Development Director

Requisition Number: 152136

Position Title: DD I

External Description:

We are EA

We entertain millions of people across the globe with the most amazing and immersive interactive software in the industry. But making games is hard work. That’s why we employ the most creative, passionate people in the industry.

The Challenge Ahead

The Development Director (DD) is a Project Manager role that also has Line Manager responsibilities. The DD at EA is a critical role and responsible for ensuring the successful delivery of a game on time and within budget. Prior to production, they carry out a detailed analysis of the game design and work out the project ‘milestones’ (specific targets that have to be met by certain dates), agreeing upon these with the key technical and creative managers such as the Game Designer, Art Director and Lead Programmer. The DD then works out a schedule for the project and decides the personnel and equipment needed.

Once development is underway, the DD monitors the team’s progress against the schedule. They must be able to prioritize when production deadlines are a concern, manage risks, and plan for contingencies. Finally, the DD is responsible for all people management on the team and is tasked with motivating and developing all staff under their management including career development.

What a Development Director does at EA:

Project Management

• Responsibility for establishing an overall project schedule based on the individual task estimates; determine the resource requirements to meet the task requirements; validate task duration and determine task dependencies; establish a budget for each task, determine task dependencies, and assign tasks to team resources as appropriate; establish test plans / success criteria for each task;
• Managing the change request process; decomposing change requests into component tasks, and of estimating the impact of each change request on project schedule, budget, and resources; communicating to project stakeholders the impact of each requested change, and produce a work breakdown structure from a design document;

Staff Management

• Provides inspiring leadership by proactively meeting or communicating with employees individually to monitor and prevent potential problems or concerns; reward and recognize performance and provides coaching on performance related issues; monitors workload and recognizes extra effort with praise and discretionary rewards;
• Participates in development of retention programs; works with team members to develop and pursue a career action plan and identifies potential growth opportunities; provides team members with information on self-study, courses and training opportunities; participates in employees performance evaluations; participate in the recruitment of new team members; reviewing resumes, interviewing and assessing candidates;

Leadership

• Ensures adequate equipment, tools and support are provided for team members;
• Enhances personal understanding of the production process and actively offers input;
• Provides input for departmental planning (i.e. resource planning, cost estimates etc.); can facilitate process improvements across departments; shows comfort in moving beyond micro-management of junior staff and directs delegated responsibility effectively.

The next great EA Development Director also needs:

An EA Development Director is expected to possess:

• Strong negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution skills;
• Effective communication skills across all levels of an organization.
• A history of working in online services is a distinct advantage.

What’s in it for you? Glad you asked!

• Competitive salary plus annual bonus scheme
• Central location in Guildford (5 minutes from main train station)
• Private medical insurance & dental care
• Pension scheme
• Life insurance
• Stock plans
• Free onsite gym
• Employee discounts
• Rail season ticket loan
• Annual game points and digital download allowance
• Onsite café
• 25 days holiday (including 3 days company shutdown days between Christmas & New Year)
• Two annual staff parties (Summer & Christmas)
• Casual dress code
• Games Area

We thought you might also want to know:

• More about our studio: http://ghostgames.com/
• More about our location: http://careers.ea.com/our-locations/guildford

Take your career to the next level – apply today!            

City:

State:

Community / Marketing Title: Development Director

Company Profile:

Electronic Arts Inc. 是全球领先的互动娱乐软件公司。 EA 提供适用于联网主机、个人电脑、手机和平板电脑的游戏、内容和在线服务。

EEOText: EA 是一个奉行机会均等的雇主。 所有招聘决定均不考虑种族、肤色、国籍、血统、生理性别、社会性别、性别认同或表达、性向、年龄、遗传信息、宗教信仰、残障状况、医疗状况、怀孕状况、婚姻状况、家庭状况或退伍军人身份等因素的影响。 EA 还会遵照相关法律，为符合条件的残障个体改善工作环境。

Days Open: 224

Can this position be remote?:

EEO Employer Verbiage:

EA 是一个奉行机会均等的雇主。 所有招聘决定均不考虑种族、肤色、国籍、血统、生理性别、社会性别、性别认同或表达、性向、年龄、遗传信息、宗教信仰、残障状况、医疗状况、怀孕状况、婚姻状况、家庭状况或退伍军人身份等因素的影响。 EA 还会遵照相关法律，为符合条件的残障个体改善工作环境。