Development Manager - Digital Platforms & APIs

Development Manager - Digital Platforms & APIs

Location: Surrey / Hybrid Working
Salary: Competitive + Benefits

Shape the Future of Digital Delivery

We are seeking an experienced Development Manager - Digital Platforms & APIs to lead the strategy, delivery and evolution of a growing digital platform and integration ecosystem.

This is an exciting opportunity for a product-led technology leader who combines strong technical knowledge with stakeholder management, vendor oversight and team leadership experience. You'll play a pivotal role in developing digital capabilities, driving platform adoption, and ensuring the successful delivery of API and integration solutions that support business transformation.

The Opportunity

As the Development Manager, you will own the vision, roadmap and lifecycle management of digital platform and API capabilities. Operating with a product mindset, you'll work closely with business and technology stakeholders to prioritise delivery, drive innovation and ensure solutions align with architecture, security and governance standards.

You'll also lead a small team of specialists and manage external technology partners, helping shape a modern and scalable digital delivery capability for the organisation.

Key Responsibilities

Product Ownership & Strategy

• Define and own the product vision, roadmap and priorities for digital platforms, APIs and integration services.
• Manage and prioritise product backlogs based on business value, risk and strategic objectives.
• Drive continuous improvement and capability development across the digital platform estate.
• Champion a product-led approach to platform and integration delivery.

Digital Platform & API Leadership

• Oversee the successful delivery of applications, integrations and platform enhancements.
• Establish and maintain platform standards, governance and best practices.
• Support the evolution towards modern, event-driven and platform-based architectures.
• Promote reusability, scalability and operational excellence.

Delivery & Change

• Manage end-to-end delivery from discovery and design through to implementation and support.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams, stakeholders and third-party suppliers.
• Lead agile delivery practices including planning, backlog refinement, reviews and retrospectives.
• Ensure services are designed for operational readiness and ongoing support.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Ensure solutions comply with security, data protection and regulatory requirements.
• Work closely with architecture, security, compliance and business teams.
• Support governance processes and technical review forums.
• Drive remediation activities and continuous risk management.

Vendor & Stakeholder Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships across business and technology functions.
• Manage third-party delivery partners to ensure quality, value and performance.
• Influence senior stakeholders and support strategic decision-making.

People Leadership

• Lead, coach and develop technical team members.
• Foster a collaborative, high-performing and growth-oriented culture.
• Support future capability expansion as platform adoption increases.

About You

We're looking for a technology leader who can combine strategic thinking with hands-on delivery management.

Essential Experience

• Experience as a Product Manager, Product Owner, Development Manager or similar technology leadership role.
• Strong background in digital platforms, application delivery, APIs and integration technologies.
• Experience operating within enterprise technology governance environments.
• Knowledge of API concepts including REST, SOAP, synchronous and asynchronous integrations.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Experience working closely with architecture, engineering and information security teams.
• Familiarity with Agile delivery methodologies and frameworks.
• Understanding of data protection, information security and risk management principles.
• Proven ability to manage suppliers and third-party technology partners.

Desirable

• Product Management or Product Owner certifications (CSPO, PSPO, SAFe POPM or equivalent).
• Agile certifications such as Scrum or SAFe.
• Experience participating in architecture, change or technology governance forums.
• Knowledge of modern integration, cloud and platform-based architectures.

What You'll Bring

• Strong leadership and coaching capability.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills.
• A proactive, solutions-focused approach.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• The ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• A collaborative mindset with a passion for delivering business value through technology.