About the role
A dedicated, experienced individual to join the Operations function as a Test Lead.
The responsibilities of the Test Lead include ensuring adherence to the agreed enterprise testing framework and to design and deliver effective testing for projects and prioritised change activity.
You will also provide line management for a small team of testers, supporting the team and assigned projects to develop test plans, mitigate risks to the test plan and support them as they develop their testing capability.
You will communicate concisely, clearly, and constructively with colleagues at all levels of the organisation to ensure strong engagement in testing activity.
Key aptitudes include a strong drive to successfully agree and deliver business outcomes, brilliant collaboration across all project and programme stakeholders and a relentless focus on continuous improvement. A natural attention to detail and a desire to understand and address blockers to effective change is a must.
Key responsibilities
* Collaborate closely with product owners, project managers, developers, and business analysts to clarify requirements in order to establish test needs and ensure test coverage remains adequate throughout delivery
* Develop and maintain test plans, and test schedules aligned with project goals and timelines
* Assign tasks to test team members and monitor progress, ensuring high-quality deliverables
* Lead, manage and coordinate testing efforts across multiple projects, teams, environments, and releases
* Review and validate test cases, test scripts, and test data for accuracy and completeness
* Arrange appropriate test environments to deliver the testing requirements for projects
* Facilitate defect triage meetings and ensure proper issue tracking and resolution
* Track and report quality metrics (e.g. defect density, test coverage, pass/fail rates)
* Promote best practices in testing and continuous improvement within the Test team
* Provide mentorship and technical guidance to junior testers
* Line management function for a small test team
* Participate in release planning and support User Acceptance Testing (UAT), Performance and Operational Acceptance Testing (OAT) as needed
Qualifications and skills
Required:
* Proven experience as a Test Lead, Senior QA Engineer, or similar role
* Hands-on experience with manual and/or automated testing in web, mobile, and enterprise applications
* Strong knowledge of testing/QA methods, tools, and processes
* Strong understanding of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), Waterfall, Agile and hybrid delivery methods
* Strong understanding of Risk Based Testing framework
* Proficiency with test management and defect tracking tools (e.g. JIRA, Zephyr)
* Ability to plan, prioritize, and manage multiple testing projects simultaneously
* Excellent communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills
* ISTQB Foundation certificate
Desirable:
* Understanding of test automation and performance and security testing tools
* Understanding of CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices
* Familiarity with API testing tools (e.g. Postman)
* Understanding of Product Risk Assessments and how to apply them to a Risk Based Test Approach
* Relevant advanced certifications (e.g. ISTQB Advanced Test Manager) are desirable