Test Lead

Description:

Head Resourcing is looking for an experienced Test Lead to join a Glasgow based Financial Services Client. This is a hybrid role with working from the office in Glasgow twice per week, please ensure when applying you can commute to Glasgow twice per week. Any applicants not within a reasonable commutable distance to Glasgow will not be considered for this role.

A dedicated, experienced individual to join the Operations function as the Enterprise Test Lead, working primarily with the Change, Outsourcing, Analysis and Testing team and the IT Development team. 

The responsibilities of the Test Lead include establishing and managing a testing framework to be used by colleagues in the delivery of change, to ensure adherence to that framework and to design and deliver effective testing for prioritised change activity.

You will also be involved day to day in carrying out testing activity and in supporting others working on different initiatives, helping them develop test strategies, mitigate risks to the test plan and supporting 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.

Responsibilities

Own the Testing Framework. 

Understand the relevant policies and risk appetite of the organisation.
Develop and maintain a documented framework containing standards, methods and tools that support alignment to the organisation’s policies and risk appetite.
Ensure alignment of the Testing Framework with other similar frameworks such as for IT Development and Change Management.
Engage with colleagues across the business to ensure they understand and can use the framework, and respond to their feedback to continuously improve it.
Own testing tooling and automation capability.
Understand the relevant systems, environments and data that combine to deliver service and change.
Select and operate tooling that will drive adherence to the company testing framework and will improve efficiency through test automation.
Ensure Infrastructure, IT Development, Change and OAT and business teams are able to use the tooling as needed and that test automation is used where appropriate.
Develop test strategies for larger projects and oversee the test strategies proposed by colleagues for other change.
For key projects you will lead on analysing project requirements, identifying test scope and approach, determining environmental and data requirements and estimating testing efforts.
This will all contribute to establishing an understood and agreed level of risk, to be confirmed with sponsor and other key stakeholders.
For other initiatives you will oversee the test strategy developed by others, providing constructive feedback and improving the quality of the strategy.
Carry out testing activity.
Carry out testing in line with test plans.
Report on progress against test plans to key stakeholders, highlighting risks and opportunities and where necessary presenting options and recommendations for next steps.
Provide oversight of progress on other testing activity, helping others to spot risks and respond to challenges.
Engage all stakeholders to successfully complete testing activity.
Ensure all relevant change stakeholders (IT Development, Infrastructure, Project Manager, analysts, testers and other business roles supporting the change) have clear line of sight to -Effort required to support testing work, progress against plan, key defects and issues and the overall risk profile of the testing activity.
Develop a “shift left” culture
Create a culture where testing can happen at the earliest opportunity in the lifecycle and with the least amount of manual effort, so that testing is seen as an enabler of successful change delivery.
Coach colleagues in all relevant teams to develop this mindset and support them in having the understanding of approach and tooling to be able to do so.

Skills/Experience

Several years of experience in software testing and quality assurance, ideally in Financial Services. 
Proven experience in leading testing efforts and managing testing teams.
Proficiency in testing methodologies, test planning, and test case design. 
Familiarity with various testing tools and frameworks. 
Strong understanding of software development life cycle (SDLC) and agile methodologies.
Strong experience in developing and maintaining test automation capability, including tool selection and adoption and alignment with IT Development and Infrastructure capabilities.
Excellent leadership and team management skills. 
Strong communication and interpersonal skills for effective collaboration with cross-functional teams.
Ability to analyse project requirements and identify potential issues. 
Strong problem-solving skills to address challenges during the testing phase.
Attention to detail to create thorough test cases and ensure comprehensive testing coverage.
Ability to adapt to changing project requirements and timelines.
Relevant certifications in software testing (e.g., ISTQB) can be beneficial.
Familiarity with testing tools such as Selenium, JIRA, or others depending on the technology stack.
Willingness to stay updated on industry trends and advancements in testing methodologies and capabilitie