SPG Resourcing
Software Test Team Lead
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Software Test Team Lead
Manchester | Hybrid | Financial Services
Salary: Up to £70,000 + Benefits
Company Overview
Our organisation is a specialist third-party administrator providing complex, high-quality administration services to clients across the public sector. We support organisations operating in highly regulated environments where accuracy, service quality and continuous improvement are essential.
With a strong focus on customer outcomes, innovation and operational excellence, we are committed to creating an environment where people can develop their expertise, collaborate effectively and make a meaningful contribution to the services we deliver.
Job Summary
We are seeking an experienced Automation Test Lead to provide strategic direction, technical leadership and governance across our testing function.
As a senior member of the Change Team, you will be responsible for shaping and safeguarding the overall quality of testing, acting as the strategic lead for testing standards, methodologies, automation and continuous improvement. You will combine strategic thinking with hands-on technical expertise, ensuring testing is embedded throughout the delivery lifecycle rather than treated as a final-stage activity.
You will lead, coach and develop a team of testing professionals while working closely with project teams, technology specialists and external partners. Your contribution will be instrumental in improving testing efficiency, strengthening quality assurance and supporting the successful delivery of a significant change portfolio.
This is an excellent opportunity for an established Test Manager, Test Lead or QA professional looking to influence testing strategy at an organisational level while remaining technically engaged.
Key Responsibilities
Test Strategy & Governance
- Establish and maintain the overall test strategy, defining appropriate methodologies, deliverables, tools and standards across the change portfolio.
- Champion a shift-left approach, embedding testing and quality principles early within the development and delivery lifecycle.
- Define and monitor testing KPIs, including defect density, test coverage and pass/fail rates, to provide clear visibility of release readiness.
- Maintain accountability for testing standards and governance across the organisation.
- Develop and implement a long-term test automation strategy and roadmap.
- Ensure testing capacity and delivery velocity effectively support the wider change roadmap.
- Align testing governance with the organisation's broader change and delivery governance framework.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Team Leadership & Development
- Lead, mentor and develop a team of testing professionals, creating a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration and innovation.
- Plan team capacity and allocate resources across projects according to technical capability, business priorities, development objectives and availability.
- Identify opportunities for skills development, training, professional qualifications and career progression.
- Support succession planning and the development of high-performing teams.
- Facilitate regular team meetings to identify impediments, share knowledge and maintain delivery momentum.
- Oversee peer reviews of test cases and deliverables to ensure technical quality and consistency.
Technical Leadership & Hands-On Testing
- Create and agree detailed test plans, estimates, scenarios and approaches for project test deliverables.
- Identify testing risks at an early stage and develop appropriate mitigation strategies.
- Provide hands-on technical expertise when required, particularly during complex or business-critical testing activities.
- Define and validate test environment and test data requirements, ensuring environments are correctly configured and ready for execution.
- Implement structured defect management processes and lead regular defect triage with project stakeholders.
- Conduct root cause analysis of recurring defects in collaboration with technology teams and external partners.
- Produce clear and accurate daily and weekly test reports covering progress, test outcomes, risks, defects and outstanding actions.
- Support the development and maintenance of automated testing frameworks to improve efficiency, consistency and test coverage.
Stakeholder & Relationship Management
- Build strong, collaborative relationships with project delivery teams, technology teams, business stakeholders and external partners.
- Promote shared ownership of quality across project teams and encourage early engagement with testing.
- Ensure test plans, deliverables and quality objectives remain aligned with wider project plans and business priorities.
- Provide clear communication on complex testing issues, risks and recommended resolutions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Act as a champion for effective testing practices and continuous quality improvement across the organisation.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Qualifications & Skills
Required
- Minimum of 5 years' experience in a QA, Test Lead, Test Manager or senior testing coordination role.
- At least 5 years' experience managing, mentoring and developing testing professionals, including performance management responsibilities.
- Proven experience in resource planning, capacity management and allocating testing resources across multiple projects and competing priorities.
- Experience leading teams through technology, process or organisational change.
- Knowledge of succession planning, skills development and building high-performing teams.
- Strong technical knowledge of DevOps, SQL for data validation and API testing.
- Experience building, implementing or maintaining test automation frameworks.
- Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret code and complex data and turn findings into actionable recommendations.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex testing issues and resolutions to non-technical audiences.
- Strong organisational and time-management skills, with a focus on efficient delivery and prioritisation.
- A proactive, self-motivated approach, with the ability to work independently while contributing effectively as part of a wider team.
- Relevant testing certification, such as ISTQB Advanced Level (Test Manager) or ISTQB Foundation Level / Agile Tester Extension.
Preferred
- Experience within pension administration, financial services, the public sector or another highly regulated environment.
- Experience working with specialist pension administration platforms or comparable complex business systems.
- Strong experience using Azure DevOps for test management, defect tracking and CI/CD pipeline integration.
- Experience of website, digital or customer-facing application testing.
Equal Opportunity Statement
We are an equal opportunities employer and are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace which values and benefits from the diversity of the workforce we hire. We offer reasonable accommodation at every stage of the application and interview process.
For immediate consideration, please feel free to email a copy of your CV.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills