We are looking for an experience Senior Development Manager to join our production team on our Total War Franchise at our studio based in Horsham.
The successful candidate will assist with the day-to-day, and week to week process of managing a cross discipline game team. Reporting to the Development Director, the Senior Development Manager will be able to provide support to keep the project moving forward, and the team positive, informed, and focused whilst keeping momentum. The role will also require working with the project leads to generate the project schedule, identify dependencies, solve problems, and prioritise work.
It will also require the development and encouragement of positive relationships and cohesion within the team and other relevant third parties, including internal relationships within CA, and SEGA.
Key Responsibilities
As a Senior Development Manager, you will drive the project delivery for the team, facilitating the planning and estimation process across the team.
On a day-to-day basis, you will:
- Work with the team to facilitate them delivering their goals
- Work across the project supporting focus teams or assist other Game Producers, leads and directors
- Define and continuously improve the development process using the best methodology possible to predict, and deliver on time, and on quality
- Drive the project planning process that gives constant visibility on the overall status of development
- Help to manage and motivate the development team, ensuring that milestones are adhered to, communicating progress and providing a detailed analysis on team performance, risks and areas for improvement
- Help to improve agile processes, while creating and maintaining long term roadmap of deliverables and budget
- Plan, and execute the short-, and long-term schedules and reporting, to ensure efficient, reliable, and accurate delivery
- Track and manage these schedules, adjust them for upcoming releases, deadlines, milestones, accounting, cross-project dependencies, resourcing, and priority changes
- Liaise with the project and company leadership in defining the deliverables, goals and KPIs to provide visibility, and status updates
- Broadcast key project dates, goals, KPIs and processes to the team
- Periodically introspect into the team’s overall status
- Identify, communicate, and support resolving any risks that may prevent the team from completing deadlines
- Anticipate and solve problems independently, and collaboratively with the project leadership
- Inform and escalate in time, maintain close communication
Knowledge, Skill and Experience
Essential
- Exceptional organisational skills. Driven and self-motivated
- Strong planning and project management skills. An instinct for coordinating and focussing on separate moving parts at one time
- Experience delivering games in an agile development environment while working to strict timelines
- Ability to utilise knowledge of multiple project management methodologies to best suit the team and project needs
- Excellent problem-solving skills. You will be aware of potential and current issues and formulate pragmatic plans to solve them
- Strong written and verbal communication skills in English
- A team thinker - able to work within a team and to actively work to make the team perform cohesively
- Excellent knowledge and experience using MS Office applications especially Excel, project management scheduling tools and bug tracking software (e.g. Jira)
Desirable
- Expert of agile methodology
- Experience with scaled agile
- Experience with DevOps
- Advanced Excel skills
- Avid gamer
- Knowledge of the Total War Franchise
Creative Assembly is about the right people making the best games. We are united through our values; Quality, Focus, Teamwork, Respect and Trust.
We house many talented people, from trainees to industry veterans who constantly challenge us and make sure we are striving for the best within our games and our studio life.
Winner of multiple Best Place to Work Awards, we have studio sites in Horsham UK and Sofia Bulgaria, including a number of bespoke state-of-the-art audio suites and a dedicated motion capture site.
Currently we are working fully remotely, and we continue to assess the COVID-19 situation with the safety of our staff our number one priority. We are still actively recruiting and onboarding new staff each week. Our expert IT and HR teams will set you up with everything you need to join remotely whether you will need to relocate to the UK (or within the UK) now, or at a later date.
We offer many benefits to support you and your family including:
- Bespoke relocation package for you and your dependents, with support throughout the process from our dedicated Relocation Specialists
- Enhanced maternity and paternity leave, private medical and dental insurance, life insurance, permanent health insurance, critical illness cover and free health care screening
- Generous holiday allowance plus full studio closure over the Christmas and New Year period, and all UK Bank holidays
- Annual discretionary studio bonus
- Join our award-winning education and social responsibility programme; the Legacy Project, as an industry ambassador to mentor and educate others
- Defined career development pathways and personalised training support including; SEGA Dev Day, internal masterclasses, prestigious creative workshops, on-site training with renowned specialists and global conference attendance
- Opportunity to join our Diversity and Inclusion Network – an employee-led group
- Season ticket travel loans and cycle to work scheme with free bike servicing and discounted car valet service on site
- Free games and merchandise plus access to our extensive games library
- Free breakfast every day - toast, bagels, pancakes, cereals, yoghurts, fresh fruit, smoothies, juices, milkshakes and more in our fully stocked kitchen*
- Wellbeing support with an employee assistance programme and onsite confidential sessions
- In-studio heavily subsidised massage therapy*
- Discounts for home technology, travel insurance, corporate gym membership, cinema tickets, holidays, trips out and Ikea vouchers, and many local businesses including estate agents
- Studio parties for you and your family; such as our Summer Festival, Christmas Party plus a separate Children’s Christmas Party. We also have Cinema days and wrap parties for game releases*
- Studio community activities such as free Japanese lessons, life drawing, creative writing, Pilates, Walking Challenges, Couch to 5k, basketball, game and movie evenings, board game club, 5-a-side football, CA Choir, Sword fighting (yes, sword fighting) and loads more*
*some of the above in-studio benefits are on hold while we work remotely during COVID-19.
Our studio sites have disabled access. We are an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief.