business ventures.

Other challenges are specific to higher education and to our University in particular. Nottingham has huge ambition to transform the experience it provides to students — to place them at the heart of its global, digital community. This will involve fundamental change to the business processes which underpin the student journey through the institution, major organisational change across professional services teams, and the implementation of a comprehensive, integrated suite of supporting IT systems. We in Information Services will play a pivotal role in this exciting and challenging change programme — known as Transform.

We also run specialist systems to underpin the life cycle of each research project as it moves from grant application through to publication and dissemination. Our researchers need information to help them target the next exciting and lucrative research opportunity. They need to be able to demonstrate the impact their research is having in the world.

As our mission says, “by bold innovation and excellence in all that we do, we make both knowledge and discoveries matter.” This depends on getting the right information to the right people within our community. Here, the creation, sharing, analysis and dissemination of information are defining activities. It’s what we exist to do. Both students and researchers are demanding, innovative users of technology and we aim to provide them an information environment in which they can be boundlessly creative and highly productive. We have campuses in Nottingham, China and Malaysia, and aim to support mobility, ease of communication and team work across this hugely diverse and geographically spread community.

In response to these specific challenges, we provide particular and differentiating services. These include a Virtual Learning Environment and other innovative technologies for learning, High Performance Computing services and a large range of specialist software. Our researchers produce vast amounts of data and need tools to manage, mine and generate information from it. Many of them collaborate with industrial partners and researchers in other institutions across disciplinary and organisational boundaries. Our students have grown up with internet technologies and expect to be constantly connected using their mobile devices. A technology-rich experience is what they expect from University life. We provide equipment in teaching rooms, PC suites, language laboratories, wireless everywhere, and internet services in the halls of residence. Our global nature also means that video conferencing is particularly important.

Context

Following the appointment of a new CIO, Information Services is undergoing a significant restructure and reinvigoration. The aim is to build an organisation which is systemically capable of being the reliable, trusted, innovative and agile IT partner that the University needs to deliver its ambitious 2020 Strategy across the UK, China and Malaysia campuses Following the appointment of the Director Global IT Programmes and Solutions the next step is to appoint the senior managers who will provide support. The teams led by the Director Global IT Programmes and Solutions are;

  • Head of Application Development – acts as the technical design authority for the portfolio of applications and software which underpin and provide data for the University’s business processes; leads a team of deep technical experts and software developers in this area.
  • Head of Portfolio Delivery – accountable for delivery of the global project portfolio; acts as the centre of excellence for portfolio and project management; leads a team of professional project and programme managers.
  • Head of Infrastructure Solutions– acts as the technical design authority for the data centres, the network, storage and servers including High Performance Computing; leads a team of deep technical experts in this area.
  • Head of User Experience – acts as the technical design authority for the systems and technologies which provide a workplace in which users can communicate and collaborate effectively, and the devices (laptops, desktops, smart phones, tablets, printers etc.) which enable users to access IT services and data; leads a team of deep technical experts in this area.
  • Head of Testing-owns and maintain the Global IS Testing strategies, policies and processes, ensuring they remain fit for purpose to support the University/IS strategies

Your Role

The Senior Developer, Application Development is the design authority within their team for the portfolio of applications and software projects which underpin and provide data for the University’s business processes.

Working with the Team Lead, Application Development the Senior Developer, Application Development, is a deeply technical expert, a keen advocate of Agile practices and software developer, who is responsible for technical design, development and implementation to ensure all projects are delivered to meet the high expectations of the University of Nottingham.

Liaising with the Tem Lead, Application Development, the Senior Developer, Application Development works closely with Developer, Application Development and the Junior Developer, Application Development to ensure that they have the knowhow, resources, environment and support necessary to achieve results in an effective manner.

Thefundamental purpose is to inspire the teams who will be responsible for delivery of authorised projects from the global portfolio of new applications and software which supports the University’s business processes. The University recognises that digitalisation is going to fundamentally impact the way it maintains its identity and fulfils its purpose. It has ambitious plans in every area and expects IT to be at the heart of its global, digitally connected community.

