Head of Development

Head of Development

Location: Hybrid working - home and at our office near London Bridge

Working pattern: Full Time, 37.5 hours per week

Contract Type: Permanent

Number of roles: 1

Grade: IT6

Salary: Circa £85,000 - £89,000 per annum

We are looking for a Head of Development to join our team.

This is a leadership role within IT with managerial and commercial responsibilities, requiring experience and knowledge in modern software development technologies and practices to ensure that we can develop and release software change rapidly and to a high standard.

You will ensure that we have the development capability and capacity aligned with our technologies, demand and strategy. Currently, this is delivered using predominantly outsourced suppliers. Thus, you will be responsible for managing the commercial relationships and their performance, ensuring they work seamlessly with our internal teams. You will also be responsible for establishing and maintaining effective testing frameworks and practices, ensuring strong collaboration between IT and business teams to align testing objectives and deliver high-quality software.

You will assist the CTO in defining, driving, and delivering technology strategies while also serving as a source of innovation, ensuring that Kaplan maintains and strengthens its leadership position in our chosen markets.

What you’ll bring to the role

Skills & Experience

Agile software development frameworks such as Scrum and Kanban

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Secure software development lifecycle (SSDLC) and DevOps delivery model

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Developing and maintaining high-performing, highly available applications based on a variety of architectures (e.g. microservice, distributed, monolithic)

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Cloud technologies, platforms and services (AWS and Azure)

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AI technologies for enhancing productivity and application capabilities (Copilot)

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Establishing and refining test strategies and methods across the development lifecycle

Development tooling:

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Development work management (Azure DevOps Boards)

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Source control management (Azure DevOps, TFS, Git)

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Deployment (Azure DevOps Pipelines, Octopus Deploy)

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Code quality and vulnerability management (SonarQube, Snyk, Qualys)

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Containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes)

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Infrastructure as code (Terraform)

Development languages, frameworks and platforms:

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Web content management systems (Sitefinity, WordPress)

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C# / .NET Framework / .NET Core

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JavaScript & JavaScript frameworks

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Structured Query Language (SQL)

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PowerShell

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Web protocols and internet-based technologies – HTTP, XML, JSON, REST, JavaScript, LTI, TLS, API management

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Testing tools such as Selenium and JMeter

Experience developing or working on the following applications:

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Ecommerce and portal websites

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Enterprise resource planning (Dynamics NAV, Business Central)

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Learning management systems (Brightspace, Moodle)

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Enterprise data and reporting systems (SQL Server, Power BI, Databricks)

What we do

Kaplan Professional is a leading provider of apprenticeships, accountancy / tax / finance & banking courses, and professional assessments. For almost 80 years, we've helped shape the development and careers of finance professionals.

We are part of the Kaplan group, one of the world’s largest and most diverse education and assessment providers. We operate in over 30 countries and maintain relationships and partnerships with more than 1,000 school districts, colleges and universities, professional bodies and over 10,000 businesses. Our vast breadth and scope in terms of both capabilities and assets sets us apart.

What we believe in

Our goal is for Kaplan to be a great place to work where everybody can succeed, so we truly live and breathe our values: act with integrity, grow knowledge, empower & support, create opportunity, drive results together.

Kaplan is a global organisation whose mission is rooted in providing equal access to education and opportunities for advancement to people of all backgrounds. We believe diversity, equity and inclusion - of culture, experiences, perspectives - are paramount to creating success and opportunity in an ever-changing world. As an educator, partner and employer, Kaplan is committed to promoting an equitable world in which diverse talent can develop, advance and thrive.

To view our candidate privacy notice click here.

Our Values

We live, breathe and celebrate our values - they drive what we believe in, how we behave and guide us in creating a culture of success.

• Act with integrity

• Empower and support

• Create opportunity

• Grow knowledge

• Drive results together

What we offer

As well as a competitive salary, transparent pay structures, hybrid/home working where possible, and paths for career progression, we offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• 28 days annual leave + option to purchase more

• Season ticket loan and cycle to work scheme

• Big discounts on Kaplan courses for you and your family

• Private medical, income protection, and life insurance

• 24/7 confidential helpline providing counselling and other support services

• Company pension contributions

• Maternity, Adoption, Shared Parental and Paternity/Partner pay which is well above statutory levels