Test Manager
Job Description
A Test Manager will undertake a variety of responsibilities to ensure the Test teams able to perform their duties and complete work assignments on time and to a high standard:
Projects sizes will vary depending on the specific client needs and will touch on numerous industries (e.g. Small project: £150k budget involving 3-5 testers for 3 months, larger projects can have multi-million-pound budgets, involving large teams with long term timescales).
Create Test Strategies for projects within a large-scale mobile device roll out across the UK in collaborations with multiple major IT suppliers of hardware, software, networks, and 4G.
Produce and/or review and approve thorough Test Plans containing scope, objectives, deliverables, risks, milestones, and acceptance criteria that fit in with an overall program plan.
Work collaboratively and report to the Programme Test Management team.
Create, mobilize, motivate and manage test teams, composed of a mix of, third-party supplier and customer staff, to meet time-challenging deadlines.
Test assurance to review and critique an existing test service or test project. Engage with stakeholders to uncover the real business needs for testing then create and initiate a pragmatic action plan for enabling those needs to be satisfied and the project or test service to be brought back on track.
Take full delivery and budget financial responsibility for defined test projects.
Advise clients and third-party suppliers on testing best practices, including test methodologies and the use of test tools to ensure a fully integrated end-to-end testing solution.
Engage with stakeholders and business process owners to develop pragmatic test solutions for the client in order to meet challenging business milestones.
Provide summary management information, including key financial data, to the client and to the Programme Test Manager.
Contribute to wider test services business development by spotting and developing opportunities and by formally contributing test expertise to bid teams.
Management of remote test teams via a UK Front Office, where necessary.
Coach and mentor test specialists in good test practice.
Coach and mentor client staff in making the best use of test services
Essential skills
Experience of the full development lifecycle on business-critical mobile device hardware and software deployment for blue-chip organizations.
Strong collaborative skills and evidence of successfully managing testing assurance programs in a multi-supplier environment.
Management of teams of 5 or more.
Hands-on knowledge of industry-leading test tools, e.g: HP (formerly Mercury) or IBM (Rational).
Evidence of management/consulting for the significant non-functional test programs, for example, load, performance, and/or automated testing.
Knowledge of Agile test practices and the role of testing in Agile projects
Solid track record of numerous test assignments for business-critical systems.
Knowledge of test methodologies.
Experience of management of remote teams.
A desire to work on a variety of differing assignments.
Ability to deliver within stringent time constraints.
Evidence, or desire for, a consultancy-style of working with frequent changes of customer, sector, and location.
Understanding of how software testing fits into the broader business.
Strong influencing, negotiation, and communication skills.
Emotional intelligence to address staff, client, and stakeholder concerns in the delivery of the test solution within the commercial constraints of the assignment.
ISEB/ISTQB Certification in Software Testing (Intermediate Level mandatory Practitioner Level ideal.
Evidence of continuous knowledge and skills development.
Fluent English Language Skills: Able to communicate with stakeholders on a day-to-day basis via telephone, email, and face to face. Occasionally leading presentations and/or training to other stakeholders.
Evidence of a willingness and ability to learn and quickly adapt to new ways of working. Has incorporated and adapted testing processes to meet changes in requirements and still achieved successful outcomes
Desirable skills
Experience in working with large Public Sector Police clients
Experience in test management of one or more large-scale infrastructure, network/telecommunications, and /or 4G roll out the program
Resident within the M25 boundary.
Certification in ITIL v3 and/or Prince 2.
Membership of professional institute ideal e.g. British Computer Society (BCS), Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
