Information Systems Team Manager

Sheffield City Council; Sheffield; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Sheffield City Council is seeking an experienced Quality Assurance and Information Systems Team Manager to lead our QA and system testing function. You will shape how quality is embedded in digital change and manage a team delivering testing across a portfolio of projects.

You will provide leadership, plan capacity, oversee testing activities and report evidence-based assurance to stakeholders while ensuring compliance, security and accessibility throughout delivery.

Qualifications

• Advanced knowledge of software testing, quality assurance and defect management.
• Experience of digital delivery and the transition of systems into live service.
• Effective people leadership, workload management and resource-planning skills.
• Ability to work across business-critical applications, integrations and supplier-supported solutions.
• Confidence in challenging assumptions and maintaining independent professional judgement.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to explain complex risks clearly.
• Commitment to secure, accessible, traceable and auditable testing practice.
• Ability to balance delivery pressures with service quality, statutory responsibilities and the consequences of system failure.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day leadership and line management for QA System Test Analysts, setting objectives, allocating work and supporting their development and wellbeing.
• Plan team capacity and deploy specialist testing resources according to service criticality, risk, deadlines and organisational priorities.
• Oversee test strategy, test planning and execution, defect management, user acceptance testing support, evidence capture and readiness assessments.
• Manage competing priorities, resolve delivery barriers and escalare issues requiring changes to funding, scope or timescales.
• Provide management oversight of critical defects, recurring failures and unresolved risks.
• Own and continuously improve QA standards, frameworks, templates, controls and reporting arrangements.
• Ensure testing activity supports information governance, data protection, security, accessibility, records management and relevant payment controls.
• Promote the effective use of testing tools, reusable assets and automation.
• Act as the senior testing contact for service leads, project managers, technical teams, business users, governance colleagues and external suppliers.
• Translate complex quality findings into clear options, impacts and recommendations for technical and non-technical decision-makers.

Skills

Quality Assurance

System Testing

People leadership

Test strategy

Risk management

Stakeholder communication

Job description

The job requirements are detailed below. Where applicable the skills, qualifications and memberships required for this job have also been included.

Help us deliver reliable, secure and high-quality digital services

We are looking for an experienced Quality Assurance and Information Systems Team Manager
to lead our quality assurance and system testing function.

This is an opportunity to shape how quality is built into digital change across the Council. You will lead and develop a team of QA System Test Analysts, coordinate testing activity across a varied portfolio of projects and provide stakeholders with clear, evidence-based assurance about quality, risk and implementation readiness.

What you will be doing

You will:

• Provide day-to-day leadership and line management for QA System Test Analysts, setting objectives, allocating work and supporting their development and wellbeing.
• Plan team capacity and deploy specialist testing resources according to service criticality, risk, deadlines and organisational priorities.
• Oversee test strategy, test planning and execution, defect management, user acceptance testing support, evidence capture and readiness assessments.
• Manage competing priorities, resolve delivery barriers and escalare issues requiring changes to funding, scope or timescales.
• Provide management oversight of critical defects, recurring failures and unresolved risks.
• Own and continuously improve QA standards, frameworks, templates, controls and reporting arrangements.
• Ensure testing activity supports information governance, data protection, security, accessibility, records management and relevant payment controls.
• Promote the effective use of testing tools, reusable assets and automation.
• Act as the senior testing contact for service leads, project managers, technical teams, business users, governance colleagues and external suppliers.
• Translate complex quality findings into clear options, impacts and recommendations for technical and non-technical decision-makers.

About you

You will bring:

• Advanced knowledge of software testing, quality assurance and defect management.
• Experience of digital delivery and the transition of systems into live service.
• Effective people leadership, workload management and resource-planning skills.
• The ability to work across business-critical applications, integrations and supplier-supported solutions.
• Confidence in constructively challenging assumptions and maintaining independent professional judgement.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to explain complex risks clearly.
• A commitment to secure, accessible, traceable and auditable testing practice.
• The ability to balance delivery pressures with service quality, statutory responsibilities and the consequences of system failure.

Why this role matters

The Council relies on digital systems to deliver essential services and process personal, statutory and financial information. Your leadership will strengthen our testing capability, support better-informed implementation decisions and reduce the risk of disruption, inaccurate processing, non-compliance and avoidable remedial work.

If you are an experienced quality assurance or testing professional who can combine technical knowledge with effective people leadership and sound professional judgement, we would welcome your application.

We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.

It is a great time to join us and we welcome your application.

Under the Guaranteed Interview scheme, applicants who are disabled, care leavers, or armed forces veterans will be guaranteed an interview if they meet the essential criteria and indicate their eligibility on the application form. Sometimes, if lots of people apply, we might not be able to interview everyone who qualifies for the Guarantee. In these cases, we’ll interview the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job.

Full-time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part time or as a job share.

If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide payslip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade.

Equality of pay is extremely important to us. All roles at Sheffield City Council are going through an evaluation process which may result in changes to some pay arrangements from 2026. Read about the new job evaluation process to be introduced at Sheffield City Council.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all individuals, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for everyoneand where appropriate to the role the successful applicant will be required to undertake relevant safeguarding checks.