Head of QA and Test Automation

Collinson; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading customer experience firm in Greater London seeks a Head of QA and Test Automation to shape their global Quality Engineering strategy. You will lead automation practices, coach diverse teams, and influence decisions ensuring quality is integral to product delivery. This role requires strong leadership, experience in modern frameworks, and excellent communication skills. Join a supportive culture focused on continuous improvement and become part of a company committed to inclusivity and professional growth.

Benefits

Flexible and hybrid working options

Work from anywhere – 8 weeks a year

Generous parental leave

Career development and mentorship

Diversity initiatives

Qualifications

• Strong experience in QA and Test Automation at a senior level.
• Hands-on expertise with modern frameworks.
• Comfort coding in TypeScript or similar languages.
• Experience creating scalable test strategies.
• Track record of building inclusive, high-performing teams.
• Strong communication and influencing skills.
• Knowledge of performance and reliability testing is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the end-to-end QA and Test Automation strategy.
• Build and grow a diverse team of SDETs and QA professionals.
• Partner with teams to design quality from day one.
• Shape automation frameworks across multiple layers.
• Provide insights on release readiness and quality metrics.
• Develop a thriving community of practice.
• Transform the testing culture from gatekeeping to enablement.

Skills

QA and Test Automation

Leadership

Team building

Communication skills

Continuous improvement

Collaboration

Automation frameworks

Performance testing

Tools

TypeScript

Playwright

Cypress

k6

JMeter

Job description

AtCollinson, we help brands inspire loyalty and create better customer experiences. For over 30 years, we’ve partnered with some of the world’s best-known names in travel, financial services, and retail, from Mastercard and British Airways to Sephora and Radisson Hotel Group. With 2,000 dedicated people across 20 global locations, we’re united by a shared purpose: to make every journey, experience, and connection more rewarding.

We’re now looking for aHead of QA and Test Automation, a leader who believes quality is everyone’s responsibility, not just a final step in the process.

The Opportunity

This role is pivotal to shaping how Collinson designs, builds, and delivers world-class digital experiences. You’ll lead our global Quality Engineering and Test Automation strategy, building a high-performing QA function that enables confidence, scalability, and innovation across our products and platforms.

As an experienced leader, you’ll coach teams, embed quality standards at every stage of delivery, and champion automation as a key enabler of speed and excellence. Your voice will influence major architectural and strategic decisions, ensuring that quality is baked into every product we release.

What you will do:

• Define and lead Collinson’s end-to-end QA and Test Automation strategy.
• Build and grow a talented, diverse team of SDETs and QA professionals.
• Partner with Engineering, Product, and Delivery to design for quality from day one.
• Shape automation frameworks across front-end, API, and end-to-end layers.
• Provide meaningful insight on release readiness, risk, and quality metrics.
• Develop a thriving community of practice that promotes learning and inclusion.
• Transform our testing culture — from gatekeeping to enablement.

What you will bring:

We know that great leaders come from many different backgrounds. If you meet most of these requirements, we’d love to hear from you.

• Strong experience in QA and Test Automation, especially at a senior or head-of-function level.
• Hands‑on expertise with modern frameworks (Playwright, Cypress, contract or API testing).
• Comfort coding in TypeScript or similar languages.
• Experience creating scalable test strategies for complex, multi‑team delivery environments.
• A track record of building inclusive, high‑performing technical teams.
• Strong communication and influencing skills — both technical and non‑technical.
• Knowledge of performance and reliability testing (e.g. k6, JMeter) is desirable.

Who you are:

• A coach and mentor who brings out the best in others.
• A collaborator who values diverse opinions and voices.
• Confident in decision‑making — even under pressure.
• Passionate about continuous improvement and automation excellence.
• Committed to creating safe, inclusive spaces where every team member can thrive.

Why join us:

We know that a person’s potential is more than the sum of their past experiences. If you meet most but not all these points, we still encourage you to apply, your unique perspective could make the difference.

What Collinson Offers:

• Flexible and hybrid working options
• Work from anywhere – 8 weeks a year
• Generous parental leave and family‑friendly policies
• Career development, mentorship, and training
• A supportive, inclusive culture with employee resource groups and diversity initiatives.

Collinson is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes differences in all their forms including: colour, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, neurodivergence, family status, age, individuals with disabilities and people from all backgrounds, cultures and experiences as we strongly believe this contributes to our on‑going success.

We are focused on continually evolving our purpose driven, high performing culture, providing an environment where our people have the opportunity to achieve their full potential and do interesting and meaningful work. Our company values are: Take Action, Do the right thing, One team and Be insight led. These help guide everything we do internally in terms of how we think, act and interact, right through to how we deliver value to our customers and clients.

In your application, please feel free to note which pronouns you use (For example - she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs, etc).

If you need any extra support throughout the interview process, then please email us at [e-mail]