Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Principal QA
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Bristol, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Reading, Warrington, York
Job Summary
Defra is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.
Digital, Data, Technology and Security (DDTS) is the trusted team for digital across the entire Defra Group.
We have around 1000 colleagues across DDTS and our ambition is to make it easier and faster than ever for people to interact with Defra. If you are ready to drive innovation and push boundaries, we want to hear from you. Join us and together we will create a great place for living, and a green and healthy future for all.
Find Out More About DDTS
Job Description
The Principal QA is the most senior technical role within Defra’s Quality Assurance and Test Engineering function. They set the technical direction for QA and test, shaping strategy, standards and specialist approaches across multiple Delivery Groups, portfolios and projects.
Working across in-house and supplier-led teams in multiple locations, they provide leadership across both test management and software testing, supporting delivery through agile and waterfall life cycles. The role oversees the quality assurance stages delivered by Lead Test Managers, Lead Test Engineers and their teams, ensuring consistent, effective technical approaches that produce solutions fit for Defra’s needs, ambitions, technical strategy and operating model.
Responsibilities
- Set the technical direction for QA and testing across Defra, ensuring approaches align with departmental strategy, digital standards and the operating model.
- Shape and contribute to Defra’s digital standards, priorities, strategies and technology patterns, ensuring quality, testing and assurance are embedded from the outset.
- Provide expert technical leadership across portfolios, programmes and delivery teams, influencing quality decisions at organisational and programme level.
- Act as the departmental authority for specialist QA and testing practice, applying deep technical knowledge to support effective delivery across multiple teams.
- Lead the development and implementation of Defra’s technical testing capability, ensuring the right tools, technologies and practices are in place.
- Lead the adoption and effective use of automated functional and non-functional testing approaches, using appropriate modern tools and technologies.
- Shape assurance approaches across the QA and Test profession, using proactive measures to manage quality, performance and technical risk.
- Work with related disciplines to embed sustainability, interoperability, security and resilience across technology and delivery initiatives.
- Work with delivery, profession and resourcing leads to ensure teams have the right QA and testing capability, skills mix and capacity to meet portfolio and programme needs.
- Develop QA and testing capability by supporting recruitment, career pathways, internal mobility, collaboration, coaching, mentoring and knowledge sharing.
- Identify, test and champion new and emerging technologies that improve quality, efficiency, delivery confidence or value.
Skills And Experience
- Extensive experience of leading QA and testing across large, complex technology programmes, portfolios or services, using agile, waterfall or hybrid delivery approaches.
- Strong knowledge of software testing theory and practice, including test strategy, risk-based testing, defect management, assurance, quality governance and test planning.
- Experience setting or shaping QA and testing approaches across multiple teams, ensuring consistent standards, effective practices and proportionate assurance.
- Demonstrable technical test engineering experience, including practical knowledge of automated functional and non-functional testing, test frameworks, API testing, accessibility, performance testing and continuous delivery practices.
- In-depth knowledge of the Government Service Standard, GDS principles and quality assurance frameworks, with experience applying these in complex delivery environments.
- Ability to advise and influence senior stakeholders on software quality, delivery risk, technical assurance and the impact of QA and testing decisions, explain complex technical issues clearly to technical and non-technical audiences, using evidence, risk and impact to support decision-making.
- Experience working with suppliers and multidisciplinary delivery teams to resolve testing issues, improve quality and reduce delivery risk.
- Experience shaping team capability, including skills assessment, recruitment input, resourcing decisions, career pathways, coaching, mentoring and knowledge sharing.
- Ability to maintain knowledge of emerging technologies, industry patterns and testing good practice, using this to guide strategy and support delivery teams.
- Strong understanding of how QA and testing supports wider digital standards, technology patterns, sustainability, interoperability, security and resilience.
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Selection process
The Civil Service marks each element of the selection process on a merit basis. You can visit the gov.uk website for further information on the Civil Service rating scale.
Ensure you have tailored your CV and Personal Statement to the 'skills and experience' section of the job advert by providing examples on how you are suitable for the role. Consider using the STAR method which allows you to set the scene, show what and how you did and the overall outcome.
Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your personal statement, how you meet these requirements, as the information you provide will form a key part when the panel is scoring your application.
For further information on STAR, you can check out our Hints and Tips document.
Application process
As Part Of The Application Process, You Will Be Assessed On Your Experience. This Will Be Evaluated By Looking At Your CV And Personal Statement, So Please Provide The Following And Ensure Your Experience Is Clearly Demonstrated
- A CV
- A 750 word Personal Statement: Referring to the 'skills and experience' sections of the job advert, please demonstrate how you are suitable for the role by providing relevant examples.
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Sift
Sift will begin shortly after the advert closes.
Should there be a large number of applications, an initial sift will be conducted using your personal statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment or interview.
Interview
If successful at sift, you will be invited to an interview where you will be assessed on the Behaviours, as well as Experience and Strengths.
Interview dates are to be confirmed. Please note that these may be subject to change.
Interviews will be held virtually on Microsoft Teams.
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As part of the recruitment process you will be required to do a presentation. Full details will be provided later within the process.
For further information on Success Profiles, you can visit the links below and watch our videos on DefraJobs.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Managing a Quality Service
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Developing Self and Others
- Seeing the Big Picture
Salary
Alongside your salary of £67,730, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £19,621 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
Benefits
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
Location
As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s).
Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.
The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.
Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.
The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.
Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.
Further Information
- Reserve list: A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
- Near miss: Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Defra which may be at a lower grade, but have a potential skills match.
- Merit Lists: Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be posted in merit order by location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.
- Reasonable adjustment: If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
- Criminal Record Check: If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
- Internal Fraud Database Check: Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD).
- Feedback: Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
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