Digital Testing Engineer for Pathology Project

Princess Alexandra Hospital; Harlow; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Princess Alexandra Hospital is seeking a Testing Engineer to lead testing for Pathology projects, developing strategies and plans in line with the PAHT framework. You will supervise testers, coordinate with project managers and suppliers, and ensure EHR modules meet clinical workflows while supporting on-call testing requirements.

The role requires hands-on testing across system, integration, UAT, regression and performance testing, with a focus on building application expertise and meeting

Qualifications

• Experience leading testing for complex IT projects.
• Hands-on testing across multiple testing types (system, integration, UAT, regression, performance).
• Ability to translate business/clinical requirements into test strategies and plans.
• Familiarity with health IT environments and NHS-style governance.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain testing strategies, plans, and scripts for the PAHT project and sub-programmes.
• Lead and coordinate a team of testers; manage on-call/rota as required.
• Coordinate with project managers, suppliers and stakeholders on testing activities.
• Ensure EHR functionality reflects operational needs and patient activity workflows.

Skills

Test methodologies

Test planning

Team leadership

Clinical systems knowledge

Tools

Visual Studio

Team Foundation Server

SQL Server

Job description

Job overview

The Testing Engineer will take a leading role in testing Pathology project and the associated sub programmes as required. This testing will be done in accordance with the PAHT Test Framework and Strategy. The test engineer will additionally help to develop the testing strategy and testing plans. The post holder will participate in and manage Systems and Integration Testing, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), Regression Testing and Performance Testing activities; depending on the priorities and stage of development.

The role additionally requires hands on testing to build application expertise and ensure project deadlines are met. The Testing Engineer will need to work closely with PAHT Project Managers, third party suppliers, stakeholders and the Test Manager. In addition, the Testing Engineer will supervise a team of Testers on a day-to-day basis and coordinate their activities to support the testing phases as appropriate.

A key component of the Princess Alexandra Hospital’s application estate is the Electronic Health Record (EHR). The post-holder will ensure that the functionality reflects the operational working of the Trust and local Health Economy in recording patient activity and providing a means of communication with patients.

The EHR system comprises of the main Patient Administration System modules, Emergency Department, Maternity, Admissions, Discharges and Transfers, Outpatient Referral and Management, Bed Management and the Electronic Discharge Summary. The Application Support team are responsible for support and assisting in developing this system.

There is a requirement for this role to operate as part of an on-call rota as and when required.

Main duties of the job

SCOPE & RANGE

• Develop and maintain relationships with customers and suppliers, where appropriate providing them with testing advice support and training.
• Represent PAHT or all projects they are engaged in at relevant meetings when required.
• Communicate with staff (e.g. developers and infrastructure specialists) on complex technical, business and clinical matters relating to testing.
• Liaise, as necessary, with staff (external and internal to the NHS) to resolve faults and to seek clarity on stakeholder requirements, in order to ensure that systems under test meet the agreed requirements and will allow the associate services to be delivered.
• Manage teams of testing staff and stakeholders involved in the testing of systems.

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) is proud to care for the communities of West Essex, delivering safe, compassionate, and high-quality services. We are part of the Neighbourhood Wave—a national programme that’s changing how care is delivered by focusing on prevention, early support, and more joined-up services across health, social care, and the voluntary sector.

This means we’re working more closely with local partners to bring care closer to home and support people to live healthier, more independent lives.

We’re a supportive and inclusive organisation that values its people. We offer development opportunities, flexible working, and a strong focus on wellbeing. As a Disability Confident and equal opportunities employer, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and experiences.

