The West Midlands is undergoing several major transport infrastructure projects. These will improve our network of bus, trains, trams, sustainable travel and roads. Millions of people will visit the region for events like the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 and Coventry City of Culture 2021.

We are on a journey to rebuild wmnetwork.co.uk, starting with user needs. This project will help people visiting to get around the region. It will also improve the lives of citizens, getting them from A to B while we improve infrastructure. The website houses a growing number of services - think about buying a ticket, checking for disruptions, or planning a journey and so you can expect to work on a variety of services, each with unique user needs.  

As Senior Back-End Developer, you will work with the core backend team and manage a back-end developer – helping to grow their skills and excel in user centric development. You will help to set the direction, embedding good practice and fostering a collaborative, healthy, happy, and creative environment.

You will advocate for users and ensure the digital product meets accessibility regulations. You will also be the technical point of contact for stakeholders – asking the difficult questions to make things better. You will develop systems and services to support the front-end development, this will involve consuming various data sources and converting them to APIs. 

You will help set strategic direction and embed good practice within teams, making key decisions based on user research and how this then impacts other functions of the organisation. 

What will you be doing?

• Write well designed, testable, efficient code by using best software development practices
• Supporting direct reports with day-to-day tasks and priorities, providing advice and direction while monitoring progress to ensure timely and high-quality delivery
• Design backend systems characterised by medium levels of risk, impact, and business or technical complexity
• Representing the Design Manager at meetings/events and deputising for them on specific matters
• Engaging with stakeholders and departments within the organisation to ensuring end-to-end, front-to-back discovery
• Contributing to programme and sprint planning
• Hold regular performance meetings with direct reports
• Ensuring the product complies with public sector organisation accessibility regulations (WCAG 2.1 AA)
• Promoting and embedding user centred design & development within the organisation

We are on a mission to make public transport so easy to use; people prefer to use it. You will join a fast-paced product delivery team creating digital products used by 2.2 million people. You will help to create industry-leading, accessible, digital transport services for the West Midlands.

About you

We are interested in people who have created digital services using C#, MSSQL and unit testing and who have experience with Web development, ASP.Net, MVC. Knowledge of AWS or Azure and experience using Visual Studio, are needed. You will have worked with the frontend developers to specify and create APIs for frontend technologies to consume and have experience working to Agile principles (sprints, backlogs and roles). We're looking for someone who has worked in agile teams alongside designers, researchers and developers and who has experience working with stakeholders and users for prioritisation.

You will have experience making evidence-based decisions, which allow for innovation, knowledge of organisational design culture and processes and a relevant degree or professional qualification in software development. 

About the team

You will join a cross-functional project team, which sits within the WMCA Design Team. We aim to create the best user experience and lead in digital transport. We work to Government Design Principles and the Service Standard. We highly value user research and evidence-based design. We advocate for users with accessibility needs. This is for everyone. We share our knowledge with government through blogs. We open-source our code.  

We work to Agile principles in fortnightly sprints. We do delivery, not meetings. We hold kick-offs, stand-ups, show and tells, as well as retrospectives. We’re open-minded. If something can be done better, propose it, and we will try it. We have a can-do attitude. We are flexible, social and care about each other.

About us

Our role in the West Midlands has never been more important and in these extraordinary times we’ve shown we can step forward, speak up for our region and bring people together. Everything we do is focused on making life better for people in the West Midlands – that’s our reason for being here and it drives every move we make. We lead and support others to deliver our shared future vision for the region – a happier, healthier, better connected place to live and work. 

We fully believe that we are only as great as the people who work for us and are committed to providing a positive, healthy and inclusive working environment where our people feel valued and respected. We are a “Leaders in Diversity” accredited organisation, are in the Inclusive Top 50 Employers List and are one of The Times Top 50 Employers for Women.

Our employees feel they can make a difference and are excited by the growth and the potential to shape the future. As we undergo a period of significant change, our employees are engaging with what is going on and we are encouraging a culture where people feel they can contribute towards improvements.

We’re ambitious, forward thinking and determined to find better ways of working, always leading the way in what we do. We trust and support each other to get the job done, and encourage creativity, originality and curiosity from those who work with us. We’re committed to creating an accessible and diverse workplace, one that nurtures an inclusive environment where our people can be themselves.

If your values align with ours and you’re committed to working towards creating a future we can all be proud of, we want to hear from you.

Additional information

We are designing our organisation of the future and planning a new, flexible approach to the way we use our office space. This approach will mean most of us working from home some of the time and using our office space to come together to share ideas and learn from each other. We will continue to use digital technology for meetings, collaboration and communications - bringing teams together virtually wherever they’re working, saving time and spending on travel.

We are committed to developing an organisation that is representative of the diverse communities that we serve and welcome applications from all sections of the community. The following groups are currently underrepresented: young people, Black, Asian and ethnic minority groups and women at senior levels.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and offer a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants who meet the essential job role criteria. We will make reasonable adjustments, in line with the Equality Act, for disabled applicants if these are needed. Wherever possible we will offer flexible working options which assist work-life balance.

We’re dedicated to providing a broad range of rewards and benefits and constantly benchmark our benefits packages to ensure they are attractive for all our people. As well as a competitive salary, employees also receive 27 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) and access to a great pension scheme.

Supporting documents
Benefits Calculator
Role Profile