Senior Service Manager – Principal Developer

About the job

Salary: £60,379 - £63,721 a year pro rata plus £3,203 car benefit allowance plus £7,711 Market Rate Supplement
Hours per week: 37
Contract type: Fixed Term (2 years)

This is a pivotal leadership role within our Digital, Data and Technology service, central to advancing Luton Council’s Digital 2040 agenda. As Senior Service Manager – Lead Developer, you will be responsible for setting and upholding development standards that ensure our digital services are high quality, secure, efficient and aligned with organisational goals. You will lead the design and delivery of innovative digital solutions, from creating forms and workflows within our CRM system to integrating front-end customer experiences with automated back-office processes.

The role will see you managing a portfolio of complex development projects, ensuring they deliver outstanding outcomes for residents and services alike. You will be accountable for resource allocation, solution design and delivery, while also ensuring governance, compliance and service standards are consistently applied. You will contribute strategically to service plans, influence cross-organisational decision-making, and support the Head of Digital Development in driving transformation.

Equally important is your role in leading people and culture. You will line manage a team of developers, creating an engaged, motivated and skilled workforce that delivers high-quality solutions on time and to specification. You will foster collaboration both within the council and across external networks, ensuring that knowledge, skills and best practice are shared and reused. The role also carries responsibility for deputising for the Head of Digital Development when required, providing visible leadership in shaping Luton’s digital transformation journey.

Please note this role does not attract sponsorship.

About you

We are looking for a highly skilled and experienced professional with at least five years of experience in digital development delivery on low code platforms in local government and a proven track record of leading and motivating development teams. You will have deep expertise in developing digital services including CRM platforms, creating dashboards, mobile and form-based applications, and integrating these with other systems through well-designed APIs. Your technical knowledge will span technologies such as NETCall Halo, JavaScript, HTML, CSS and automation tools, underpinned by strong experience in testing and validation.

You will be a confident communicator, able to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences and build productive relationships across all levels of the organisation. Your ability to think strategically while managing detail will allow you to balance innovation with governance, ensuring that solutions are robust, scalable and deliver value. A continual focus on customer experience and commercial awareness will underpin your approach to decision-making and service design.

As a leader, you will bring the ability to inspire and develop others, embedding a culture of collaboration, creativity and accountability. You will be proactive, results-oriented and comfortable working under pressure, with the resilience to manage competing demands and deliver at pace. A degree or vocational qualification in a relevant subject, alongside professional practitioner-level qualifications, will be expected. Above all, you will share our ambition to harness technology to create equity, improve services and deliver positive outcomes for our community as part of the Luton 2040 transformation.

About us

Our ambitious Luton 2040 Vision – that no-one in Luton will have to live in poverty – is at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that our people are remarkable, talented, committed and passionate about serving our residents.

The people of Luton depend heavily on this council – and that means our workforce! Are you ready to realise the remarkable and help us deliver our vision?

We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to developing a workforce that reflects the diversity of our borough

Application Process

On occasions, we may close a vacancy early due to a very high number of applications being received.

Benefits

We offer a range of excellent staff benefits which include:

- From 25 to 32 days’ annual leave: linked to length of service and grade
- Buying annual leave scheme: buy up to 20 days additional annual leave
- Career Pathways: step up in your career or move into a specialist area
- Pension scheme: with generous employer contributions of up to 20.2 per cent (at July 2023) and 3x salary death in service grant
- Generous relocation package: up to £8,000 (subject to eligibility)
- Employee Assistance Programme: a free, 24/7 confidential counselling and wellbeing support service available to all employees, their partner or spouse and dependent children over 16 still living at home
- Work/life balance: flexible working options including working from home where possible. We welcome requests for flexible working arrangements including part-time hours and alternative working patterns
- Training and support: unlimited access to development courses, mentoring and support and clear career pathways
- Staff offers: includes discounts on your MOT, gym and fitness, restaurants and salons
- Arriva Travel Club: great value savings on local bus travel

How to apply

We understand that job applications take time and effort, but a high-quality application shows that you are professional with a good attention to detail. The recruiting manager may receive a number of applications for each job advertised so you want yours to stand out!

Our ‘How to apply' page has more tips to help with your application: How to apply

Available documents

Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.

• download: Luton_Values_Flyer (1).pdf
• download: PREF105660 M6 202408 Senior Service Manager – Principal Developer.pdf