OAT Test Manager - SC Cleared
6‑Month Contract | Inside IR35
2-3 Days Onsite (City of London)
We are seeking an experienced OAT Test Manager to support a major infrastructure refresh programme within a secure environment. This role requires strong Operational Acceptance Testing expertise and an active SC Clearance.
You will ensure that refreshed, modernised, and migrated infrastructure platforms are fully operationally ready before entering live service-working closely with infrastructure, operations, and service management teams to deliver a seamless go‑live with minimal business impact.
Role Responsibilities
OAT Strategy & Planning
1. Define and own the Operational Acceptance Testing strategy across a large infrastructure refresh programme.
2. Develop OAT plans aligned to phased migrations, cutovers, and rollout waves.
3. Establish clear OAT entry/exit criteria and ensure alignment to operational and service readiness standards.
4. Ensure OAT covers both refreshed platforms and impacts to existing live services.
Infrastructure Service Readiness
5. Coordinate OAT activities across compute, storage, network, cloud and EUC platforms.
6. Validate monitoring, alerting, performance, capacity, and operational tooling.
7. Ensure testing of backup, recovery, DR, resilience, and security controls.
8. Validate access management, patching, vulnerability management, and operational compliance.
Transition, Migration & Cutover
9. Support migration and cutover activity ensuring operational controls are embedded.
10. Validate rollback and coexistence procedures.
11. Ensure operations teams are fully prepared to support legacy and refreshed services.
Stakeholder Engagement
12. Act as the primary OAT contact for infrastructure delivery, operations, and service management.
13. Engage with third‑party vendors and MSPs where required.
14. Run service readiness workshops and operational walkthroughs.
15. Ensure runbooks, support models, and escalation routes are complete and approved.
Governance, Risk & Reporting
16. Identify and track operational risks associated with infrastructure change.
17. Provide clear evidence, reporting and assurance of operational readiness.
18. Support senior stakeholders with go‑live and readiness decisions.
Skills & Experience Required
Essential
19. Experience managing OAT, service readiness, or operational validation for infrastructure programmes.
20. Proven background with on‑prem, cloud or hybrid infrastructure (compute, storage, network, platforms).
21. Solid understanding of ITIL and live service operations.
22. Hands‑on experience across migrations, cutovers, or large‑scale tech refresh programmes.
23. Stakeholder management.
Desirable
24. Experience in data centre exit, cloud migration or infrastructure modernisation.
25. Knowledge of resilience, DR and high‑availability design.
26. Experience working with third‑party providers/MSPs.
27. Familiarity with CMDBs, monitoring platforms or SmartIT/Remedy.
Guidant, Carbon60, Lorien & SRG - The Impellam Group Portfolio are acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.