Overview
Test Lead role at Talent in Southampton, England, United Kingdom. This opportunity is for a major public sector programme delivering large-scale, data-led transformation. The role combines technical leadership with hands-on delivery; you''ll be leading test strategy, managing a small team, and directly contributing to the testing of complex ETL processes, data warehouses, and large-scale data systems.
Responsibilities
* Leading and managing a test team: overseeing day-to-day activities, allocating work, and ensuring quality delivery across multiple streams.
* Providing mentorship and coaching to junior and mid-level testers, raising capability, and embedding best practices.
* Hands-on testing of Big Data, ETL workflows, APIs, and UIs; personally executing test cases and validating data accuracy and transformations.
* Designing, building, and maintaining manual and automated test suites using tools like Playwright, Pytest, and Behave.
* Developing and managing comprehensive test plans, scripts, and reports, ensuring traceability back to requirements.
* Driving quality across Agile teams by reviewing user stories, defining test conditions, and ensuring both functional and non-functional coverage.
* Promoting a culture of continuous improvement and knowledge sharing across delivery teams.
What You''ll Bring
* Proven experience managing and leading testers in Agile delivery environments, including workload management and coaching.
* Strong hands-on expertise in Big Data, Data Warehousing, and ETL testing; comfortable interrogating data and validating complex transformations.
* Solid Python skills, with experience applying frameworks like Pytest and Behave to build scalable automation.
* A balance of strategic leadership and practical delivery, able to plan, coordinate, and lead while also directly executing tests when required.
* Demonstrated ability to foster a team culture of quality, accountability, and professional development.
* Active SC Clearance is required for this role; no other applications for this role will be considered.
Details
* Contract length: 3-6 months (with strong extension potential)
* Location: Hybrid working — Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Blackpool
* Pay: £500/day, Inside IR35
* Active SC Clearance required
Seniority level
* Mid-Senior level
Employment type
* Part-time
Job function
* Quality Assurance
Industries
* Staffing and Recruiting
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