Head of Application Development

University of Wolverhampton; Remote; GBP 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A housing provider is seeking a Head of Application Development to lead their in-house development team. This role focuses on managing software development life cycles, mentoring staff, and ensuring best practices in coding and methodologies are followed. The candidate should have solid experience in software development and a passion for delivering quality digital solutions. The position allows for home-based work with travel to Worcester or Birmingham offices once or twice a month.

Benefits

Up to 28 days' annual leave

Family-friendly policies

Medicash membership

Health Cash Plan worth up to £1,700 per year

Pension scheme with up to 12% employer contribution

Qualifications

• Proven experience managing software development teams in a complex environment.
• Strong knowledge of modern development methodologies.
• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Azure services.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performing software development team.
• Oversee the software development lifecycle.
• Manage the development and integration of housing management systems.

Skills

Software development team management

Agile methodologies

DevOps practices

Programming languages (.NET, Java, Python)

Application integrations and APIs

Microsoft Azure services

Excellent communication skills

Passion for delivering digital solutions

Job description

Overview

Head of Application Development at Platform Housing Group. Lead the in‑house development function and help shape the future of digital services at Platform Housing Group.

Responsibilities

• Coordinating, mentoring, and developing a high‑performing software development team
• Overseeing the end‑to‑end software development lifecycle (SDLC)
• Ensure best practices in coding, DevOps, and agile methodologies are embedded into the team
• Manage the development and integration of housing management systems
• Collaborating with architecture, product, and business teams to align technology delivery with organisational strategy
• Manage the revenue budgets for the Development function, including staffing and tooling spend and forecasts, feeding into the overall Enterprise Solutions budget

Qualifications

• Proven experience managing software development teams in a complex, dynamic environment
• Strong knowledge of modern development methodologies (Agile, DevOps, CI/CD)
• Expertise in modern programming languages (e.g., .NET, Java, Python)
• Experience with application integrations, APIs, and cloud‑based solutions
• Experience in the social housing or public sector
• Hands‑on experience with Microsoft Azure services and Dynamics 365 customisation
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to work across technical and non‑technical stakeholders
• A passion for delivering high‑quality digital solutions and developing people

Benefits

• Up to 28 days' annual leave plus bank holidays, with options to buy or sell leave
• Family‑friendly policies, including generous maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption leave, and 3 days paid urgent domestic leave
• Medicash membership with employee assistance programme, discounted gym access, and exclusive discounts
• Health Cash Plan worth up to £1,700 per year for dental, optical, physio, and complementary therapies
• Pension scheme with up to 12% employer

Although the role is home‑based, you need to be able to travel to the Worcester or Birmingham offices for monthly meetings, occasional training, and other in‑person events as required—anticipated to be about twice a month.