Our Organisation
The NHS is building a culture that is positive, compassionate and inclusive – and we all have our part to play.
As employers we are committed to protecting and promoting the physical and mental health and wellbeing of all our colleagues. This underpins our values as set out in the NHS Constitution and supports us to be an Employer of Choice, while helping our colleagues to deliver high quality services for our patients and communities.
As a flexible employer, we want to support you to work in a way that is best for the NHS, our patients and you. Talk to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that's a job share, part time, hybrid working or another flexible pattern. In addition, although the role advertised may have a 'home' office base indicated, we remain committed to supporting flexibility around workplace locations. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
We are an accredited Living Wage Employer which means that every colleague working for our organisation and third-party contractors will earn a real Living Wage. We are one of over 15,000 organisations, who voluntarily chose to pay the real Living Wage.
Job overview
The Organisation Data Service (ODS) issues and manages unique identification codes (ODS codes) and accompanying reference data for organisations that interact with any area of the health and social care system.
ODS data is used in almost every IT system across the NHS to support key functionality such as messaging, referrals, financial transactions, access control, reporting and analytics.
The Organisation Data Service consists of 6 teams: Support Team (helpdesk); Business Support/Programme Office Team; Business Analysis; Data Management; Technical Team; Projects Team. We are an end-to-end service delivery team.
An understanding of, and interest in, how reference data is integral to the functioning of health and care systems is desirable for the role. In addition, experience of working for a team delivering or interacting with APIs would be advantageous.
Advert
As an ODS Lead Test Specialist, duties are varied in that tech team is required at specific steps of a project lifecycle and engagement and communication are key. This role will:
* Plan and manage test activities within the ODS management and tech team.
* Manage and test all new and updated ODS products
* Provide specialist software testing input for ODS development projects.
* Liaise with Platform and Infrastructure team where required.
* Create when required and maintain/support all test environments owned by ODS.
* Introduce and maintain test automation for new and existing products
* Plan and execute all departmental integration testing.
* Devise and maintain automated regression testing suite.
* Manage third party pen testing requirements where required
* Define test scenarios and acceptance criteria.
* Create test data.
* Manage user acceptance testing (UAT)
* Consult with stakeholders on new requirements.
* Report on testing activities documenting issues and risks.
Working for our organisation
Our staff bring expertise across clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial specialisms — enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.
We lead the NHS in England by:
* Enabling local systems and providers to improve the health of their people and patients and reduce health inequalities
* Making the NHS a great place to work, where people can develop and make a difference
* Working collaboratively to ensure our healthcare workforce has the right knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver accessible, compassionate care
* Optimising the use of digital technology, research, and innovation
* Delivering value for money
Earlier this year, the Government announced that NHS England will gradually merge with the Department of Health and Social Care, to create a smaller, more strategic centre that reduces duplication and waste.
If successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the process.
Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in-person.
Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.
Our commitments to you
We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers better patient outcomes. We strive to ensure our people feel trusted, valued and empowered. We're passionate about nurturing and developing people. When you join us, we want you to grow and excel, and we offer many opportunities for you to do that. We welcome your talent and enthusiasm irrespective of age, disability, neuro-divergence, sex, gender identity and gender expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances. We have policies and procedures to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process, including the consideration of reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability and/or who are neuro-divergent.
We welcome applications from disabled candidates. If you meet all the essential criteria, you will be guaranteed an interview.
Your application is your opportunity to demonstrate to us how you meet the requirements of the role. Whilst we appreciate that you may have had support with your application (e.g., using AI technology or guidance from a trusted individual), it's important that the information contained within your application reflects your own knowledge, skill, and experience and we trust that you apply on that basis.
If applying for this role on a secondment basis, please make sure you have obtained prior agreement from your current line manager to apply for this position.
Please note that we currently do not accept applications via recruitment agencies.
Please note that we cannot offer visa sponsorship for any of our vacancies.
To comply with the HM Government Functional Standard GovS 007, and specifically the Personnel Security Standards 2024, individuals employed or contracted by NHS England may be required to undergo a Baseline Personnel Security Standards check, dependent on the role.
The NHS Business Services Authority is responsible for the processing of your application; a privacy notice can be accessed directly on the application page when you select to apply.
If you have applied via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from If you are appointed to a post, information will also be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through NHS Jobs, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any emails sent to us via NHS Jobs. If you have a query relating to your application, please contact the recruitment team on [email protected] or
NHS England