Software Engineering Coach

Starting Salary

£30k - £42k*, dependent on experience

• if you are excited about this opportunity but cannot financially afford to move for a salary of £42k or less, please let us know you're still interested and let's have a chat. We may be able to discuss a role with additional responsibilities and higher salary banding. Thanks!

Start date

4th October 2021, but flexible if needed

Extra info

We would prefer someone to join us on a permanent basis, however we are also open to discussing a fixed-term contract for freelancers or people who may wish to take part for 4-6 months initially.

About School of Code

Our Vision

To become the most transformational learning journey in the world! Accelerating people to destinations they didn't think possible.

What is the School of Code Bootcamp?

Like no other technology team you've ever been a part of; when you walk into one of the School of Code bootcamps, you can expect a room filled with a diverse array of people. You could meet pastry bakers, full-time parents, artists, dancers, refugees… people of all races, gender, ethnicity and age. There is only one unifying factor, everyone is there to learn core skills that will help them thrive in a career in tech.

The School of Code takes them all from zero to programmer - throughout a free 16 week online intensive full-stack coding bootcamp.

We believe money and background shouldn't dictate whether you are able to learn the skills of the future. Our model helps to break down these barriers in a truly inclusive way. We ensure they get the very best in technical and mindset training to help them to thrive in the ever changing world of tech.

We've come a long way since our very first bootcamp in Birmingham 2017. We've received over 5,000 applications for the course. We've trained over 200 people and we've secured careers for more than 85% of the bootcampers, even during COVID.

Today, we are looking to scale into 5 new regions in the UK and transform the lives of another 192 across the country before April 2022.

To help with this growth, we are looking for six new team members from a Software Engineering background, to join our very talented Coaching Team.

About the role

The people we're looking for - hint: you don't have to be a ready made coach :)

Our Software Engineering Coaches are the backbone of how we deliver incredible coding bootcamps that change people's lives. You are the inspiration and the guidance for the bootcampers. People who live and breathe what it's like to work in the industry for real, including the challenges, pressures and opportunities that come along.

The good news is, you don't already have to be a coach! Our coaches have all been software engineers and developers for between 1-5 years, and have decided to make the move into helping School of Code with their mission.

Alongside a coaching team, you will be responsible for leading our bootcampers through a wide-ranging, challenging, and unique journey through the world of Software Development. This will involve being skilled in at least one of the following areas, ideally both: Technical Expertise and Coaching.

Our coaches work in pairs to deliver talks on a whole range of topics that encompass modern software development in high-performance tech teams; preparing workshop materials which help to deliver the core School of Code value of learning through doing; modeling a problem solving mindset that helps set people up for their first jobs in tech and beyond; and inspiring students by creating a fun and dynamic learning environment.

We also don't want people to come in with the latest technical skills, then lose these skills whilst coaching - so there are a number of technical projects to keep your skills no only in-hand, but always up-to-date!

Some of the skills you'll be likely to have

• A passion for technology, programming, and problem solving
• A solid understanding of JavaScript, HTML and CSS
• An appreciation for working in agile tech teams
• An understanding of the practices of modern software development
• Confidence to articulate new concepts to an audience of beginners
• Ability to live code and deliver talks to a broad audience
• Ability to guide people to learn, develop, and critically think for themselves

How you'll spend the majority of your time

• Leading bootcampers through our 16-week, 9-5 intensive bootcamp
• Keeping up to date with the latest changes in technology, and constantly improving your skills and understanding of working in tech
• Giving lectures on the set topics that are outlined in our web development syllabus
• Preparing and facilitating coding workshops using GitHub classroom
• Supporting pairs and small groups in breakout rooms
• Modelling a problem solving mindset and coaching bootcampers to think for themselves
• Creating solutions that can help with delivering and scaling the School of Code and improving the bootcamper and staff experience
• Engaging with industry by going out into companies to see who are good partners and destinations for School of Code graduates, and gathering the best working practices we can adopt and teach

Is this role right for you?

It might not be the role for you if:

• Want the predictability of a larger organisation
• Are uncomfortable with change
• Always need to be given detailed instructions to work effectively
• Don't feel passionate about the potential of tech to change people's lives

It might be the role for you if you:

• Are passionate about helping people
• Enjoy teaching and helping people grow
• Love tech and want to keep your skills at the cutting edge
• Are self-motivated and committed to improving people's lives
• Are collaborative, and like to be supported rather than micro-managed
• Want to help grow something special that positively impacts the world

Working hours and benefits

School of Code hours are usually between 8.30am – 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. Outside of bootcamp delivery hours are more flexible, but we have regular team stand-ups to keep everyone included and on the same page.

You will get:

• Company-wide holiday over Christmas-New Year
• Bank Holidays off
• On top of that, 22 bookable days per year
• Regular socials...for in person and remote fun!
• The opportunity to be at the heart of an exciting and socially conscious organisation, and help it scale to truly change people's lives
• 1-1 coaching to support your wellbeing, personal and professional development
• Daily team energisers, regular learn and share sessions, and much more
• Time and budget allocated to relevant professional learning and certifications
• Embedded into a culture which prioritises teams, learning, and impact
• To be surrounded by smart, driven and ambitious people who dream big, work hard and have fun

Location

The School of Code's HQ is in The Custard Factory, Birmingham. The location you work from is flexible, with the option to work from home or the office. Currently, our approach for the Midlands is to come into the office once a week to spend time with members of the team, although you are welcome to use the office whenever suits. All coaching will be delivered remotely or in a blended fashion for the foreseeable future as we will now be delivering bootcamps nationally across England.

Application process

• ‘Get to know' questions: After reviewing your application, if you're successful the process will include an initial screening questionnaire (either via a form or quick 10 minute chat on the phone).
• Coding challenge: Following this you will be invited to complete a remote interview (group interview day) and a coding challenge to complete in advance.
• Group interview day: as we're looking to scale in 5 new regions, quickly, we've decided to carry out a similar interview style that we would usually do for the bootcamper applications. You will be invited to an interactive interview session with other candidates where you will take part in mini breakout sessions and 121 meetings with some of the SoC team.
• Meet the Bootcampers: We will make offers straight after the interview days and if successful, will invite you to our say hello to our current live bootcamp so you can see it in action!

If you have any questions at all about the role or process, please get in touch at and someone will get back to you.

In the meantime, have a great day and we look forward to speaking with you soon!

The School of Code