Development Director- RS Old School
Cambridge /
Games Development – Production /
Full Time
/ Remote
We're Looking for a Development director to join the Old School RuneScape Team!
As Development Director you will take on a senior role in the Old School RuneScape leadership team, you will work closely with the games discipline leadership, craft leadership and other key project stakeholders across Jagex. You will help us establish production direction and strategy to ensure successful delivery of several Old School RuneScape initiatives on time, to quality and within budget.
We're looking for someone who works with their production team to ensure that there has been detailed analysis of the initiative requirements, to work out project milestones, develop the project schedule, deadlines, determine resource needs and play a vital role in successfully moving the development team from one project phase to the next.
You will be player, product, and quality focused, leading by example, developing trust and respect amongst the team. You will support and improve planning, development, and release processes on a continuous basis to meet product vision and quality goals.
As part of the development of Old School RuneScape it will be vitally important that the right priorities are set to create clarity and focus for the team, supporting their key objectives, monitoring, tracking, and reporting progress.
Liaising closely with internal stakeholders, cross-functional teams within the studio, and external partners, you will ensure key initiatives and dependencies are tracked, reported, and delivered.
Partnering closely with the Producers and Executive Producer, you will be a motivator, able to leverage your depth of production knowledge, best practices to the benefit of the team.
What you'll be doing:
- Partnering with team leadership to create effective strategic project plans across the main game and any other associated major projects.
- Responsible for the production aspects of game development, including the creation of development frame works, processes, reporting, risk management, capacity planning, resource management and the games budget.
- Own all project management aspects of game development, ensuring on time and on budget delivery.
- Make strategic decisions, taking into consideration known information about talent, costs, and delivery dates. Also balancing tactical, strategic planning and thinking; expands beyond the tactical needs of a current single project when making decisions about people, technology, and partners.
- Work closely with the Executive Producer, Product, Design, Production, Design and Art and Marketing to develop the year’s budgets and roadmaps.
- Develop, maintain and publish project KPI’s, that track project quality, delivery and predictability, communication with team and key stakeholders to provide project status updates. Regularly monitor quality metrics with team leads and takes corrective actions.
- Ensure the team has the best organizational structure, processes and practices that allow them to produce high quality work efficiently on time and on budget.
- Drive efficiencies and new ways of thinking with a goal of reducing waste and increasing predictability.
- Support the scaling of development via outsourcing, develop capacity plans, budgets, processes, and tracking.
- Work with line managers and craft leads, assessing skills requirements for current project and next.
- Monitor, Measure and Mitigate all risks, effectiveness of dev initiatives, medium to high level org risks, and high-level financial risks that can help the team deliver the best possible game.
- Help the team create clear Roles & Responsibilities, develop RACI matrixes for initiatives.
- Coaching and mentoring future development directors, project managers and producers in the team.
- Develop rich relationships and partnerships with the Dev Team, cross-functional company-wide teams.
- Identifies, creates, and fosters superior information exchange systems enabling all team members to feel part of the same location.
- Apply best practices to create an environment for high-performance teams; ensures proper training is conducted to help drive success.
- Identify and lead large collaborative efforts across multiple teams/initiatives.
- Conduct regular, effective retrospectives and post-mortem reviews.
- Ensure organizational, leadership, or strategy changes are well documented and communicated.
- Evaluate and adapt job roles to keep employees motivated and interested, while ensuring green housing and succession opportunities are available.
- Champion standards developed by the Executive Producer for the team and supports overall team health. Drive team cultural changes.
- Actively participate and contribute to change across the larger studio
Requirements:
- Extensive team leadership experience, inspiring high performing teams.
- Strong analytical mind with excellent people and communication capabilities
- Extensive and proven experience in game development and live games on multiple complex projects
- Applied expertise using AGILE, SCRUM, LEAN and Waterfall on small and large-scale development
- Avid game player with a passion for creating innovative and compelling games experiences
- Knowledge of MMORPGs would be ideal
- Experience with analytics and data driven decision making a plus
Company Overview:
A leader in creating deep and engaging experiences on PC and mobile, Jagex was founded in 2001 and is today one of the UK’s biggest and most respected video game developers and publishers.
Famed for its flagship MMOs RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, Jagex has welcomed more than 260million player accounts to its world and created a $1bn lifetime franchise revenue. Today the RuneScape franchise exists beyond running games in live operations; our titles are living games that connect and inspire millions of players, with content and experiences both inside and outside of inexhaustible game worlds.
Both RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, on PC and mobile, offer ever-evolving, highly-active worlds and our community-focussed development ethos empowers players to have a real say in how each game is shaped.
Jagex is expanding and extending its portfolio with fresh franchise titles, new IP and, in 2018 launched Jagex Partners, delivering third-party publishing and operational services exclusively for the living games of the future.
Jagex employs more than 400 people at its Cambridge headquarters and is on the hunt for talented people to work across the business to help the company to achieve yet another year of record growth and player satisfaction.
Company Benefits:
- Flexible Working
- Bonus Scheme
- Private Health Care
- Gym Membership
- Monthly Energy Allowance
- Generous Pension Contributions
- Life Insurance
- Free Cycle Repair
- Income Protection
- Dental Plan
- Free Fruit and Drinks
- Subsidised Canteen
Feel like you fit this role, but don’t meet all the requirements? We strive for fresh perspectives, so as long as you can demonstrate how your attitude and other abilities might make up for any gaps we would welcome your application!
Jagex are an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages 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.
