Job description
Location: Cape Town
Working Practices: Hybrid | Mondays and Thursdays in office and remaining days remote.
Contract Type: Permanent
Working Hours: 07H00AM - 15H30PM (SAST)
Job summary:
We are seeking a highly skilled hands-on Senior WordPress Developer to lead the development, deployment, and optimisation of our public-facing websites and supporting technology infrastructure. You’ll work directly with internal stakeholders and cloud platforms to ensure seamless, secure, and high-performance digital experiences.
In this role, you won’t just guide — you’ll build. You’ll be deep in the codebase, configuring infrastructure, managing deployments, and solving technical challenges every day.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead the development and maintenance of scalable, secure, and high-performance WordPress themes and plugins.
- Architect and implement responsive, accessible front-end interfaces using HTML5, CSS3/Sass, and JavaScript, aligned with design and UX best practices.
- Design and manage the integration of REST APIs and external data sources into WordPress-based systems.
- Drive performance optimisation, SEO strategy, and ensure full WCAG accessibility compliance across all public-facing digital properties.
- Oversee configuration and optimisation of CDN integrations (e.g., Cloudflare or CloudFront) to maximise load speed and reliability.
- Manage and enhance WordPress hosting environments, ensuring robust security, uptime, and scalability in cloud-based infrastructure.
- Champion version control practices using Git, and mentor team members through code reviews, documentation standards, and collaborative workflows.
Technical Expertise (Hands-On Experience):
- Extensive practical experience with PHP, HTML5, CSS3/Sass, and JavaScript in production environments.
- Advanced WordPress development including custom theme and plugin creation.
- Deep understanding of WordPress core at the code level.
- Real-world experience integrating RESTful APIs and GraphQL.
- Day-to-day use of build tools (Webpack, Gulp, Grunt) and Git version control.
Server and Infrastructure (Hands-On Experience):
- Proven experience setting up, configuring, and maintaining WordPress servers.
- Strong command of WP-CLI, performance tuning, and security hardening.
- Daily use and management of CDNs like Cloudflare or CloudFront (DNS, caching, SSL, DDoS protection).
- Working experience in Linux environments: scripting, package management, system and network admin.
- Hands-on use of cloud services (preferably AWS EC2, S3, Lambda).
- Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, deployments, and code quality best practices.
Development mindset:
- A focus on performance, security, SEO, and accessibility (WCAG) compliance from the ground up.
- Ability to independently troubleshoot, debug, and resolve issues in production.
- Comfortable working end-to-end across the tech stack with designers, testers, and product owners.
Skills:
- Strong attention to detail and quality.
- Proactive, adaptable, and willing to learn.
- Self-starter with a builder’s mindset — you take ownership, dive into code, and get things done.
- Comfortable translating tech speak for non-technical stakeholders.
- Strong problem-solving, prioritisation, and organisational skills.
- Clear communicator, both written and verbal, with a collaborative, proactive attitude.
- Experience with vendor or contract developers is a plus.
About Construct
Construct Education is a fee-for-service digital learning solutions company specializing in the design of innovative, impactful, and bespoke digital learning experiences. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of OES, a global leader in education solutions, we continue to push the boundaries of online education. Construct Education is committed to redefining online education in a way that prepares learners for real-world challenges and helps them succeed in their careers. Our vision is for everyone to have access to meaningful education through superior online programs.
Company Culture & Values
We are a people-focused organisation with a culture built around collaboration, connection, and working together toward one common goal. Our vibrant, values-led culture is grounded in four core principles that guide everything we do:
Passion and Perseverance: We love what we do (even though it’s not always easy) and take pride in creating transformative learning experiences. We bring a ‘can-do’ attitude to our work, tackling challenges and inspiring others.
Teamwork: We operate as cross-functional teams globally with trust and respect, celebrating success. We have fun while we work and enjoy collaborating with each other and OES partners.
Agility and Innovation: We are innovative, lateral thinkers who use our skills to do things better for our students. We thrive in ambiguity, embrace change and challenge conventional thinking.
Integrity: We do what’s right, and what we say we will do, every time. We value a culture of respectful feedback and believe that respect trumps harmony.
What We Offer*
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Flexible work for genuine career-life fit
- A healthy and supportive company culture
- Generous annual leave
- Paid maternity and paternity benefits
- Study leave
- Professional development and mentoring
- Construct Culture Club events
- Company funded lunch and drinks every 6 weeks
*Policy T&Cs apply for certain benefits
