jobref	257DM:
location	midlands (leamingtom spa)
position	***LEAMINGTON SPA: DEVELOPMENT MANAGER: £50-80K
type	permanent
salary	£ 50000 to 80000
package	bonus, full corporate benefits
start	07.05.2008

Reporting to the Studio Manager the Development Manager has overall responsibility for the product’s production, ensuring that the product is delivered on time, within budget, meeting quality specifications. The role involves planning, organising and resourcing the project and managing a team of 30+ people. The Development Manager will be the Product Owner’s point of contact for all production-related queries and is responsible for keeping the Product Owner informed of all areas of the product. The role requires someone who is able to undertake production tasks of high difficulty with minimal direct supervision. The successful candidate will have a proven track record and is expected to demonstrate strong leadership, planning and organisation, decision-making and communication skills. Key Responsibilities • Working with the PO and Studio Manager to deliver a high-quality product on time and to budget specification. • Undertaking, planning, organising and resourcing the product. • Ability to seek out and assimilate information, build plans, understand impediments and identify solutions • Development and on-going monitoring of the organisation, execution and control of project activities. • Maintain effective communications with team members, PO and upper management throughout the duration of the project, and manage the team leads of sub-areas of the project. • Create Milestone documents, and prepare, coordinate and submit regular milestone deliverables to senior management and externals. • Develop and clearly communicate project goals and expectations to the team leads and team through frequent performance and progress feedback. • Practice team development through effective open communication, reinforcing the professional growth of the team members, and establishing clearly defined goals and program objectives. • Ensure the team follows as directed by assigning tasks and deadlines to team leads, and that all staff understand schedule, deadlines, task (what’s to be achieved), leaving no ambiguity. • Follow up with team leads on a regular basis monitoring progress and performance. • Assimilate information to enable key decision-making and information dissemination to the team. • Track project and at any time be prepared to report on project to senior management, and proactively reporting if not on target. • Ensure that new team members (both new employees and project transfers) are made welcome and are successfully integrated into the team. • Manage interpersonal conflict effectively using tact and diplomacy. • Responsible for the productivity and organization of entire team, including their physical and psychological well-being. Person Specification The successful candidate will: • Demonstrate exceptional leadership in project management, evangelist, and enforcer of best practice • Be a proven motivator and team leader, with the ability to drive teams forward while maintaining strong morale, focus and efficiency • Show an eye for detail and have proven organizational skills. • Demonstrate excellent written, verbal and aural communication skills; • Demonstrate excellent technical awareness and skills, including competent working knowledge of MS Project and Excel, which are essential for planning and tracking of the project in addition to the ability to understand technological issues. • Have the ability to anticipate problem areas and initiate appropriate and decisive corrective action. • Be able to balance technical solutions with time, cost and human factors; and to devote the necessary time to planning, directing and controlling team activities. • Have proven ability to meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment. • Proven ability to track overall budget and spending to ensure control of development costs Skills and Experience • Has extensive practical project management experience, managing budget and spending to ensure control of development costs. • Has held responsibility in the delivery of AAA product titles over long (2+ years) / short production cycles. • Managed development teams of 30+ people. • Has knowledge, understanding and experience of Scrum or other Agile project management methodologies • An awareness of the Studio’s tools and techniques would be an advantage. • A good knowledge of multi-platform Racing genre computer game products. • Knowledge of technical restrictions and specifications for consoles and machines used in game development. • Experience of working with multiple stakeholders (internal and external) with multiple goals.

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