Software Development Manager

Arch Insurance; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A progressive insurance firm located in Greater London is looking for a Software Development Manager to lead their agile teams in delivering innovative software solutions. The ideal candidate will possess strong engineering skills and expertise in Agile frameworks. You will be tasked with overseeing development processes, mentoring staff, and ensuring collaboration with various stakeholders to meet customer needs. This role requires excellent leadership, communication skills, and extensive technical knowledge in software languages and tools.

Qualifications

• Proficient in .Net, C#, HTML5, CSS, XML, Windows, IIS and SQL Server.
• Experience with Agile software development frameworks.
• Expertise in theoretical and practical application of software engineering.

Responsibilities

• Manage International Agile team(s) to deliver new software.
• Collaborate with Digital Product Managers and stakeholders.
• Lead on the technical design, development and delivery of new features.

Skills

Software engineering best practices

Policy Administration Systems

.Net

C#

HTML5

CSS

XML

SQL Server

JavaScript/TypeScript

GitHub

Continuous delivery

Automated testing

Interpersonal communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science / Engineering

Tools

GitHub Actions

SonarQube

Jenkins

Job description

With a company culture rooted in collaboration, expertise and innovation, we aim to promote progress and inspire our clients, employees, investors and communities to achieve their greatest potential. Our work is the catalyst that helps others achieve their goals. In short, We Enable Possibility℠.

Software Development Manager

At Arch Insurance International we put technology at the centre of everything we do. This combined with our passion for our customers drives us to produce innovative solutions which aim to delight. This has helped us grow by approximately 30% last year and this trajectory is planned to continue.

Over the past 2 years we have invested significantly to move away from the traditional approaches to IT within financial institutions and to a framework focussed on products. Through this we have embedded agile teams aligned to each function in the company. Each agile team has dedicated team members and is focussed on key customer outcomes. This has done away with the overbearing bureaucracy you often find in financial organisations and instead made us nimble and fast to change.

The General Insurance domain consists of two of these agile teams which are focussed on the complete customer journey for our International General Insurance business: International (Inc. Australia), Digital Trading (e/Integrated trading and CRM).

Job Summary

As Software Development Manager, working closely with the General Insurance International Digital Product Manager you will be responsible for planning development and directing the team during sprint. You will coordinate the creation, design, development, support and continuous improvement of applications in accordance with established programs and company objectives, providing technical guidance where needed, whilst ensuring the use of sound engineering practices and effective use of resources. You will be managing Business Systems Analysts, Software Developers and Quality Assurance Engineers, assisting individual team members to set smart objectives and personal development plans whilst also ensuring that they are then able to execute against them.

You will have excellent communication and proven team leadership skills, employ active listening techniques and be confident in your knowledge and approach to ensure smooth collaboration with our General Insurance customers, all the way up to exec level.

In this role you will

• Manage International Agile team(s) to deliver new software as well as maintain and support past and future solutions utilising Agile software development best practices.
• Oversee Agile ceremonies and work with Developers, QA's and Business Systems Analysts to clarify and refine user stories.
• Collaborate with Digital Product Managers, stakeholders, other IT teams and customers in understanding business needs.
• Ensure that team maintain coding, compliance and security standards.
• Lead on the technical design, development and delivery of new features and in the resolution of critical software related issues.
• Manage team resource scheduling. Monitor and assess progress according to schedule and guidelines.
• Working with the Domain Owner to Coordinate the efforts of third-party and outsourced software development vendors.
• Review and approve specifications, designs and other technical documentation prepared by the team.
• Ensure adherence to standard governance, operational guidelines and production support SLA’s.
• Work with the Domain Owner to assist in the management and mentoring of staff to accomplish results through effective recruitment, selection, training, development, performance management and recognition.

You should apply if You

• Take accountability for delivering what your team and customers need to succeed.
• Have expertise in theoretical and practical application of software engineering best practices, methods and techniques.
• Have experience of Policy Administration Systems within the General Insurance SME Commercial Market; Insurer, Broker and/or MGA.
• Have experience of people management.
• Have experience with Agile software development frameworks and processes
• Have a T- shaped skill set. In depth knowledge and experience in developing software applications within a specific software platform or technology and broad knowledge of related technologies.
• Are proficient in .Net, C#, HTML5, CSS, XML, Windows, IIS and SQL Server.
• Have JavaScript/TypeScript development exposure and/or experience with frameworks like React, Angular, AJAX etc.
• A Strong understanding of server-side software, scalability, performance, and reliability.
• Have extensive knowledge of source code change management e.g. GitHub.
• Have demonstrable experience of continuous delivery, integration and deployment tools like GitHub Actions, Harness, SonarQube, Jfrog Artifactory and Jenkins.
• Have an understanding of automated testing using tools like Mabl and X-Ray
• Have excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Ability to discuss, articulate and simplify technology to non-technical people.

Nice to haves

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science / Engineering, or equivalent work Experience.

Do you like solving complex business problems, working with talented colleagues and have an innovative mindset? Arch may be a great fit for you. If this job isn’t the right fit but you’re interested in working for Arch, create a job alert! Simply create an account and opt in to receive emails when we have job openings that meet your criteria. Join our talent community to share your preferences directly with Arch’s Talent Acquisition team.