Job Title:
Software Director
Job Purpose:
Our client is seeking a Software Director to provide strategic leadership and direction across all software development functions within the organisation. The successful candidate will oversee multiple development teams, platforms, and product lines, ensuring that technology strategy is aligned with business objectives and customer needs. This role is responsible for driving innovation, organisational excellence, and the delivery of high-quality software solutions while fostering a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, collaboration, and technical excellence. The Software Director will play a key role in shaping long-term technology initiatives, supporting team development, and ensuring the successful execution of strategic software objectives.
Skills & Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership
- Define and drive the software development strategy, roadmap, and vision in alignment with organisational goals.
- Collaborate with executive leadership and key stakeholders to translate business requirements into technology strategies and investment decisions.
- Drive innovation by evaluating emerging technologies, platforms, and industry trends to maintain a competitive advantage.
- Establish and enforce software development standards, governance frameworks, and best practices across all teams.
People & Team Management
- Lead, mentor, and develop Software Managers, Technical Leads, and development teams to foster a high-performance engineering culture.
- Oversee recruitment, retention, and succession planning to ensure the department has the skills and capacity to meet current and future business needs.
- Set clear performance expectations, conduct regular reviews, and promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous growth.
- Manage resource planning and allocation across multiple teams and projects to optimise delivery capacity and efficiency.
Delivery & Operational Management
- Take overall responsibility for the successful delivery of software projects and products, ensuring quality, timeliness, and business value.
- Define, monitor, and report on departmental KPIs, OKRs, and performance metrics to executive leadership.
- Manage departmental budgets, forecasting, and cost optimisation initiatives.
- Identify, assess, and mitigate strategic, technical, and operational risks across software programmes and initiatives.
Stakeholder & Customer Engagement
- Serve as a senior escalation point for key clients and partners, building and maintaining trusted executive-level relationships.
- Work closely with Sales, Operations, and Product teams to ensure software capabilities support business growth and customer requirements.
- Represent the software function in executive meetings, steering committees, and industry forums where required.
Key Competencies
- Strong strategic leadership skills with the ability to inspire teams and align them around a shared technology vision.
- Sound commercial acumen with the ability to balance technical decisions against business and financial objectives.
- Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to engage at executive and board level.
- Comprehensive understanding of software development lifecycles, architecture principles, and delivery methodologies.
- Strong decision-making abilities with a resilient, proactive, and solutions-focused approach to challenges and organisational change.
Qualifications and Experience:
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field.
- Master's Degree or MBA preferred.
- Senior-level certification in a relevant technology domain (e.g. Cloud Architecture, Enterprise Software, or Cybersecurity) advantageous.
- Project or Programme Management certification (e.g. PMP, MSP, or SAFe) highly desirable.
- 10+ years of progressive experience in software development, including at least 5 years in a senior leadership or director-level role.
- Proven track record of leading and scaling multiple development teams across complex, concurrent programmes of work.
- Demonstrated experience in defining and executing technology strategies aligned with business objectives.
- Strong background in software architecture, full-stack development, and enterprise systems integration.
- Experience managing departmental budgets and presenting strategic plans and performance metrics to executive leadership and boards.
- Proven ability to engage with enterprise customers and senior stakeholders, managing complex relationships and escalations effectively.
