Head of Web Development

British Library; London; On-site; NOK 657,000 - 862,000; Full time

Job summary

A national library in the UK is seeking a Head of Web Development to lead the evolution of its online platform. You will innovate and enhance user experiences with modern tools and frameworks. The ideal candidate is passionate about web development and has experience in collaborative environments. This role offers a competitive salary, flexible working hours, and strong benefits including a generous pension scheme.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Fantastic pension scheme

Flexible working hours

25 days holiday

Digital allowance

Qualifications

• Experience with modern frameworks and tooling for web development.
• Strong understanding of Jamstack architecture principles.
• Ability to innovate and adapt to changing technological environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of a modern web experience for The British Library.
• Innovate and adapt to changes in user needs and technologies.
• Collaborate with various stakeholders to enhance the user journey.

Skills

Passion for user experience

Experience with headless CMS systems

Ability to collaborate with stakeholders

Job description

Head of Web Development

Location: Boston Spa (BSP) / St Pancras (StP)

Category: IT Digital

Contract type: Fixed Term for 18 months

Hours: Full time (36 hours)

Grade: SB4

Salary: £48,668 - £63,752 (BSP) / £52,724 - £67,809 (StP) per annum

About the role

Want to be the Head of Web Development for The British Library and continue our journey towards delivering one of the world’s best online experiences, putting our users at the heart of everything we do? We've laid the foundation for a totally new web experience and rebuilt from the ground up, embracing modern Jamstack architecture principles that are cloud first for enhanced security, performance, and resilience. We need a leader to help innovate and adapt to a changing world, evolving our story, together, as we move forward.

The successful candidate will be passionate about working on state‑of‑the‑art headless CMS systems built using established modern frameworks and tooling, accessing and sharing one of the most varied and interesting collections of any organisation on the planet. If you love nothing more than a well thought‑through, performant user journey, and are keen to collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders and partners to achieve more than we could by ourselves, then please reach out and apply.

About us

We are the national library of the UK and we are here for everyone. Our shelves hold over 170 million items – a living collection that gets bigger every day. Although our roots extend back centuries, we aim to collect everything published in the UK today, tomorrow and far into the future. Our trusted experts care for this collection and open it up for everyone to spark new discoveries, ideas and to help people do incredible things.

What we can offer you

• A competitive salary.
• A fantastic pension scheme with minimum employer contributions of 28.97% (this may be higher dependent on grade).
• Flexible working hours, with the ability to take up to 5 days flexi leave in a 3‑month period.
• 25 days holiday.
• Full details of employee benefits can be found on our Careers: Benefits
• This role qualifies for a digital allowance.

Closing date: 11 January 2026

We are able to provide sponsorship under the UK Skilled Worker visa for this role.

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian, Mixed Race and other ethnically diverse candidates and disabled candidates. We would like to increase the representation of these groups within The British Library to ensure our workforce is as diverse as the public that we serve. Creating an inclusive workplace is the core of our business and a way to engage the diversity of thought that is essential to achieve our aims.