Technical Director

Job Description

Kitty is a platform development agency. We focus on understanding the needs of both the brand and the consumer to design the best-in-class experiences and technology-led solutions that drive performance.

Each agency within The TIPi Group operates with the same values at their core: collaboration and authenticity, driven by restless minds and a clear purpose. It’s important to us that we work with individuals and clients who embody these principles. The people who we work with are energetic and ambitious, with a shared entrepreneurial spirit.

We know that to be truly ‘specialist’ in your craft, you need to remain nimble and progressive. We stay one step ahead of the continual digital evolution and shape the future of that landscape.

Through our network, we can create specialist teams to handle our clients’ business challenges, delivering authentic integration and impactful, award-winning results on every level.

Working at Kitty you get the perks of working at a bigger agency but with all the entrepreneurial aspects of working at a start-up. You’ll have a specialised role but will always be expected to think about the big picture. We’re incredibly proud of the company culture we have built here; a culture that has been recognised for many awards, including being named as of one of The Times Top 100 Small Companies to Work 2019 & 2020, and 2019 Digital Agency of the Year by The Drum Business Awards. We’ve been fortunate enough to create this working environment by being passionate about putting our people at the heart of everything we do, whilst working collaboratively, to craft our culture together.

The Role: Technical Director

We are looking for a Technical Director to join our fast-growing web design and development team. The role requires leading on technical strategy and development across the agency as well as mentor and manage a talented team of Project Managers, Developers and Designers to deliver beautiful, cutting edge web solutions for our clients.

You should have a passion for delivering business results for clients, a strong portfolio that reflects elements of this and the work we do. At Kitty, we plan, design and build websites (primarily using WordPress, Drupal and BigCommerce) as well as occasional apps, campaigns asset and branding work.

This is a key role in the agency. Reporting directly to the MD, it would suit an ambitious, self-motivated, versatile development leader. You’ll likely already be in a similar role or senior project management position looking for your next step up, with the profile and responsibilities that come with leading the technical division of an agency.

Key Responsibilities

Technical direction, 15%   

• Regular review of Kitty’s technical offering and product strategy with the MD
• Ongoing assessment and management of the tech and tools we use
• Responsible for ensuring our approach to web design and development continues to leverage the best tech and processes
• Ensure everything we make and host is secure and adheres to industry standards
• Keep abreast of the latest changes in technical standards and be proactive in seeking their implementation

Pitching and technical planning, 20%   

• Support the sales team and the MD with new business proposals, pitches and SOWs – in particular, the analysis of existing solutions and definition of the proposed approach, architecture and associated time requirements/estimates
• Gather technical requirements, propose solutions for, and cost up the development of new site builds as well as specific features
• Energise and inspire clients to buy our technical approach for their website or application
• Define complex technical specifications that clients can understand and sign off on, as well as effectively direct developers

Daily Team Management, 40%   

• Oversee and coordinate Kitty’s team of Designers, Developers and Project Managers to ensure projects are delivered on time and on budget
• Support Project Managers to ensure projects are properly structured and resourced
• Act as a senior point of escalation for client stakeholders
• Integrate with a wide range of CRMs, APIs and third-party services
• Run a version-controlled development environment, using GIT
• Keep up to date with and push the agency’s technology towards best practices and the latest innovations in web development
• Regularly contribute back to the open-source communities
• Present your own as well as the team’s development to clients at all levels

Mentoring and coaching, 20%   

• Set and maintain coding standards for all developers to follow, including permanent staff, contractors and third-party suppliers
• Ensure regular peer reviews and mentor and coach developers to reach their full potential
• Conduct bi-annual appraisals and meet team members regularly to ensure they’re meeting their training and development needs
• Be a point of escalation for all projects as well as the Support Desk

Other, 5%   

• Represent Kitty and TIPi Group at industry events to further our profile and attract the best talent and business
• Work with the Head of Business Development and Project Manager to continually optimise ways to plan and deliver projects
• Accurately track time spent and ensure efficient production

The Candidate

Preferred Experience:

• Familiarity with current CRM and ERP tools, fulfilment solutions
• Web development for WordPress / Drupal sites.
• Backend development including PHP, MySQL and some JavaScript.
• Familiarity with both traditional and agile development, and Project Management tools such as Jira
• Experience of leading and developing teams

Desirable:

• Experience in an agency environment preferred
• Experience in frontend development, using HTML and CSS
• A portfolio of wider development experience is advantageous, such as apps
• A relevant technical or computer science degree

Working at TIPi Group

Holidays

25 days, excluding bank holidays, plus Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve off

Benefits

• Employee Assistance Programme
• Discounted wellbeing classes / membership
• Active company social life
• Team sports
• Winter and summer parties
• Events supporting a nominated charity each year

Personal Development

• Bi-Annual appraisals
• Company mentor scheme

Training

• Supplier sessions (e.g. Google)
• Industry bodies (e.g. IAB)
• External trainers
• Opportunities to learn about other digital disciplines

We are an equal opportunities employer.  

Please note that we will only accept applications from candidates who are legally entitled to work in the United Kingdom.