You will support the Team Lead, Application Development to make this vision possible. You will help to create an environment in which individuals and teams are encouraged to be creative, innovative and agile in responding to new opportunities and the changing IT landscape.

You will work with the Team Lead, Application Developmentto ensure that solutions are delivered to the right quality standards within a coherent architecture.

You will be supported by the following roles and will lead a growing team of more than 4 staff in total:

  • Team Lead, Application Development – leads teams in the development of the portfolio of applications and software to support the University of Nottingham digital initiatives. Coordination of multiple streams of software development this role is a technical leader, promoting, defining, customising and deploying best Agile practices.
  • Developer, Application Development – working in a small team cooperating with UI developers and designers, this role will work with the Senior Developer, Applications and Development in supporting the technical design and approach for any given project, they are a keen advocate of Agile practices.
  • Junior Developer, Application Development– working in a small team this role is responsible for the supporting the technical design and approach as defined by the Team Lead and Senior Developer for the University of Nottingham’s project portfolio.

Principle Accountabilities:

Overview

1. Supporting the Team Lead, Application Development, you will have significant involvement in:

  • Planning sessions
  • Driving forward new innovative ideas
  • Providing judgement calls on what is technically feasible
  • Defining the best design approach to changing demands and new opportunities
  • Supporting theTeam Lead, Application Developmentto ensure that the new organisation meets one of its core objectives: ‘Be agile and responsive to changing demands and new opportunities as these continue to arise and deliver new projects effectively’

Application Development

  1. Significantly contribute to the delivery of theapplication development strategy and software delivery within Programmes and Solutions team:
  • Write and deliver software as per specification to agreed timescales
  • Ensure adoption ofa software development methodology based on an Agile philosophy
  • Ensure that the teamunderstands the development methodologies, policies and agreed approach to developing applications
  • Ensuring that processes and policies that are in place are adhered to so that development projects follow the correct;
  • Version Control
  • Quality Management
  • Development Standards
  • Mentor teams in the adoption of new techniques and programming languages.

General

4. Develop own skills and professional capability in line with the needs of the service

Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications & Experience

Essential / Desirable
Qualifications/ Education /
  • Educated to degree level or equivalent professional qualification in a relevant subject, plus substantial work experience in a relevant technical/ scientific role
OR
  • Proven track record with extensive work experience in a relevant technical role University degree or equivalent
/
  • Experience of IT service management disciplines based on ITIL or similar, ideally with a qualification in this area

Skills/Training /
  • Extensive background in full-stack development, SOA architectures, API and protocol design, networking, internet topology, virtualisation
  • Deep architectural understanding of web applications.
  • Familiarity with JavaScript libraries
  • Familiarity with Web services API
  • Excellent understanding of object orientated development practices and languages. Experience of working on products built in those languages.
  • Excellent understanding writing, reporting and communicating with database technologies.
  • Exceptional ability to communicate and explain complex issues in clear, concise, persuasive language both verbally and in writing
  • Ability to communicate clearly to non-specialist and senior level audiences
  • Empathetic and with strong interpersonal skills
  • Highly adaptable and flexible. Able to adjust quickly to new situations and changing priorities
  • A clear understanding of the Software Development Lifecycle and Agile practices.
  • Desire and ability to mentor junior developers
/
  • Proven ability to understand and interpret Business and Administrative processes
  • Ability to identify new opportunities, provide creative solutions and promote change
  • Broad knowledge and understanding of the industry
  • Ability to slice and dice problems so they can be worked on by several people

Experience /
  • Experience of leading others through complex problem solving challenges
  • Experience of real-world Agile development
  • Experience with teams delivering software every day to high-scale, always-on, production environments
/
  • Familiar with the HE context and environment

University of Nottingham118 September 2018