Job Description

Job Title:

Team Leader - PowerBuilder Development & Product Teams

Company Overview

Trace Solutions

The longest established UK organisation serving the property management industry, based in Clerkenwell, central London. We supply and support around 300 organisations with our renowned TRAMPS, BlueBox, o6ix, Mojo and Estateman products, known for rock-solid reliability and extensive functionality. With 60 staff, we're leading innovators offering sophisticated automation, analysis and integration tools.

Key Responsibilities

Development Management & Coordination

Oversee project planning, scheduling and resource allocation

for all PowerBuilder development work and product testing activities

Proactively coordinate software releases

ensuring development and testing phases are properly synchronised and delivered on time, and to industry-leading quality standards

Delegate development and testing tasks

strategically to optimise team capacity and ensure timely delivery of all project milestones

Determine release content

by working with both teams and stakeholders across the business. Including contingency and flexibility in release timescales. Update internal Issue Tracker and publish release details

Propose and obtain agreement

from the Dev SMT on delivery schedules that accommodate both development and testing requirements and other demands on the resource in the team

Quality Assurance & Testing Oversight

Ensure comprehensive testing coverage

of all TRAMPS/BlueBox/o6ix software releases through effective coordination between development and product teams

Oversee maintenance and improvement

of test plans for all software modules

Monitor implementation

of testing standards and procedures across both teams

Review and approve

functional specifications written by Product Analysts to ensure they meet development and business requirements

Team Leadership & Development

Provide direct management

to Product Analysts and PowerBuilder Developers, ensuring they have the necessary skills, equipment and environment to complete their tasks effectively

Delegate tasks effectively

across both teams based on individual strengths, workload capacity, and development priorities to maximise team productivity

Manage workload priorities during critical periods

ensuring second-line customer support and consultancy calls, bespoke and data migration (database shrinks) requests and ongoing development work are all maintained without compromise, helping teams balance competing demands effectively

Proactively identify potential project risks

and resource constraints before they impact delivery schedules and take mitigating actions

Spread knowledge

of all software modules across both teams to ensure cross-functional capability and no single points of failure in the teams

Identify and coordinate training requirements

to improve team effectiveness and support business objectives and present business cases to the SMT for budget approval

Maintain timesheet codes

and review and approve timesheets weekly for both teams

Client & Stakeholder Communication

Respond to queries

and requests from colleagues and clients in a timely, professional manner

Understand clients

and colleagues' frustrations and work with them to find solutions

Communicate software release progress

and status effectively to colleagues and clients

Proactively coordinate bespoke development requests

and data migration requests between both teams

Delegate customer support activities

appropriately between Product Analysts and developers based on issue complexity and expertise required

Report opportunities and, in particular issues,

on a timely basis to senior management

Share knowledge of the product

and new releases with colleagues

Improve collaboration

between Web Dev and PB Dev by working with colleagues to address pinch points

Ensure customer satisfaction

by maintaining quality standards and release schedules that keep clients "absurdly happy"

Process & Documentation Management

Guarantee quality and timeliness

of all deliverables from both teams

Oversee preparation

of release notes, support documentation and technical manuals and any other documentation 'owned' by the PowerBuilder development & Product teams

Ensure proper sanity check processes

where Product Analysts review programmer specifications/development during development

Co-ordinate

the maintenance of the demo databases and second line support for customers

Strategic Planning & Resource Management

Conduct resource planning

to ensure quality, timely deliveries across both development and testing functions

Balance competing priorities

between new development work, bug fixes, testing requirements, support call investigation and bespoke requests

Coordinate pre-sales support

activities, particularly those requiring technical and accounting expertise

Manage cross-team collaboration

to optimise workflow between development, product testing and the wider business

Skills

Business

Sound knowledge of Property Management. A solid understanding of Property and Financial Accounts and Commercial, Residential block management and Housing Association markets will be a bonus Knowledge of Trace Solutions software to a level sufficient for guiding team development and strategic decision-making Knowledge of associated business issues to ensure credibility with internal staff and customers of all levels, and to effectively represent the team

Technical

Competence in MS Word and MS Excel for the preparation, amendment and review of team documentation and reporting

Leadership & Personal

Excellent oral and written communication skills for leading team discussions, presenting to stakeholders, and liaising with other departments Demonstrates strong leadership qualities - coaching, mentoring and developing team members while maintaining supportive customer relationships Takes ownership of team performance and results; shows high level of initiative in driving team productivity and continuous improvement Committed to team success and prepared to provide additional support to meet project timescales or resolve critical issues affecting the team Ability to work under pressure, effectively delegate tasks, prioritise competing demands and ensure the team meets agreed deadlines Experience in performance management, conflict resolution and fostering a collaborative team environment
Don't see yourself as a perfect fit for every requirement? Don't let that stop you from applying. We value diverse perspectives and believe that candidates who bring different strengths and experiences often exceed expectations. If you're excited about this role and think you could perform some of the responsibilities, we'd still love to hear from you.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: 50,000.00-60,000.00 per year

Benefits:

Company pension Cycle to work scheme Flexitime Free flu jabs Gym membership Life insurance Referral programme Sick pay
Ability to commute/relocate:

London EC1V 0DU: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Work authorisation:

United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in London EC1V 0DU