JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSON SPECIFICATION
POST:
Senior Web Developer
DIVISION/DEPT/UNIT:
IT Services
RESPONSIBLE TO:
Head of Digital Services
GRADE:
PSP6
THE LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is a world-leading centre for research and
postgraduate education in public and global health, with 4,000 students and more than 1,600 staff
working in over 100 countries. The School is one of the highest-rated research institutions in the UK,
and was recently cited as one of the world’s top universities for collaborative research.
Our mission is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership
to achieve excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge
into policy and practice. Founded by Sir Patrick Manson in 1899, the School is now part of the
University of London and has expanded in recent years at its two main sites on Keppel Street and
Tavistock Place. Our research funding has grown to over £60 million per annum from national and
international sources including the UK government, the European Commission, the Wellcome Trust
and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The School’s multidisciplinary expertise includes clinicians, epidemiologists, statisticians, social
scientists, molecular biologists and immunologists. We work with our partners worldwide to support
the development of teaching and research capacity, and our alumni work in more than 180 countries.
Further information is available at http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/introducing/index.html
Web Developer: page 1
JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Purpose
The Senior Web Developer is responsible for the technical functionality of the School’s core digital
communications channels and websites.
The role holder supports, maintains and develops the School’s content management systems and
other web-based systems as required (profiles and research databases, analytics and social media
tools). S/he is a member of the Digital Services Team, leading and implementing web
development projects and providing day-to-day support for the technical functionality of the
School’s websites.
The role holder deputises for the Web Team Manager , playing an important part in
contributing to the use of new and emerging technologies that benefit the School.
Responsibilities
1. Support, maintain and develop the School’s content management systems and digital services
(including mobile computing and social media; contribute to the structure and content
architecture of the School’s websites and core systems; and, with other members of
Information Technology Services (ITS), ensure service availability within SLAs. This will entail:
 coherent organisation of information in an audience-relevant manner which is accessible
and both technically and legally compliant
 24x7x365 coverage and performance monitoring of critical systems
 regular maintenance, upgrades, and security for the School’s digital services systems
2. Keep line managers and commissioning parties informed, respond rapidly to any serviceavailability problems and deal expediently with service threats/breaches
3. Advise and support web contributors to help embed current branded templates/style
sheets/publishing standards, as approved by the External Relations Department
4. Assist with the technical development and maintenance of the School’s websites, digital
content services and other digital services resources, acting as deputy for the Head of Digital
Services as required
5. Manage web servers (in consultation with the Systems team) and facilitate website upgrades
and content updates to the School’s centres and research groups websites.
6. Establish detailed development project requirements and technical specifications and translate
these into effective proposals, specifying creative and efficient solutions
7. As directed by the Web Team Manager, lead approved projects, ensuring clients/stakeholders
are kept informed at all stages, milestones are implemented to specification and projects
completed within agreed deadlines and budgets
8. Provide technical information and advice in support of the School’s digital strategy to ensure
appropriate choice and delivery of web technologies, including database-driven content or
