Lead Developer

Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: PO6 £52,584 to £55,620

Contract Type: Permanent, Full time

Working hours per week: 36 Hours

Application Deadline: 14/07/2025

Proposed Interview Date(s): To be confirmed

About Us:

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.

>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<

About the role:

London Borough of Waltham Forest is looking for a Lead Developer who has passion for improving digital systems and processes. Over the last two years, our Housing Service digital transformation programme has brought in a number of exciting new developments that are enhancing the way our teams work and how residents access our services.

As our Lead Developer, you will be a manager in a small team with a significant impact in shaping the future of digital housing services. As part of the Housing Systems Team, you’ll work across a range of departments and services, collaborating with colleagues and partners to design and deliver efficient solutions. Your work will directly influence how we serve our residents, improving both internal processes and customer experience. This is a unique opportunity to see the results of your work making a difference in the real world, as you take ownership of complex projects that deliver meaningful, lasting impact.

This role requires advanced knowledge of housing management systems such as NEC Housing, NEC Document Management system, MRI Jigsaw along with strong skills in SQL. You’ll be responsible for translating complex business processes into technical deliverables, managing multiple projects and guiding teams to deliver high quality services that support housing operations and tenant experience improvements.

You’ll work within a policy and regulatory framework, applying best practices in system development while exercising professional judgement on sensitive data and stakeholder needs (internal and external). The role involves planning and coordinating your own work and that of others, offering specialist advice and developing solutions to monitor and improve performance across high profile statutory services. You’ll be expected to manage competing prioritise, provide accurate project estimates and ensure quality assurance through testing and validation of system development.

This position requires excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts in non-technical language and influence a wide range of stakeholders. You’ll be accountable for the secure use of sensitive data, resources and expected to use creativity and initiative to solve complex issues in a dynamic and sometimes unpredictable environment. Your ability to work independently, think strategically, and deliver results under pressure will be key to your success in this role.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead on design, development and implementation of changes to the housing management and related systems.
• Develop new processes, procedures and modules in the housing management systems ensuring they are well documented.
• Lead on critical annual tasks such as Rents Year End, Service Charges Estimates and Actuals, as well as annual system upgrades.
• Have a working knowledge of different housing services that are provided by a local authority.

Qualifications and Requirements:

• Hold a degree or equivalent or vocational qualification in relevant subject or area.
• Have expert knowledge and experience of housing management systems including but not limited to NEC Housing, NEC document management and MRI Jigsaw.
• Experience of using database structure query language (SQL).
• An excellent understanding of API development, documentation and best practices.

Terms and conditions:

The below terms and conditions apply to this role:

Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;

Satisfactory declaration of interest;

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.

Contact Information:

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Moynul Hoque at Moynul.Hoque@walthamforest.gov.uk

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk.

Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.