Job overview

As Head of Development, your primary responsibility is to ensure OnBuy achieves its growth objectives by delivering high-quality, maintainable, and scalable solutions. You will lead the development function with a strong focus on people, processes, and execution, while enabling the Head of Technology to focus on strategic initiatives.

This is a fast-paced, high-accountability role where a can-do attitude and problem-solving mindset are essential. We’re here to win - and we need someone who thrives on overcoming challenges and driving excellence.

Responsibilities

People Leadership

• Team Management: Lead, mentor, and grow a team of Team Leads and developers, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement aligned with OnBuy’s mission.
• Talent Development: Identify skills gaps, provide coaching, and create development plans to support individual career growth and elevate team performance.
• Recruitment and Retention: Attract, hire, and retain top technical talent, ensuring a high-performing and engaged team.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Product, UX, DevOps, and business teams to align development efforts with strategic objectives, facilitating effective communication and shared understanding.
• Performance Management: Set high benchmarks for performance, hold teams accountable, and ensure consistent delivery against expectations.

Process Ownership and Delivery Discipline

• Agile Excellence: Champion agile best practices across all development teams, ensuring sprint discipline, end-to-end delivery, and continuous improvement.
• Process Optimisation: Establish and refine development processes to improve efficiency, transparency, and quality of deliverables.
• Resource Management: Allocate and manage resources effectively to meet project timelines and adapt to evolving business needs.
• Cost Optimisation: Identify opportunities to reduce operational costs through AI, automation, improved processes, and strategic third-party integrations.
• Continuous Improvement: Drive a culture of learning and iteration, incorporating industry best practices and feedback loops.
• Risk Management: Proactively identify and mitigate risks, including technical debt, scalability, and performance concerns.

Execution and Delivery

• Roadmap Execution: Translate strategic goals into executable development plans, ensuring timely delivery of roadmap items.
• Quality Assurance: Maintain high standards in coding, testing, and deployment practices to deliver a stable, reliable platform.
• Performance Metrics: Define and track delivery metrics, using data to drive accountability and course-correct where needed.
• Scalability and Security: Ensure the platform is robust, secure, and scalable, supporting OnBuy’s growth and stability.
• Problem Solving: Lead by example in overcoming delivery challenges, removing blockers, and driving solutions forward.

Essential

• 10+ years in software development, with at least 5 years in a leadership role managing engineering teams.
• Strong background in building and scaling online marketplaces or similar platforms.
• Proven experience with agile methodologies and enforcing delivery discipline.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams through periods of change and growth.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across departments.
• Strong technical foundation, with knowledge of modern tech stacks and experience with scalable, high-availability systems.
• Experience in performance management and driving high standards across teams.

Preferred

• Experience with cloud-based infrastructure, microservices, and DevOps practices.
• Background in e-commerce or marketplace environments.
• A passion for innovation and the ability to inspire technical teams to achieve ambitious goals.

The salary on offer for this role is £80,000 to £90,000 per annum, depending on experience.

In return for helping us to grow, we’ll offer you company equity, meaning you own a piece of this business we are all working so hard to build.