Our Senior
Developer II

Impact level
Team/Company

You are an excellent craftsman and a front-runner for the team/discipline, can articulate your opinions with great confidence and persuasive power, while remaining open and humble. You drive development team innovation and are an inspiration not only for other developers but also to the company. You bring a vision and holistic perspective to the development process working closely with Technical Guides, Team Leads and the Chief Technological Officer. You can set up and configure tools for the whole organisation. You help other developers in defining their growth plan(s). You can lead a team and development strategy from a technical perspective. You challenge the status quo. You are occasionally involved in business level decisions. You embrace discomfort and stay calm and constructive in difficult times. You are a trusted partner for the Chief Technology Officer, Team Leads and Technical Guides. At this point it’s also possible for you to consider becoming an architect as a specialisation. It is noteworthy, that depending on the level of expertise and specialisation(s), some Senior II may have a comparable impact level to Team Leads and CTO.  You could be involved in employee promotion discussions together with Human Resources and management and work closely with Team Lead and HR to give input for evaluating team members when needed.

Required competence
levels for this position

Listening
3
Oral & Written expression
4
Timing
2
Sensitivity
3
Communication
Helping
3
Approachability
3
Adaptability
3
Feedback
3
Reliability
4
Empathy
3
Working with others
Growth Mindset
4
Knowledge
4
Quality Orientation
4
Craftsmanship
Planning & Organisation
3
Creative problem solving
4
Pragmatism
4
Resilience
3
Commercial Awareness
2
Effectiveness
People Management
1
Process Management
2
Strategic Thinking
1
Self Leadership
1
Leadership

Core competence
expectations

Communication
Listening
3

1) Listens to others actively and grasps the bigger context.
In meetings you pro-actively steer towards agreements.
You summarise and clarify complex and sensitive messages so that the agreements are clear for everyone.
You make people feel heard and understood.

Oral & Written Expression
4

1) Can argue a complex decision that involves many sides.
Someone in your team was underperforming and negatively impacting others, you can speak with them directly, if needed escalate the issue and own the responsibility for your actions. 2) Proactively experiments with different communication platforms and makes a proposal to introduce them within the company.

Timing
2

1) Communicates relevant actions in a timely manner.  
You raise concerns about your project in a timely manner.

Sensitivity
3

1) Is sensitive to non-verbal and verbal signals, chooses appropriate verbal and behavioural response even in unexpected and difficult situations.
2) Considers impact and consequences in their communication.
You choose your words carefully before speaking up.
You create space for the other person to digest the message if needed. 3) Is aware of the energy level of others while in meetings.
When you see someone in a meeting that doesn’t seem to be actively involved, you check in with them later to ask how they are doing.
You read the room and know when to stop a meeting.

Working with others
Helping
3

1) Establishes a culture of proactive cooperation.
You propose pair programming sessions.
You encourage colleagues to contribute to organisation wide initiatives such as hackathon, all hands and so on.
You set an example by volunteering to review candidates’ assignments during recruitment.2) Actively contributes to resolving conflict.
You notice that your team is struggling with the client for a while now, you propose to involve the team lead or another relevant party to help you resolve the conflict.

Approachability
3

1) Is approachable and makes others feel comfortable to discuss anything.
You create space for people to approach you and discuss (personal) situations that may impact their work.

Adaptability
3

1) Encourages and enables adaptability within the team.
Generally, you embrace positive change and show contagious enthusiasm for initiatives that benefit the team/company.
2) Understands the requirements of different situations and effectively adapts their behaviour even when under stress and pressure.

Feedback
3

1) Gives constructive and timely feedback to the colleagues/team.
You can identify challenges for the team and help improve the way of working by giving them adequate feedback.
You give timely feedback on performance.
You recognise your colleague’s efforts and progress.
You give valuable insights on how to strengthen a certain skill.
When you notice that your team-members’ behaviour is not in line with company values, you raise your concerns and give specific examples and alternatives for adapting the behaviour. 2) Constructs a follow-up plan based on received feedback and ensures its implementation.
When the follow up plan has proven ineffective, you are able to stay critical and remind yourself of the initial goal.
When others receive feedback to improve on something, you can help them in defining the follow up plan.
In team retrospectives, you make sure that there is a follow up plan to achieve the improvements. 3) Gives constructive feedback towards the company and management.

Reliability
4

1) Creates a culture of accountability and leads by example.

Empathy
3

1) Shows genuine interest in others’ success and promotes and showcases their abilities.
2) Encourages and facilitates inclusive behaviour in the team.
3) Addresses suspected dissatisfaction and unexpressed emotions.
4) Anticipates and addresses possible responses to their own behaviour, actions and remarks.

Craftsmanship
Growth mindset
4

1) Creates a culture where mistakes are allowed.
When your colleague makes a mistake, you focus on what can be learnt from it rather than holding it against them.
You allow people in your team to experiment, even if the outcome is uncertain. 2) Experiments with new developments and shares interesting findings to the whole organisation.
You give a talk or presentation at a Meetup or conference. You share your mistakes and learnings.

Knowledge
4

1) Takes time to always get better and improve “the craft” at Elements.
You are the go-to expert within the company.
You mentor/coach others.

