12 month FTC Development Manager

The Role

I am supporting in the search for a growing Newcastle business.  The Development Manager is required to backfill interim leadership gaps and enable senior leaders to focus on wider transformation and squad redesign. While there may be a future opportunity for permanency, this cannot be guaranteed and candidates must be comfortable with a fixed‑term engagement of 12 months.  This will involve a minimum of 2 days per week onsite in Newcastle.
 

Key Responsibilities

• Line management of developers (typically up to ~10 direct reports)
• Oversight of two development squads (matrix‑managed)
• Agile / Scrum leadership, including:
  • Flow of work and delivery cadence
  • Velocity, cycle time and throughput metrics
  • Removal of blockers and impediments
• Partnering closely with Product Owners to manage demand and prioritisation
• Resource planning, forecasting and reporting
• Performance management and raising the performance bar
• Governance responsibilities including:
  • Risk and control self‑assessments

Essential for the role

• Proven experience as a Development Manager, Engineering Manager, or equivalent leadership role
• Strong Agile / Scrum experience is essential
• Prior experience in a regulated or risk‑aware environment is strongly preferred (e.g. financial services, public sector, regulated institutions)
• Technical depth is helpful but not critical – this is a leadership‑first role