Role name
Lead Front-End Developer
Reporting to:
Head of Development
Direct reports:
Circa 2 FTEs
Competency level:
Manager
Overall job purpose:
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Key accountabilities:
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To champion quality and good practice in the front-end
development of our website and digital products
To lead our team of front-end developers
Leading the front-end aspects of our digital product
development work, including:
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Writing efficient, reusable and well-documented code
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Using the latest HTML and CSS techniques to build
cross-platform interfaces, working closely with
designers and developers
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Following a component-driven development practice,
using our shared component libraries, living style guide,
and shared design principles, to work efficiently while
providing a clear and consistent user experience
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Championing our standards of responsiveness, to
ensure that our products work well for users across a
wide variety of browsers, platforms, and devices
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Using JavaScript code and frameworks to enhance
functionality of our products where appropriate
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Championing our standards of accessibility, to ensure
that our products work well for users with a wide variety
of needs and abilities
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Identifying and addressing front-end web performance
issues, finding bottlenecks and using profiling
techniques
Providing oversight and guidance to the work delivered by
in-house development staff and external agencies engaged
by the Service, including:
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Reviewing pull requests and providing constructive
feedback on code design and implementation
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Ensuring that front-end developers working in separate
teams can effectively collaborate, and benefit from each
others’ experiences and techniques
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Guiding development teams in the delivery of products
in small increments
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Contributing to team activities forming part of the Agile
product development process (e.g. planning sessions,
product demos, and retrospectives)
Managing the front-end developers in the development
team, including:
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Coaching and mentoring staff in front-end development
activities
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Fostering an atmosphere of constant personal
development
Contributing to the leadership of the development team as a
whole, including:
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Participating in discussions with internal stakeholders
and team members about technical good practices, and
helping the team identify optimal technical solutions
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Keeping track of, and where appropriate implementing,
the latest industry trends and front-end technologies
Essential requirements:
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Salary:
tbc
Expert knowledge of HTML and CSS
Expert knowledge of JavaScript (particularly jQuery)
Strong knowledge of client-side high performance
techniques, and how to detect pitfalls
Strong knowledge of a CSS compiler such as SASS or LESS
Strong knowledge of web accessibility standards
Experience with MVC frameworks (e.g. React, Angular) is
desirable
Demonstrable experience in delivering responsive web sites
Confident understanding of modern principles of front-end
web development, such as semantic markup, mobile-first
design and progressive enhancement
Extensive experience of working as part of an Agile team
Extensive experience using source control (ideally Git)
Experience of working directly with stakeholders in a highly
professional manner
Good communication skills
Good organisational skills
Good attention to detail and accuracy
Ability to work quickly and to tight deadlines