Lead Developer

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Civil Service pension 28.97%

25 days annual leave

Flexible working options

Job summary

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency seeks a leader to head the Digital Delivery Software Development and Quality Assurance capability. You will provide technical direction, mentor a team of developers and QA engineers, and shape the strategy for development and testing across DVSA digital services.

You will recruit, develop, and performance manage team members, drive policy decisions on tooling, and champion continual software improvement while balancing delivery goals and public service

Responsibilities

• Act as Technical Lead for high-value initiatives driving development and test standards and continuous improvement through Scrum.
• Use industry best practice to make policy decisions on technical tool selection based on requirements.
• Create a culture that proactively manages technical debt and drives continual software improvement.
• Lead technical teams in problem solving and optioneering, making recommendations based on analysis and knowledge.
• Work with Delivery Leads and Lead Developer management to ensure skilled technical expertise across Digital Services.

Job description

The successful candidate will lead the Digital Delivery Software Development and Quality Assurance technical capability for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). They will provide technical leadership, direction, and inspiration to their team of software developers and software quality assurance engineers and will be focused on delivering value to the respective digital services. They will assist the principal developer with team organisation, motivation, and assessment. This will include recruitment, development, and performance management of team members. Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King's birthday
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

As part of the technical steering team the role holder will also manage the definition and implementation of departmental technical development and test strategy to drive Digital plans across all DVSA customer facing services.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Act as Technical Lead for high-value initiatives driving development and test standards and continuous improvement through Scrum.
• Use industry best practice and knowledge to make agency policy decisions relating to technical tool selection based on analysis of requirements.
• Create a culture that proactively manages the risks of technical debt by ensuring continual software improvement.
• Lead technical teams in relation to problem solving and technical optioneering, driving and supporting teams to make technical recommendations based on sound analysis and knowledge.
• Work closely with Delivery Leads and Lead Developer management to ensure appropriately skilled technical expertise is in place across Digital Services, owning a resource requirement pipeline against skillset is managed.

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.