Technical Assurance Lead - 21 Month Contract Outside IR35 Remote with 3x days travel to jersey per month. Spec: Technical Assurance Lead Role Purpose Act as an independent "critical friend" providing technical, estimation, and design assurance across a large-scale transformation programme. The role ensures supplier outputsincluding story sizing, architectural designs, and Key Design Decisions (KDDs)are technically sound, cost-effective, and aligned with strategic objectives. Key Deliverables Estimation Assurance: Review and challenge supplier estimates for user stories and epics; provide a log of material changes between baselines and updated figures with technical justification. Design & KDD Review: Technical validation of solution options and KDDs for architectural alignment, testing assumptions, and highlighting integration risks. Quality Gatekeeping: Define technical quality criteria for designs and non-functional requirements (NFRs); support the PMO in embedding formal design sign-off gates. Commercial & Planning Support: Independent technical input for Statements of Work (SoWs), change requests, and release planning (e.g., R1, R1.5). Cross-Programme Coherence: Ensure consistent use of shared components (e.g., Dataverse, integrations) across different workstreams. Capability Building: Coaching materials and checklists for Product Owners and BAs to improve internal ability to challenge technical estimates. Key Milestones Framework Setup: Establish the assurance framework and quality criteria (Week 12). Estimation Review: Complete the first wave of story sizing and estimate assurance (April 2026). Ongoing Assurance: Continuous review of designs and KDDs (AprilAugust 2026). Reporting: Monthly summary reports of assurance findings and risks. Closure: Final assurance summary and capability hand-over (August 2026). Technical Profile Expertise: Deep understanding of technical architecture, integration patterns, and agile estimation (Story Points/Sizing). Systems: Familiarity with Dataverse, cloud integrations, and environment management. Soft Skills: Strong commercial acumen and the ability to translate complex technical risks into business impact. Logistics & Schedule Availability: Must be available for interviews in late March for an early April start.