Assistant Director of Product Design & Software Development

This job has now expired please search on the home page to find live IT Jobs.

This is a newly-created transformative role which requires a senior and strategic software development leader to lead the future of software product provision at the University of Sheffield.

Ranked 13th in the UK and 75th in the world by the QS World University Rankings, Sheffield is a leading, global university renowned for the excellence, impact and distinctiveness of our research-led learning and teaching. One of the elite Russell Group of universities, the University of Sheffield has just under 29,000 students, drawn from 149 countries and studying a broad range of subjects across our five faculties. Sheffield is the only university in The Sunday Times 100 Best Not-For-Profit Organisations to Work For.

The University is seeking to adopt a data-driven and artificial-intelligence enhanced approach to digital learning. As such, the development of a sophisticated suite of productised applications will be key to enabling this change. Consequently, the University requires a senior software development executive to create this brand-new product landscape.

The Role: 

Build relationships across the organisation to gain upstream visibility of the University's software product needs. Understand the institution's aims and craft the aligned portfolio of deliverable application development activity to facilitate them.

Create the transformational product-led application and service strategy which will put user experience, service design, and accessibility at the heart of product development and move the University towards a modern, agile, product-based landscape.

Build new aligned, professional, and disciplined product and software development functions, which are adept in the use of iterative development methods. Manage the internal and external "resource mix", ensuring the best use of resources and forming productive commercial partnerships with relevant, external technology vendors.

The Candidate 

An impactful product and applications executive with a deep pedigree of transformational software development experience, preferably gained in the modernisation of legacy environments. You will have demonstrated the ability to capture a high-level view of applications requirements over both the short, and long term, and of shaping a complex delivery portfolio to meet them.

An evangelising and inspirational people leader with a track record of re-shaping development functions and creating buy-in for new ways of working. You should demonstrate experience introducing Agile methods, and the product mind-set, in immature legacy environments.

A senior and rounded organisational leader with the impact and gravitas to operate at the strategic level. You should have the influencing skills to engage across a diverse and challenging stakeholder landscape, both internally and externally.

The University of Sheffield has engaged the services of Berwick Partners (an Odgers Berndtson company), to whom applications should be sent.

To hear more about this critical role or to apply, please click the apply button.