Test Manager

The Scottish Public Pensions Agency is an Agency of the Scottish Government. Our principal role is to administer the pensions for employees in the National Health Service, Teachers’, Police and Fire-fighters’ pension schemes in Scotland. The Agency administers these public service pension schemes on behalf of Scottish Ministers with an annual pension spend to over 200,000 pensioners of more than £2.5 billion.

Information about the role
The agency requires a Test Manager to develop and own the Test Strategy (incl. Release Management) and test approach across the agency. Currently all development is carried out by 3rd parties, therefore the Route to Live essentially comprises User Acceptance Test, Regression Test and End-to-End testing prior to production deployments.

The primary focus initially will be on the Agency’s Pension and Payroll administration system and associated online services. However, other critical platforms within the Agency are also within scope of this role. A key aspiration for the agency is to introduce Test Automation as we transition to the new pension and payroll administration platform.

DDaT Pay Supplement
This post attracts a £5000 Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) pay supplement after a 3 months DDaT competency qualifying period. Pay supplements are temporary payments designed to address recruitment and retention issues caused by market pressures and are subject to regular review. This post is part of the Scottish Government DDaT profession. As a member of the profession, you will join the professional development system, currently BCS RoleModelplus.

DDaT Role Description
A test manager takes ownership of delivery, creates the strategy and leads its implementation. At this role level you will be responsible for test improvement and optimisation potentially promote and advocate test capabilities internally and outside the government take responsibility for talent, succession planning and supplier management make important decisions relating to test within the context of the delivery environment.

Main Duties
•Implement a Test Strategy alongside other artefacts and processes such as; Release and Environment Management, Test Planning and Defect Management across multiple test phases including NFT, UAT and End to End Regression
•Responsible for ensuring the quality and timeliness of software deployments including obtaining sign-offs; work with and guide business teams to support and lead on UAT activities, by creating a UAT strategy implementing changes to processes and governance to ensure effective management of UAT
•Work closely with project and delivery managers, 3rd party developers, system administrators and business stakeholders to share test metrics as a measure of quality as part of the SDLC
•Leading on Entry/Exit gates as part of Release Management and operational readiness; contribute to the Route to Live for the Agency and ensure the non-production Environment Management aligns to best practices.
•Recommend and implement test tooling to support evidencing the execution of manual tests, defect management and provide test metrics for stakeholders.
•Oversee and manage the Non-Functional test phases such as performance, resilience, usability and accessibility across all projects.
•Work closely with the Head of Department to define the resource capacity and capability of the test team and contribute to the production of business cases for quality assurance; responsible for promoting and advocating Quality Assurance and Testing best practices across the Agency by taking responsibility for talent management, succession planning and supplier management.

Competencies
Analysis and Use of Evidence
Improving Performance
Communications and engagement
People Management

No qualifications required for this post

Essential Criteria:
1. Experience of leading a team of user testers working on various aspects of testing within multiple systems development projects
2. Proven experience in authoritative advice and guidance on any aspect of test management
3. Knowledge/qualification of industry standards for Testing and a solid understanding of the risks presented by delivery
4. Experience of working within an agile, multi-disciplinary team environment, and collaborating effectively with business stakeholders

Location:
This post is based in SPPA, 7 Tweedside Park, Tweedbank, Galashiels, Scottish Borders TD1 3TE, SPPA is currently operating a hybrid working model. Staff are generally required to attend the office one day a week, and visible leadership presence is an important element of this role.

Interview and Assessment:
Dates to be confirmed

Minimum Time in Post:
You will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of three years unless successful at gaining promotion to a higher Band or Grade.

In the event that further posts are required, a reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for up to 12 months.

How to apply:
To apply for this post, you will need to provide the information requested below via the online application process.

To apply please submit a CV outlining your relevant skills and experience for the role (no more than 2 sides of A4) and a personal statement (of no more than 750 words). When considering how your experience relates to the role, please tailor your CV and personal statement to reflect the role and the essential skills/criteria as described in the job description/person specification. Please submit your CV and complete the personal statement in the box included. 

For further information on this vacancy please download and review the link below:

DDaT Recruitment - Candidate Guide

Additional Information:
You must discuss your intention to apply with your current line manager to help ensure early release.

The post is a full-time role, but staff with different working patterns are invited to apply, and we will assess proposed working patterns against the business requirements for this post.

For information regarding this post please contact Frances Graham at frances.graham2@gov.scot

Scottish Government's ambition is to be a world leading, diverse employer where people can be themselves at work. We want to help you demonstrate your full potential whatever type of assessment is used. If you require any adjustments to our recruitment process, please let us know via scottishgovernmentrecruitment@gov.scot

As part of any recruitment process, Scottish Government and associated public bodies collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants and applicants for public appointments.

Personal information you provide in the recruitment process will be made available to Scottish Government and our additional data processors.