Slow Ways is a visionary initiative to create a national walking and wheeling network. We are working to inspire more people to walk and wheel more often, further, and for more purposes.  

We are a not-for-profit Community Interest Company with a strong mission. 

We are looking for someone who is highly skilled in open source and spatial technology who can be our new Lead Technologist. It will be your job to enable people from across the country to make, share, review and improve the walking and wheeling routes that make up our network.

You will be responsible for:

Leadership and Collaboration:

• Supporting the Slow Ways team with solutions that enable the initiative and our contributors to flourish.

• Collaborating with others for seamless technology integration.

• Participating in Objective and Key Results project planning and prioritisation for aligning technology with business goals.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contributor experience:

• Ensuring users of the Slow Ways platform have a delightful experience.

• Equipping users with technology that enables them to make, share, find, plan, describe, communicate, enjoy and be creative with routes

• Making sure our technologies are as accessible as possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PHP Development:

• PHP with Laravel for web app development.

• PHP with Wordpress for stories channel support.

• Tailwind CSS for efficient and responsive UI design.

• Livewire for interactive and real-time user experiences.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Geographical Information System Tasks and Spatial Expertise:

• ESRI ArcGIS Online platform for Geographic Information System tasks.

• Spatial queries in MySQL or geospatial data retrieval.

• Python NetworkX library for routing and network analysis.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Data Analysis:

• Collaborating with the stories team and CEO to develop progress dashboards and statistics for the network.

• Creating back end for Slow Ways access by other organizations/teams.

• Executing complex SQL queries for network and user activity analysis.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DevOps:

• Deploying and managing complex websites with CloudWays/AWS services (ECC, S3, Redis, RDS).

• Implementing caching and site monitoring for enhanced performance and uptime.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Application Programming Interface Management:

• Integrating and consuming REST APIs (ArcGIS, weather feeds) for accessing external data.

• Developing and maintaining an API for communication between Slow Ways' applications and GIS.

• Supporting app development for iOS and Android architectures.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Running WordPress Securely and Achieving High Performance:

• Implementing WordPress security best practices.

• Utilising Laravel framework for seamless WordPress integration.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Web Technologies:

• Staying current with the latest web technologies and frameworks.

• Proficient in Laravel, Wordpress, Python, MySQL, Tailwind CSS, Livewire, JavaScript, CSS, and HTML.

• Familiar with SEO and on-page optimization.

• Scaling and optimizing technologies for efficient web applications.

• Utilising Google Analytics for performance monitoring and issue detection.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Testing:

• Implementing testing with Laravel Dusk, a browser automation and testing tool.

• Writing automated tests for functionality, performance, and usability of web apps.

• Developing and maintaining test suites for components, modules, and user scenarios.

• Improving testing process and coverage for high product quality.

• Assisting volunteers and customer support with website questions and issue resolution.

• Conducting workshops and guiding volunteers through the website.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Using Agile methodologies (Scrum/Kanban) for efficient project management:

• Collaborating with stakeholders to define goals, scope, and requirements.

• Breaking projects into tasks and user stories for development sprints.

• Conducting sprint planning, stand-ups, and retrospectives to monitor progress.

• Employing Agile project management tools for tracking timelines, tasks, and resources.

• Facilitating clear communication and coordination among team members.

• Adapting to changing requirements through iterative development.

• Empowering the team to self-organize while providing guidance and support.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Research and Innovation:

• Staying updated on emerging technology trends.

• Exploring new tools, frameworks, and methodologies to enhance Slow Ways' capabilities.

• Identifying opportunities for system, process, and workflow improvements.

We are looking for people who will:

• Care for and contribute to our community’s needs, diversity and cohesion

• Enjoy being outdoors and excited by the idea of using Slow Ways

• Be happy to get their hands (and feet) dirty

• Be playful and willing to experiment with ideas

• Be agile, flexible and open minded

You do not need to:

• Be a “walker”

• Live in the countryside

• Be able to read maps

Inclusion matters to us. We are particularly interested in hearing from people who have lived experience, or experience of working with/for groups that are marginalised or minoritised in the outdoors sector.

We are an equal opportunities organisation. All our employment decisions are made without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, citizenship or marital status. You must be located and legally allowed to work in the UK.

Visit our website for more details about Slow Ways.

This is a permanent part-time role (3-4 days per week). Contract, job share and other proposals will be considered. We are also interested in hearing from candidates who may not have significant experience, but that are highly skilled and confident they can fulfil the role.

RECRUITMENT TIMETABLE

First interviews: w/c 9th October 23 (remotely)

Second interview: w/c 16th October 23 (in person tbc)

Offer to the successful candidate: w/c 23rd October, 23

Applications for this role may close early subject to response level