Technical development manager
Description
The technical development manager is in many ways a Jack of all trades. This role is responsible for the technical aspects in the full life cycle of a development project. The technical development manager will negotiate and liaise with stakeholders about costing, planning, budgeting, designing and resourcing the technical aspects of the project.
The technical development manager will provide technical expertise to the project in areas such as programming, testing, quality control, implementation and the post implementation review.
The technical development manager may also be required to participate in an organisations strategic decision-making processes and may be asked to assist with corporate planning.
A technical development manager exhibits a combination of capabilities from the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) and the Leadership competencies for Queensland.
Within the SFIA profile, the technical development manager has level 5 and 6 capabilities, i.e. ensures and advises on the skills outlined and initiates and influences their use. The SFIA profile is outlined below.
Refer to the framework for descriptions of the seven levels of responsibility and accountability.
| SFIA skill code | SFIA skill level of responsibility | SFIA skills level descriptor |
|---|---|---|---|
Systems development management | DLMG | 6 | Sets policy and drives adherence to standards for systems development. Leads activities to make security and privacy integral to systems development. Identifies and manages the resources necessary for all stages of systems development projects. Ensures technical, financial and quality targets are met. |
Consultancy | CNSL | 6 | Leads and manages the provision of consultancy services and/or a team of consultants. Provides expert advice and guidance in own areas of expertise to both consultants and clients. Engages with clients at a strategic level, establishing consultancy agreements or contracts and maintaining long-term relationships. Manages the completion of engagements, ensuring strategic alignment with client needs and overseeing the transition from consultancy delivery to operational adoption. Oversees the development and delivery of consultancy services within the agreed strategic framework. |
Emerging technology monitoring | EMRG | 5 | Monitors the external environment to gather intelligence on emerging technologies. Assesses and documents the impacts, threats and opportunities to the organisation. Creates reports and technology roadmaps and shares knowledge and insights with others. |
Project management | PRMG | 5 | Takes full responsibility for the definition, approach, facilitation and satisfactory completion of medium-scale projects. Provides effective leadership to the project team, adopting suitable project management methods and tools. Manages change control processes and assesses risks, ensuring projects align with governance frameworks and business priorities. Communicates regularly with stakeholders, ensuring project deliverables meet agreed standards, budgets and timelines. Ensures project and product quality reviews occur on schedule and according to procedure. Proactively monitors performance metrics, implementing preventive and corrective actions as needed. |
SFIA skillLeadership skills
Leadership competencies for Queensland describes what highly effective, everyday leadership looks like in the sector. In simple, action-oriented language, it provides a common understanding of the foundations for success across all roles. The profile describes three performance dimensions (vision, results and accountability) and 11 leadership competencies required against five leadership streams.
Leadership streams are not connected to a level or classification, but rather reflect the balance between leadership and technical skills required of an individual. Individuals can consider the value proposition of roles rather than the traditional lens of hierarchical structures or classification levels. The five leadership streams are:
- Individual contributor (Leads self and does not supervise others)
- Team leader (leads a team and typically reports to a program leader)
- Program leader (leads team leaders and/or multiple areas of work)
- Executive (leads program leaders or other executives)
- Chief executive (leads the organisation).
When developing a role description, identify the role type and then focus on the most important attributes and create a balance between SFIA skills and leadership skills.
Entry points
A technical development manager must have an in depth understanding of programming languages, operating systems, databases, web services and technologies and development platforms.
Generally, a technical development manager will be required to have a degree level qualification in information technology. A significant amount of technical skill may be acquired through industry experience; however, a degree level qualification is considered to be the usual entry point to a career as a technical development manager.
As well as solid technical skills the technical development manager will need to have high level skills in areas such as team management, strong communication and interpersonal skills, attention to detail, budgeting, problem solving, methodical approach to work and the ability to meet deadlines and work well under pressure.