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Senior Test Manager
Senior Programme Test Manager or Head of Test (Fixed Term Contract - 11 Months)
Location
Southampton | London
About The Business
Quilter plc is a leading provider of financial advice, investments, and wealth management, committed to being the UK’s best wealth manager for clients and their advisers. Quilter oversees £141.9 billion in customer investments (as at 31 March 2026). Its offerings span:
- Financial advice
- Investment platforms
- Multi-asset investment solutions
- Discretionary fund management
The business is structured into two key segments:
- Affluent (Quilter Financial Planning, Quilter Investment Platform, Quilter Investors)
- High Net Worth (Quilter Cheviot, Quilter Cheviot Financial Planning)
At Quilter, we never stand still. With deep expertise trusted by thousands of clients, we embrace bold innovation to stay ahead — continuously modernising, transforming, and better serving our customers and communities.
About The Role
Level: 5 Department: Test Execution Contract type: Fixed Term Contract (11 Months)
This is a strategic leadership role, reporting at a senior level to a Quilter leadership figure, overseeing the testing function across high-profile financial projects.
Key Responsibilities
1. Leading Test Strategy
- Define and drive the overarching test strategy across portfolio initiatives, ensuring alignment with Quilter’s business objectives, regulatory standards, and risk appetite.
- Ensure the strategy covers functional and non-functional testing phases comprehensively.
2. Vendor Management
- Lead relationships with third-party vendors, ensuring alignment with portfolio testing objectives.
- Enforce adherence to Quilter’s testing standards, governance frameworks, and quality expectations.
- Coordinate multi-vendor testing, resolve integration conflicts, and evaluate vendor performance using KPIs.
- Limit risks from vendor delivery and escalate issues as needed to programme leadership.
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3. Managing Test Planning & Execution
- Oversee planning, execution, and reporting of tests across multiple projects and suppliers.
- Ensure readiness and quality at every stage of the testing lifecycle.
4. Collaborating with Stakeholders
- Work closely with delivery teams, vendors, and senior stakeholders to ensure seamless integration and delivery.
- Provide senior stakeholders with clear, evidence-based insights around:
- Quality
- Progress
- Risk
- Readiness to deploy
- Early visibility of delivery risks tied to testing or unresolved dependencies.
- Actively manage expectations and align scope, timelines, and quality outcomes with agreed risk appetite.
5. Ensuring Quality & Governance
- Establish and maintain robust testing governance frameworks, ensuring audit readiness and compliance with regulatory requirements.
- Champion continuous testing improvement, integrating new tooling and automation.
6. Leading Teams & Resources
- Provide leadership and mentorship to test managers and leads across the organization.
- Assign roles, set deadlines, and manage quality professionals and specialists in QA, QC, and testing roles.
7. Reporting & Relationship Management
- Communicate effectively to align stakeholders on testing objectives and results.
- Define and track KPIs to measure testing effectiveness and business value.
- Own the test relationship between Quilter and suppliers.
- Partner with all software engineering disciplines to promote testing expertise and align on frameworks, policies, and strategy.
- Influence and enhance testing capabilities and governance, while embedding ethical testing and digital responsibility principles.
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About You
Key Qualities
- Strong leadership abilities to manage matrixed test professionals across programs and vendors.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management (written, verbal, across teams).
- Analytical problem-solving and attention to detail.
- Strong risk management experience (especially in high-stakes environments).
- Ability to adapt and manage multiple priorities effectively.
Required Experience
- Extensive testing expertise, preferably as a Senior Programme Test Manager or Head of Test with a proven record.
- Hands-on experience with testing methodologies and tools.
- Project management experience for large-scale initiatives.
- Technical knowledge of software development life cycles and testing frameworks.
- Knowledge of automation tools and scripting languages (Advantageous).
- Proven stakeholder management skills with vendors, clients, and internal teams.
- Commitment to continuous improvement and embed best practices.
Inclusion & Diversity
Quilter is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusivity. We welcome applications from all backgrounds, ensuring equal opportunities and fostering a respectful, psychologically safe environment where diverse voices are valued and innovation thrives.
Quilter Values
- Do the right thing
- Always curious
- Embrace challenge
- Stronger together
Core Benefits
- Holiday: 182 hours (26 days)
- Quilter Incentive Scheme: Participation to incentivise individual/business performance.
- Pension Scheme: Non-contributory company plan with potential for personal contributions.
- (Jersey employees only) Healthcare Cash Plan
- Benefit Allowance: Cash benefit for additional perks.
- Flexible Benefits: Additional benefits for UK employees, selectable via salary deduction.
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