other relevant digital solutions
Web Developer: page 2
9. Provide technical guidance on SEO activities to enable web analytics and statistical reporting,
and maintain system security
10. Advise on digital skills training requirements, where appropriate contributing to development
and delivery, in cooperation with the Talent and Educational Development team
11. Work with third party IT suppliers to develop new/maintain existing web functionality/tools.
12. Ensure all outputs comply with current web and legislative standards, including good
accessibility practice. Encourage contributors to adopt good practice, working with IT and HR
Partners to disseminate information as appropriate
13. Develop, revise and maintain complete and up-to-date documentation for relevant
web/technical platforms and related systems including help pages on the intranet
14. Establish and maintain an administrative system to monitor the progress of active jobs,
charging clients for completed jobs, and financial performance against set targets
15. Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in the field of database/web
services/content management/mobile technologies, acting as technical adviser and bringing
emerging trends and new technologies to the attention of the School where appropriate
16. Advise and assist those working with digital technologies when technical expertise is required
(e.g. research groups requiring data-driven websites, digital messaging services, etc)
17. Undertake any other duties as reasonably delegated by your line manager
18. Manage your own continuous professional development, internal collaborations and external
networks, in order to contribute to service quality, research excellence and innovation
19. Demonstrate the School’s values through your behaviour at work, including your duties and
responsibilities in respect of equality and diversity, health and safety, data protection, and any
other legislative requirement
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Qualifications
The successful candidate should:
1
Hold an undergraduate degree or have equivalent practical
experience
2
Hold a postgraduate degree in a relevant discipline or have
equivalent relevant experience
Essential/
Desirable
Essential
Tested
by*
A, I
Desirable
A, I
Web Developer: page 3
* A = application; I = interview; T = test
Background & Experience
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
The successful candidate should have a background in, or
experience of:
Clear understanding of the principles of good user interface
design and web accessibility.
Successfully developing a variety of online/digital technologies,
databases and data-driven websites
Drupal and SharePoint support and development
Working using Agile methodologies (e.g., usage of tools such as
JIRA for sprint planning and monitoring)
Change management involving technology and systems
Successfully developing/testing websites that include server-side
scripting and database integration
Database design and implementation
Dealing effectively with complex technical enquiries and requests
Gathering project requirements and producing technical
specifications
Linux/Apache web server configuration and administration
Web-based technologies, animation tools, graphics packages
(e.g. Dreamweaver, Photoshop)
Experience with PHP-based MVC frameworks, ideally Zend
Framework and CodeIgniter
Essential/
Desirable
Essential
Tested
by*
A, I
Essential
A, I
Desirable
A, I
Essential
Essential
A, I
A, I
Essential
Essential
Essential
A, I
A, I
A, I
Essential
Essential
A, I, T
A, I
Desirable
A, I, T
Essential/
Desirable
Essential
Tested
by*
A, I
Essential/
Desirable
Essential
Tested
by*
A, I , T
Essential
A, I
Essential
A, I
Essential
A, I
Knowledge
15
The successful candidate should have demonstrable knowledge
of:
Data Protection and Copyright law as it applies to digital media
Skills & Competencies
The successful candidate should demonstrate:
16
17
18
19
Fluency in HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript, ideally using a JS
framework such as React.js
Strong PHP5 skills including OOP and the usage of MVC
frameworks e.g., Zend, CodeIgniter)
MySQL skills extending to schema design, creation of SQL
queries, optimising queries/views
Drupal skills including both front-end administration of drupal
sites and knowledge of usage, customisation and development of
drupal modules and templates
Web Developer: page 4
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
SharePoint administration and development in an Office 365
environment including creation and management of site
collections and sub-sites, user and role management and
customisation of SharePoint pages (e.g., styling, navigation)
An eye for good web design and awareness of good practice
(including accessibility, usability and compliance issues)
Proven skills in the use of web based and mobile technologies
An ability to identify business requirements and successfully
apply these to business application development
A focus on results – consistent delivery of projects on time,
within budget, to specification and agreed quality
An ability to identify business requirements and successfully
deliver them within the framework of IT development practices
Confidence in operating in an environment of change
Well developed communication skills: verbal, written and in
presentations. The ability to sell ideas or benefits and build
persuasive arguments based on data, logic and the objective
merits of solutions
The ability to build and sustain effective professional working
relationships within IT and wider business environment
A strong customer focus – demonstrating a thorough
understanding of customer needs
The ability to look continuously for opportunities for
improvement and to develop strategies for change to influence
and shape the future direction of the business – adapting
thinking and behaviour to suit the requirements of different
situations
Desirable
A, I
Essential
A, I
Essential
Essential
A, I
A, I
Essential
A, I
Essential
A, I
Essential
Essential
A, I
A, I
Essential
A, I
Essential
A, I
Essential
A, I
Web Developer: page 5