The job on offer is basically helping develop and support everything we do online. That means in particular our award-winning website, but also our wiki-based intranet and the regular emails we send out to our supporters and campaigners.
Your job will essentially be to help look after the system we’ve got, and to come up with ways it might be improved.
What you’ll need to show us
We’re looking for someone exceptional. The person who did this job before you could speak five languages, including Chinese. Yes OK, he was Chinese, so that helped, and most of the other languages were computer ones. But the point is we want someone who’s got great technical skills but also keen to learn new things.
We want someone who’ll think laterally – without having to lie down – and be a natural-born problem-solver. You’ll know how to create solutions from a user perspective as well as a programming one.
You’ll be enthusiastic and well-organised, with a pedantic attention to detail. Flexible too, happy to switch between projects at the click of a button. And meet deadlines for them all. Any other superpowers you have will be an advantage too.
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There’s likely to be a lot of people after this job, so we need to set some minimum technical requirements – the kind you might expect for a position like this, including:
• fluency in (X)HTML, CSS and JavaScript
• thorough working knowledge of either Ruby on Rails, PHP, ColdFusion, ASP.Net or Java
• a degree in Computer Science, or similar qualification that ticks the right boxes
You’ll also need to know all about databases and how they’re used in Content Management System-based websites. And understand the ins and outs of web servers, especially Apache.
You’ll be expected to keep our hosting infrastructure running smoothly, and of course you’ll already be intimately familiar with usability best practice and web standards. And you’ll be the kind of person who keeps up to date with new technologies and have ideas about how we can make best use of them (we know you won’t find that too arduous).
You can be as geeky as you like here, but ideally you’ll also share WWF’s basic concerns for solving big environmental problems, and grasp what we’re trying to achieve with our website. It’s here to enthuse our supporters and visitors so they’ll take action to look after the natural world.
We want someone who’s a good communicator – verbally as well as in code. You’ll be liaising with colleagues here at our UK HQ in Godalming and across WWF’s international network. You might also occasionally be required to make a wry comment about something technical. You and Keith might be the only people who get it, but that’s fine.
Keith is our online Technical Manager. He’s the person you’ll be working most closely with. What can we tell you about Keith? He has a big voice and sometimes sports facial hair. And he keeps chickens. Not in the office, thankfully. You’ll find him great to work with. But be prepared for him to ask you tricky questions at the interview – things like:
• What do you think about integration with web service APIs?
• Are you familiar with agile project development?
• Object oriented versus MVC?
And he’ll be delighted if you impress him with your webby knowledge.
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What gets Keith particularly excited is the idea of hiring someone who can create something new and ingenious using existing web tools. That and chickens, obviously.
For more information about this opportunity please see the job description.
Well, does this sound like your kind of job? We’d prefer if you can show us you’ve got previous web development experience, and some project management skills – but we might overlook that if you’re otherwise perfect for the job. It’s up to you to persuade us…
So if you feel you would like to work for an organisation where you can really make a difference please send your CV and a covering letter which details how your experience and skill set meets each point within the person specification to the Recruitment Specialist, WWF-UK, Panda House, Weyside Park, Godalming, Surrey GU7 1XR or email recruitment@wwf.org.uk quoting reference 1560.
Closing Date: - 11 February 2011
Interview Date: - 21 February 2011
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