Quality orientation
4

1) Creates outstanding quality output independently.
You see how the current tools fit the company and adjusts them based on efficiency and vision.  
You find and introduce new tools to get the required results.
You are constantly trying to improve the overall quality of Elements’ work. 2) Has a naturally quality oriented mindset and ensures that Elements continues to deliver quality.
You actively help others improve their output quality by, for instance, doing and promoting code reviews and proposing future-proof improvements.

Effectiveness
Planning & Organising
3

1) Defines the project/work goals and is unafraid to challenge and adapt it.
2) Can oversee the project planning and adjusts it when necessary.
Your planning reflects team members on-boarding and handovers.
You check EMIS to see the planning for your project and the team. 3) Can delegate in such a way that goals are achieved.

Creative problem-solving
4

1) Can break down complex and strategic information into manageable components and reflect on the organisation wide impact.
2) Can raise concerns about company priorities and proposes a valid actionable plan so that overall goals are met.
You present proposals and concrete plans that benefit the company.
3) Can delegate high level solutions that need to be translated into actions. Keeps an eye on the progress.

Pragmatism
4

1) Actively reminds people of pragmatism and how this can translate into concrete behaviour(s).
You see when people have too many meetings and are not approaching things in a pragmatic way. You give them feedback about this.
Instead of dwelling on things forever, you take “difficult” decisions to resolve pending issues or long-lasting discussions.

Resilience
3

1) Foresees that they'll need time to recover from difficulties.
2) Knows how to recover from difficult times.  
3) Recognises which difficulties are preventable and takes action to prevent them. 
You can say “no” to requested tasks if you see you'll be overloaded, you discuss this openly.  
4) Brings positive energy and stays optimistic even when the situation is challenging.

Commercial awareness
2

1) Can spot commercial opportunities within the current project and knows how to act upon them.
You recognize opportunities to inform clients of the ways Elements could help them to improve their product.  
You provide options for the customer, always keeping a focus on what can be achieved (or has been achieved) rather than what we can’t do or haven’t finished. You listen, understand, respond and provide solutions to customers that makes it easy for them to do business with you.
You are not only a developer but also a problem solver for the client. 2) Has a high-level understanding of the digital agency market and knows what we as Elements have to offer in that market.
You can identify the kind of digital products we work on or could work on. You are honest about the limitations of our services and refer the client elsewhere if needed. 3) Gets to know our clients and their market.
You listen carefully and make sure the client feels heard and important.
You investigate the market that the client operates in to get a general idea of what is at play.
You gain the clients trust and respect.
You are aware of the clients' goals for the project and every now and then you anticipate on how to fulfil their needs.

Secondary competence
expectations

Leadership

Leadership at Elements is about setting an example and being an inspiration. It’s about living the company values. Leaders at Elements are self-aware and understand how their behaviour impacts others. They take a step back and consider the bigger picture, act according to the company vision and play to their strengths to be effective in guiding teams. Leaders are thinking strategically but also very pragmatically to help move the company, teams and individual team members forward while considering both human and business factors.  

Key Sub-competences
Self-leadership, People Management, Process Management, Strategic thinking

Self-leadership
1

1) Requests feedback from the team and other colleagues about their own leadership skills and tries to learn from it.
2) Is aware of their strengths and can use them to everyone’s benefit.
3) Is aware of their pitfalls and is unafraid to admit them.
4) Is aware of the impact their words and actions may have on others and prepares for delicate situations in advance.
5) Is in control of their own self development and understands the steps they need to take to feel fulfilled.
6) Is guided by ethical principles and shows integrity.
7) Builds trust through straightforwardness and consistency.
8) Is an independent thinker and does not jump to conclusions impulsively.  
You stay calm, take a step back to consider all aspects and consequences before you draw a conclusion.

People Management
1

1) Is attentive to their team members and values strong interpersonal relationships.
2) Gives timely reaction to situations and does not let important things slide.
When you see that the end goal might be compromised, you take action to resolve it or flag it with the right people and demand action.
3) Understands team’s needs and/or priorities and drives their actions to both represent the team and meet the project or company goals.

Process Management
2

1) Can help with challenges in the planning, by knowing the different skills, ambitions, and availability of their team.  
2) Creates the conditions that enable the team to perform at its best (e.g. setting clear direction, providing appropriate structures and processes, getting the right people).
You provide the resources and tools for teams to complete their tasks.  
You take a step back and can fully understand how the tech implementation works and support the team accordingly. 3) Analyses whether a change in strategic direction will impact existing processes and adapts them accordingly.
4) When needed, can argument and negotiate project-related tech and/or process related agreements in a way that favour the team, client, project’s outcome as well as the company.

Strategic Thinking
1

1) Understands the project or company priorities.
You explain the organisational priorities to the team and ensure that everyone is on the same page.
You are aware of the bigger picture and know exactly why certain things need to be given a higher urgency than others. 2) Communicates Elements’ vision and values and the importance of them.
You remind a new colleague of the Elements’ brand book.
When making a decision, can consider all interests (the individual, the organization, the business perspective) and weigh out different consequences.
When you need to decide on whether to hire a candidate, you evaluate the person on cultural match just as much as on technical skills. 3) Understands how decisions are made and asks questions for more clarity when relevant.

Take control of your career path.

These definitions and behavioural examples must not be seen as a checklist, they are intended to serve you as a solid reference point to (1) take control of your professional path, (2) to assess your colleagues’ professional contribution and (3) recruit new teammates.