Lead Software Developer: Sponsorship Available

NHS Dorset

Job summary

Turning data, analytics & data science into high-quality digital products that make a difference. Design & build intuitive, secure & scalable data products transforming complex data & analytical capabilities into tools that people
can easily access & use in their day to day work. Bring together software engineering, data & user-centred design, work closely with data scientists, analysts,
BI specialists & operational teams to create the applications & digital
experiences to bring data & insight to life. Includes interactive
data products, decision-support tools, workflow applications & other digital
services. Will lead engineering of products from discovery &
prototyping to production, creating modern applications, APIs, services
& integrations that connect users with data & analytical
capabilities. Will champion modern software
engineering & product development practices, helping establish reusable
approaches, development standards & platforms that enable new data products
to move from concept to production efficiently & safely. Explore & evaluate the responsible use of AI-assisted coding & development
tools to improve, code quality & pace of delivery,
as well as opportunities to integrate appropriate AI capabilities into digital
& data products where they provide clear value to users. Ensure
solutions are robust, maintainable & secure by design, meeting governance, cyber security & accessibility standards.

Main duties of the job

Lead design & development of user-centred products, turning data, analytics & data science into intuitive digital tools. Develop applications, building robust backend services, APIs & accessible front end experiences making complex data &
analytical easier. Work with data scientists, analysts, engineers & op teams to take ideas & analytical capabilities from concept to
production, create user-facing products bring data & insight into
everyday. Champion prototyping & iterative development, get ideas in front of
users early, test assumptions & learn quickly before committing
significant time & resources to full scale develop.
Establish & maintain effective CI/CD, automated testing & deployment
practices, enabling products to be developed, released & improved frequently,
safely & consistently. Design & maintain APIs, application services & integrations that connect
data platforms, analytical capabilities & user-facing products. Lead products through the full software development lifecycle, including
discovery, technical design, development, testing, deployment, monitoring,
maintenance & continuous improvement. Explore& appropriately adopt AI-assisted development tools & other
emerging technologies where they can improve developer productivity, quality or
speed of delivery, while maintaining appropriate technical oversight &
governance.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to degree level in relevant subject or equivalent level qualification or significant experience of working at a similar level in specialist area.
  • Post-graduate degree in Management Studies or equivalent.
  • Evidence of continued professional development.
  • Demonstrated experience of co-ordinating projects in complex and challenging environments.
  • Understanding of the public sector.
  • Demonstrated experience in a Healthcare environment.
  • Comprehensive knowledge of project principles, techniques and tools, such as Prince 2 Foundation and Microsoft Project.

Experience

Essential

  • Significant experience of successfully operating in a politically sensitive environment.
  • Experience of creating and giving presentations to a varied group of internal and external stakeholders.
  • Experience of setting up and implementing internal processes and procedures.
  • Experience of managing a team without direct line management.
  • Experience of managing risks and reporting.
  • Experience of drafting briefing papers and correspondence at SMT level.
  • Experience of monitoring budgets and business planning processes.

Skills, abilities and Knowledge

Essential

  • Ability to prepare and produce concise yet insightful communications for dissemination to senior stakeholders and a broad range of stakeholders as required.
  • Ability to analyse very complex issues where material is conflicting and drawn from multiple sources.
  • Demonstrated capability to act upon incomplete information, using experience to make inferences and decision making.
  • Numerate and able to understand complex financial issues combined with deep analytical skills.
  • Knowledge of Financial Systems e.g. monitoring budget management, processing invoices and procurement.
  • Demonstrated capability to plan over short, medium and long-term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly.
  • Demonstrated capabilities to manage own workload and make informed decisions in the absence of required information, working to tight and often changing timescales.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Closing Date: 13 September 2026

To apply for this job please visit www.jobs.nhs.uk.