Join us and help shape the future of care in West Essex.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

MAIN DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Demonstrate and maintain knowledge and expertise of test methodologies and relevant industry standards.
• Demonstrate and maintain knowledge and expertise in test tools e.g. Visual Studio, Team Foundation Server.
• Demonstrate and maintain knowledge of differing systems life cycles e.g. Agile, Prince.
• Acquire and maintain a detailed knowledge of the Trust’s applications to which they are assigned be tested and the business, and clinical testing processes that underpin them.
• Demonstrate and maintain the level of knowledge necessary to carry out their duties in areas such as:
• Microsoft SQL Server,
• Writing and executing basic SQL queries,
• Server operating systems such as Windows Server, Unix/Linux,
• Have a working knowledge of the Prince 2 project methodology,
• Have experience of using MS Project,
• Create and maintain test schedules.
• Analyse and resolve complex IT and testing issues.
• Analyse the testing needs of the project in line with the PAHT Test Framework / Strategy and help produce the Test Strategy, Plan and scripts for the various test phases.
• Analyse complex business and clinical processes to produce Test Strategies, Test Plans, Test Cases and Test Scripts that reflect the working practices of the areas where a system is to be deployed.
• Analyse and document the requirements for non-functional testing.
• Analyse Business Requirements and specifications in order to prepare comprehensive Traceability Matrices for the systems under test.
• Organise their own work effectively and work on their own initiative.
• Organise and plan the work of other test professionals effectively.
• Prepare detailed plans for carrying out testing including the analysis of cross project dependencies and intra-project dependencies.
• Carry out the tasks identified in the relevant test strategy and plans and advice project managers of their progress.
• Have a methodical approach to their work with an attention to detail.
• Whilst the post holder will not have direct involvement in the clinical care of patients / clients, the role is fundamental to the clinical safety of systems designed to plan and facilitate the care of patients.
• Responsibility for Policy / Service Development Implementation Design and maintain appropriate controls for the management of system defects to ensure the quality of systems implemented as part of service developments.
• Write report and present the outcome of testing in accordance with the test strategy.
• Advising on the design of test environments including servers, software and integration tools.
• Assisting in the budget planning of projects with respect to testing requirements.
• Acting as testing team leader for individual projects and managing the workload and quality of work carried out by that team.
• Ensuring that other members of the testing team, and themselves, are adequately trained in relevant training methods and tools.
• Training non-test staff to undertake testing tasks.
• Develop and maintain means of recording and managing defects and issues arising from testing and perform complex analysis on this information to produce reports for development and project staff.
• Research and evaluate testing tools (e.g. Visual Studio, Team Foundation Server) in order to improve the delivery of testing services.
• Implement relevant tools to support enhance the delivery of testing.
• Routinely test applications to ensure that systems are stable, meet the business requirements and the users expectation.
• The post holder is responsible for prioritising their own workload to ensure targets are met, referring to manager only when necessary.
• The role requires the post holder to operate in a SLA environment which at times can lead to pressure and considerable expectations; this will therefore require the ability to undertake analysis, assessment and effective judgement in order to ensure that the most effective path is undertaken to rectify a reported issue or several issues.
• Know when to escape to senior management for information purposes, ratification or decision-making.
• Provide 1st class customer service to meet our aims of being within the top 10% of Trusts in England.
• There is a requirement for flexible working to ensure cover is maintained throughout the times set by the Trust for on premises support within the Service Level Agreement.

General and Other:

• Develop and maintain good working relationships with all system users, Department and Directorate Managers, Managers and all third party users, ensuring the aims and interest of the Trust are communicated, monitored and actioned effectively.
• Actively participate in on-going product development projects to ensure that appropriate knowledge is developed and maintained.
• Provide advice and guidance to less experienced colleagues where required.
• Provide support and guidance to Trust users on data quality issues and ensure that where further training is required, this is logged and followed through.
• Develop and maintain scripts to automate procedures and routine tasks.
• To develop and maintain report writing skills.
• The post holder may be required to take part in an on-call rota as well as being required to support the provision of out of hours (weekends or evening) support services if there is a business requirement to do so.
• To be pro-active in suggesting ways in which applications can be improved upon in order to increase patient safety and/or increase efficiency.
• Participate in the Trust’s change management process to manage system and technical changes where applicable to the role.
• Ensure information governance and security is maintained and maximised in all aspects of the post holder’s work.
• The listed tasks and duties are not exhaustive and the post holder could be required to carry out reasonable management requests as and when required.

SYSTEMS & EQUIPMENT

All IT equipment related to the use of IT systems and applications to enable the appropriate support and development.