User:ErrantX/2013 Developer role
This page is a draft proposal for a contracted developer to handle WMUK needs over the short term & to act as a base for building long term technology strategy.
Background
Recently a developer position was advertised; it appears no successful candidate was found. At the time criticism was made of the process in hiring a developer - some of the comments included:
- Broad scope of tasks (from project management through programming to sysadmin)
- Relatively low wage (the description was looking for an all-rounder with management experience, in London, at a rate around £10K below the going rate)
- Lack of definition of work (it was unclear what tasks would need to be performed)
Need
Wikimedia UK does need developer support; currently servers and services are being supported by volunteers (in fact; mainly one volunteer I believe). In addition there is no support for the UK MediaWiki developer community etc.
Proposal
This proposal suggests that for the 2013 budget period Wikimedia UK hires a developer for one day a week, with a contract agreement for "out of hours" support. This is fairly common for smaller firms needing technical support, but without the immediate need for a full time worker.
Although contract prices are generally higher than full-time employment rates, the overall budget should be significantly less than what was earmarked in 2012. It will be more than one-fifth of a full-time employee at ~£25,000; however, it should allow us to find the better qualified candidates that the previous proposal wanted.
Budget
I propose keeping the developer budget the same as last year (£30,000) or less. Here is an outline of a possible budget; with a more well defined requirements then hardware/software budgets could be factored in. It could also include a travel budget to allow the developer to attend hackathon's etc. as appropriate.
| Line Item | Unit Price | Units | Total (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Developer, 1 day per week | £100 (£12.50/hr)* | 52 | 5,200 |
| Developer, hourly support | £15 | 100# | 1500 |
| Technical Budget | TBD | n/a | 10,000 |
| £16,700 |
- Estimated unit cost - I recommend tendering for competitive offers
- This is an estimation of the amount of out-of-hours support required based on my own experience, it is probably an overestimate