Development Manager

Are you an experienced Head of Development, Development Manager or Tech Lead ready to take your career to the next level? Would you like to lead a talented development team and shape digital platforms that make a meaningful difference to STEM education?

STEM Learning is dedicated to improving lives through STEM education by helping young people develop the skills and knowledge they need to thrive. Its digital products and platforms support teachers, educators, students, employers and educational organisations across the UK. Its work includes subject-specific professional development, high-quality learning resources and the STEM Ambassadors programme.

The Development Manager will lead STEM Learning's in-house development function while managing relationships with key third-party suppliers. You will take responsibility for the technical direction and architecture of a varied digital estate spanning Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power Platform, front-end web applications, hosting and the cloud services that underpin them.

This hands-on leadership role is responsible for ensuring STEM Learning's digital products and infrastructure remain reliable, secure, cost-effective and ready to evolve. It is an excellent next step for an experienced Senior Developer or Development Lead moving into broader management.

• →Lead, coach and develop the in-house development team, creating the skills, capacity and environment needed to deliver high-quality work.
• →Set the technical direction and own architecture across Dynamics 365, Power Platform, front-end applications and AWS-hosted services.
• →Oversee the design, development and support of solutions and integrations for new and existing digital products.
• →Balance low-code solutions with bespoke development so platforms remain consistent, secure and maintainable.
• →Champion code review, testing, secure development and effective CI/CD pipelines.
• →Improve the developer experience, remove technical blockers and address technical debt with Technical Delivery.
• →Act as an escalation point for technical and integration queries from internal teams and suppliers.
• →Oversee web hosting and AWS environments for performance, resilience, scalability and cost efficiency.
• →Manage environments, access and licensing across Dynamics 365, Power Platform and AWS.
• →Maintain systems, integration and architecture documentation, including records of key technical decisions.
• →Support compliance with Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO alongside infrastructure and security colleagues.
• →Manage supplier performance and contribute to incident reviews that prevent recurrence.

We are looking for someone who combines credible technical expertise with supportive, people-focused leadership. You will ideally bring:

• Experience building, leading and developing software or digital development teams.
• A hands-on approach and the ability to step into technical work when required.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Dynamics 365, including Customer Engagement or Dataverse, configuration, customisation, data management and integration.
• Experience of Power Apps, Power Automate and Power BI, including governance, environments and licensing.
• Front-end web development and hosting experience, ideally with TypeScript, JavaScript, React or Next.js.
• Working knowledge of AWS and cloud or serverless platforms, potentially including S3, CloudFront, Amplify or container services.
• Experience of modern APIs and authentication technologies such as OAuth and OIDC.
• Competency in TypeScript, JavaScript, C#, PHP, Python or another modern programming language.
• Experience with Postman or Insomnia, GitHub, CI/CD tooling and release pipelines.
• Ability to write complex queries against SQL Server, PostgreSQL or MySQL.
• Experience managing third-party suppliers and balancing internal and outsourced delivery.
• Strong communication skills, including explaining technical subjects to non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience working with Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO security standards.

You do not need to be the deepest technical specialist across every platform. What matters is your ability to provide sound technical leadership, ask the right questions, support your team and make pragmatic decisions across a varied digital environment.

The role is based at the National STEM Learning Centre in York and offers hybrid working. The successful candidate will normally work on-site two days per week, with flexible hours in line with STEM Learning’s policy.

This is an opportunity to influence the technical direction of an established organisation whose digital platforms support STEM teaching and learning. You will lead an in-house team with senior, full-stack and Dynamics development expertise, working closely with the IT Lead, internal stakeholders and external technology partners.

STEM Learning is looking for someone who will bring its values to life by being sustainable, innovative and proactive.

WRK digital is working in exclusive partnership with STEM Learning and is managing all applications and shortlisting for this appointment.

If you are an experienced Head of Development, Development Manager or Tech Lead ready for a broader leadership role, we would be delighted to hear from you.

• Your up-to-date CV
• A covering letter (no more than the equivalent of 2 sides of A4) explaining your interest in the role and why you think you would be the ideal candidate.

Contact James Westwood at WRK digital for a confidential conversation about the opportunity and next steps.