Head of Software Engineering (EVA) Full Time

Cox Automotive
London – x2 a week in the office

Team:

The Engineering team is a core part of Cox Automotive’s Enterprise Technology group delivering products & software to support our business strategy.

The software engineering department has recently split between Retail and Wholesale, transforming the critical role the team plays in our organisation. The objective of this move is to increase the significance and importance of software & product engineering in the business by making it part of the Senior Leadership Team.

This role oversees Cox vehicle valuations solution, with projects varying in scale from small change activity to projects running over multiple years with multi-million pound budgets.

The team is operate using Microsoft DevOps, Agile practices, and a product delivery mindset alongside our Product group.

We are looking for an experienced and senior software engineering leader to join the team and help drive this transformation forward at pace.

Role:

Working closely with Enterprise Architecture maintain an up to date backlog of all technical debt within the application estate plus cost /benefit analysis for remediating the debt.

Accountable for the delivery of features, including development and QA teams, from customer requirements elicitation through to end of post go-live support.

Work closely with the Enterprise Service group to ensure a smooth transition of software into production including handover to the application support team post go-live support.

In partnership with Service, develop our DevOps strategy towards our vision of ‘Creating a culture and mind-set for collaboration between product, development and service.’

Work closely with senior UK Product group leads to align resource, plans and skills, ensuring successful delivery of our Product roadmap.

Operating as part of the Enterprise Technology Senior Leadership Team ensure an efficient, collaborative and quality End to End software development process including a transparent view of resourcing and planning.

Enhance the engineering capability & delivery process to support current and future demand including building an attractive career path for engineering to attract and retain the best talent at all career levels.

Engage with internal/external customers in partnership on solution, service, integration & delivery planning.

Maintain a close understanding of changes in software development tools, methodologies and languages and alter engineering strategy to maintain industry relevance.

Working closely with the Director of Software Engineering and UK Board to define the longer-term strategy for Software Engineering withing the team, across the UK in order to drive efficiencies and innovation.

Work closely with the other departments in Enterprise Technology to deliver the software & products that underpin our business strategy.

Create and implement a best practice & innovative engineering vision, strategy, policies, processes and procedures to aid and improve business performance.

Deliver software to agreed quality, time and scope requirements, and in-line with finance targets.

Deliver software & release documentation as applicable.

Manage and recruit the Software Engineering team inline with current and future demand ensuring a balance of skills and experience.

Manage and recruit offshore resources via Cox chosen partners.

Identify and roll out leading edge software and technology solutions to enable the drive business strategy forward.

Responsible for ensuring technology change governance is followed.

Ensure the adherence to business security policies, in accordance with business risk appetite.

Ensure key risks are assessed and monitored, managed and controlled

Ensure the adherence to business security policies, in accordance with business risk appetite.

Triage and troubleshoot live issues using Azure App Insights. Be an escalation point for out of hours support.

Manage resource allocation, and staffing to meet project timelines while working to budgetary constraints. Review the system eco system to ensure 99.95% reliability which minimising costs. Liaise with off shore agencies to provide requirements and feedback on their resources.

Foster effective communication and collaboration across different departments, including Infrastructure, Support, DBA, and Change and Release Management, to ensure a seamless end-to-end product development process.

Oversee the QA team to establish and maintain high standards of software quality, including automated testing processes and continuous improvement.

Skills / Experience:

The ideal candidate will have a foundation of education in technology and business. They will have a track record of success through many operational and senior management roles in companies with similar customers and products. We are looking for a technology executive with the skills to lead our organization in a hands-on manner today, but with the vision and experience to build an organization for our future.

BSc in Computer Science or equivalent
Proven experience as a senior executive with responsibility for R&D and Software Engineering and/or Solution Design teams 20+ head count
Proven ability to lead and build teams both onshore and offshore
Ability to inspire and motivate an organisation at all levels
Proven experience of performance managing in a highly technical product, systems and solution environment
Experience managing highly distributed organisations and working with multiple cultures
Solid foundation of quality system training and total quality implementation
Experience managing 3rd party suppliers, including offshore.

Technical Skills:

A complete understanding of the Software Delivery Lifecycle and supporting delivery methodologies including Agile, Lean and Scrum.

Experience in the agile delivery of enterprise solutions utilising technologies such as .Net Core, modern JavaScript libraries, SQL Server and Azure (PAAS and IAAS). An understanding of supporting systems including Azure DevOps, App Insights, Git, API Manager, Mule ESB and SQL Server Reporting Services.

STRICTLY NO AGENCIES PLEASE

We work with a carefully selected set of recruitment agencies and we’re not looking to add to our PSL.

We do not accept unsolicited agency CV’s sent to the recruitment team or directly to the hiring manager. We will not be responsible for any fees related to unsolicited CV’s

Cox Automotive is the world’s largest automotive service organisation. We
provide dependable solutions that improve performance and profitability
throughout the vehicle lifecycle to manufacturers, fleets, and retailers.
Our businesses are organised around our customers’ core needs across vehicle
solutions, mobility, remarketing, funding, and retail.