Senior Developer (Python / PHP)

Description

Full-time role
Based in Farringdon, London
up to £50,000 per annum based on experience
25 days annual leave
Matched pension contribution up to 2%

We Are What We Do, the not-for-profit behaviour change company, is looking for an experienced, energetic Senior Developer for our new iterative development stream.

Digital development is at the heart of our work to change behaviours in positive ways and affect major social and environmental issues. This is reflected in an existing portfolio of digital behaviour change projects, such as Historypin and Internet Buttons, and our continuing commitment to generating a stream of successful, powerful products and tools.

The role

• We have an established development team and a tried and tested V-model development process, but as demand for our digital services has risen, we are looking to expand here in London. This second stream will operate an even-more-agile process, experimenting, gathering feedback and improving apps on a daily cycle. As the first hire and by collaborating with our digital product manager, senior designer, existing development and management teams, the successful applicant will:
• Sketch functional specifications and backlogs in stakeholder meetings, ask questions to deeply understand not only the project but its intent
• Create rapidly-developed front-end and back-end prototypes using an array of open-source libraries and components, building clear, semantic HTML, CSS and Javascript
• Create robust betas that fit within our existing Django-based CMS by working closely with our established dev team
• Innovate at the confluence of great design and great tech by collaborating with the creative team so that each person’s output helps advance the other’s
• Seek clarity about what success looks like and routinely verify assumptions; identify, agree, embed, report against and refine key metrics
• Write high-quality code using test-driven development
• Report progress implicitly using agile project management tools and explicitly in daily stand-ups
• For all but the smallest projects, participate in sprint planning sessions, maintain documentation and reconcile short-term sprint aspirations with long-term delivery commitments

About you
The successful applicant will be able to demonstrate:

• Expert-level knowledge of both Python (Django) and PHP
• Expert-level knowledge of design patterns, abstraction, MVC code separation
• Expert-level knowledge of open source tools, frameworks and libraries, ideally as both a contributor and integrator
• Strong working knowledge of Javascript, including jQuery and AJAX
• Familiarity with a number of project management methodologies, including but not limited to Waterfall, Agile / DSDM Atern, and V-model project management
• Familiarity with the kind of technologies used to produce modern websites, for example CMS, Databases, MVC programming, Multiple browser support, Javascript, Linked Data and Semantic Web
• Familiarity with version control (git) including feature branching (dev – merge stage – merge live), merge conflict resolution
• Experience of team-working and delivering projects that have created, maintained and extended complex websites that were:
• scalable
• fault-tolerant
• multi-lingual
• multi-platform (web, mobile, API)
• multi-sites
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills in reporting and documentation
• Ability to communicate with, motivate and bring the best out of fellow developers
• Ability to engage, understand, propose solutions and solicit feedback from community members in workshops, round-table discussions and one-to-one
• Penchant for tea and cake preferable. An ability to contribute to Spotify playlists themed around random subjects mandatory.

About us
With 8 years experience, We Are What We Do, a not-for-profit company, virtually invented the sector of creative behaviour change. By applying its “Incidental Approach” – which builds positive behaviours into products and experiences that are desirable and useful in their own right – to major social and environmental problems, we are challenging the way government departments, corporates, NGOs, charities, creative agencies and individuals approach contemporary issues. Using new research and developments in psychology and cognitive behaviour science, we are helping reframe the debate around social change, showing how subconscious forces can be harnessed to affect our behaviours for good.

Our existing projects and future plans are made up of big social ambitions – we aim to harness the potential of new technology to make a difference to a massive mainstream audience, intelligently, creatively and practically. We want someone who shares our ambitions.

We Are What We Do’s digital prowess has also been shown both by our rapid international growth and our racking up of accolades. In the last year alone, our innovative community engagement and user interface design has earned us awards around the world, including a Webby, a Lovie, and a Tech4Good Innovation Award.

The job is also a chance to join a small team of intelligent, creative individuals who are all specialists in their own areas, each bringing different perspectives to any brainstorm, but who are united in a passion to produce excellent work of the highest creative and technical calibre, with considerable measurable impact on the social or environmental issues we are addressing. Understanding and communicating with people is at the heart of everything we do so the ability to work as a team, to lead and to motivate people is an important requirement in this role.

Submission requirements
Your application must contain:

• A current CV, illustrating your experience
• Sample Python and PHP code that you wrote.  This code will not be shared, published or reused as we understand that the copyright of the code may lie with a former employer

Please email your application to Rebecka Mustajarvi by 8pm Monday 24th February.  Late submissions, or those not adhering to the submission requirements above will not be considered. We will not work with agents or recruitment consultants to recruit this role.  Dear dear agents, please please do not ignore this as you will be wasting your precious time and ours.