Reports to: General Manager
Role type: Full time, permanent
Salary: £50,000 – £60,000
Hours: 9.30 am to 5pm, Monday to Friday
Location: Hybrid (UK-based) – split between home working and our office in Banbury, Oxfordshire.
Closing date: Monday 5 September
ABOUT US
Thank you for your interest in joining Old Rope Music Group.
Old Rope Music Group helps people through music. We bring thousands of albums, playlists and videos to millions around the world through digital streaming services and mobile apps. Every day our content is streamed millions of times, providing a soundtrack to people’s lives.
From ambient music and binaural beats, to calming sounds of nature and specialist music for focus and sleep, our music makes a real difference to people throughout the day.
We’re looking for an experienced Tech manager who can take ownership of our technology and build a world class function from the ground up. You’ll help us to quickly scale our business by leading the end-to-end implementation and development of our tech, from databases and production systems to marketing stacks and customer journey attribution.
As a strategic thinker with exceptional delivery credentials, you’ll turn our vision into a reality, defining and delivering a tech roadmap and effecting a step change in our tech which enables and supports our teams to deliver and grow.
A clear communicator and accomplished relationship builder, you’ll excel when working in partnership with a range of colleagues and external partners to define and deliver to common goals and will have a reputation for informing and enabling through the application of your technical expertise and your broad frame of reference.
You will be a credible, inspiring and pragmatic thought leader, with a developmental style and an aptitude for sharing and embedding best practice.
This is an opportunity to make your mark in a business that makes a difference to people every day through music. If you feel that you bring the experience, passion and drive to succeed in this new role, then we look forward to hearing from you.
As a company, we practice what we preach. We’re a global leader in what we do, and we’re quickly scaling our business and expanding into new areas. Our young and creative team is forward thinking, progressive and inclusive. Our brands have at their heart a focus on doing real good in the world, and our ethics guide us every day. We’re looking for someone to be a key part of that and drive us forward.
So, if you’re enthusiastic, energetic and creative, and want to join us, please apply today by submitting a CV along with a covering letter explaining your interest in the role and how you meet the criteria.
We encourage people from a variety of backgrounds with different experiences, skills and stories to join us and develop Old Rope Records.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Key responsibilities
General:
- Shaping Old Rope Music Group’s digital, data and technology architecture for the future, supporting and enabling the Old Rope Music Group’s rapid growth; responsible for the delivery of services in support of strategy
- Effecting a step change in Old Rope Music Group’s technology capability; our ambition is that high quality data drives our decisions and our technology infrastructure enables us to design and realise outstanding products and services
- Fixing legacy challenges to bring ORMG’s technology assets up to date in terms of governance, access, and efficiency
Leadership and team management:
- Create and maintain a multi-skilled, scalable technology function by identifying human and technological resource gaps, finding and recruiting the right people for Old Rope Music Group’s tech projects
- Managing the Technology team by recruiting and training employees, communicating job expectations, and monitoring performance
Data and analytics:
- Developing and implementing effective and streamlined policies, processes, databases and solutions to capture, store and analyse data in order that the business can make informed decisions on business strategy
- Evaluating and documenting database changes or refinements
- Ensure the proper functioning of data collection software and Internet applications at all times
- Interpret and explain complex data to key stakeholders at all levels so as to carry everybody along and for purposes of clarity/verification
Technology and infrastructure management:
- Assessing systems and recommending necessary software, hardware and storage upgrades, and being responsible for their implementation and maintenance
- Establishing the foundation of languages, toolkits, libraries, and platforms to facilitate the building of reliable, supportable, and scalable solutions.
- Establish standards, practices, and code implementation patterns for use of relevant technology
- Establish standards for infrastructure strategy, implementation, active monitoring, and fault remediation.
- Testing, troubleshooting, and modifying information systems so that they operate effectively
Software development:
- Overseeing the complete software development process from conception to deployment
- Maintaining and upgrading software following deployment
- Managing the end-to-end lifecycle for the production of software and applications
- Oversee technical development work, across front-end and back-end
- Work with other business teams to understand requirements, estimate, and scope out projects
- Overseeing the testing process and providing feedback to management
- Modifying and testing changes to previously developed programmes
- Research, learn and implement new methodologies and technologies to continuously improve and optimize design, code, build, deploy, test lifecycle
Product development
- Act as principal architect with regards to enterprise architecture for custom-built websites, system integrations, and mobile apps
- Research emerging technologies, prototype systems, evaluate feasibility, and delegate related tasks internally or to contractors and third-party vendors to solve technical problems
- Act as the technical stakeholder for existing products by identifying risk and advocating for product refactors, rewrites, and decommissions
Risk management
- Ensure all data management and technology activities are performed within the parameters of applicable laws, codes and regulations
- Evaluating technology risks in order to prevent failure, develop disaster recovery plans and back up procedures
Brand, messaging and reputation management:
- Support the brand and marketing team to build and protect our brand and assets
- Act as a brand guardian, ensuring consistency and quality across all operations.
The above list of responsibilities is not exhaustive, and you may be required to undertake other responsibilities and training as requested by your line manager and appropriate to your role.
Person specification/Qualifications and Training
Essential:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Economics, Information Management or Statistics, or other relevant field, and relevant experience in software development, deployment management, and infrastructure management
- Proven experience of 4 years in a similar role, with evidence of implementing transformation or a step change
- Proven ability to create data and technology solutions for a business in a period of rapid growth, alongside the operational experience to lead delivery of multiple programmes
- Demonstrable experience of identifying resource gaps and building high performing teams to solve tech challenges
- Detailed knowledge and understanding of the benefits and value that the effective use of data can bring to the business and its customers
- Demonstrable experience in agile delivery and of successfully driving change and transformational programmes
Familiarity with relevant stacks, programmes and databases - Working knowledge and understanding of industry standards, security issues and processes, including being able to apply cyber security, data protection laws and regulations and business continuity principles.
Desirable:
- An understanding of the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors that may have implications for Old Rope Music Group
- Experience in analysing large sets of data
Communicating with others
- Confident approach with good interpersonal skills, able to establish effective working relationships with people at all levels of the business
- Ability to manage existing and build new relationships
- Comfortable guiding and participating in collaborative discussions
- Collaborate well with other departments
- Excellent communication skills – written, verbal and presentational and ability to communicate with and deliver messages and information in a clear and accessible style to different audiences
- Fluent English speaker
Personal qualities and other requirements
Essential:
- A strong quality ethic – experience of raising standards, ensuring controls are in place and effectively challenging with a view to finding common sense solutions to problems, and delivering high quality outcomes
- Proven ability to manage several areas of work at one time, prioritising and delivering consistently to deadlines whilst managing competing requirements
- Highly-organised with an eye for detail
- Takes initiative and capitalizes on opportunity
- Adaptable within a dynamic, changing environment
- Excellent project management skills
- Methodical approach to work and experience of having to deliver to deadlines
- Self-starting and self-directed
Desirable:
Experience of the music industry and/or digital streaming services is an advantage
How to apply
To apply for this role, please submit a CV to hello@oldroperecords.com along with a covering letter explaining your interest in the role and how you meet the criteria.
For an informal chat, please contact Chris Higgins, General Manager, at chris.higgins@oldroperecords.com
