Senior Manual Tester

Public Sector Resourcing, managed by AMS; Newport; Remote; GBP 48,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is seeking a Senior Manual Tester for a contract role (INSIDE IR35), based in the UK with remote work and occasional travel to the Newport office.

You will establish repeatable performance testing approaches, define benchmarks, develop reusable assets and scripts, and identify opportunities to automate tests within delivery pipelines while ensuring security clearance is in place.

Qualifications

• Experience with performance testing tools such as Locust or JMeter.
• Strong Python scripting ability.
• SQL analysis and optimization of PostgreSQL queries.
• Experience working in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Kubernetes.

Responsibilities

• Establish repeatable performance testing approaches and standards.
• Define performance benchmarks and acceptance criteria for key platforms.
• Support performance assurance for future onboarding and service changes.
• Develop reusable test assets, scripts and frameworks.
• Identify opportunities to automate performance testing within delivery pipelines.
• Support performance monitoring and evidence-based capacity planning.

Skills

Performance testing

Python scripting

SQL queries

Tools

Locust

JMeter

PostgreSQL

GCP

Kubernetes

Job description

On behalf of ONS, we are looking for a Senior Manual Tester (INSIDE IR35) until 31/03/2027 contract based Remotely with occasional travel to the Newport office.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK's largest producer of official statistics, covering a range of key economic, social and demographic topics. These include measuring changes in the value of the UK economy, estimating the size, geographic distribution and characteristics of the population, and providing indicators of price inflation, employment, earnings, crime and migration.

As a Senior Manual Tester, your main responsibilities will be:

• Establish repeatable performance testing approaches and standards.
• Define performance benchmarks and acceptance criteria for key platforms.
• Support performance assurance for future onboarding and service changes.
• Develop reusable test assets, scripts and frameworks.
• Identify opportunities to automate performance testing within delivery pipelines.
• Support performance monitoring and evidence-based capacity planning.

SC Clearance is an essential requirement for this role, as a minimum you must be willing & eligible to undergo checks. Please note, due to the exceptional requirements of this position (short-term nature of this role and speed at which we require a postholder in situ) preference may be given to candidates who meet all of the essential criteria and hold active security clearance.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Essential

• Performance test tools - ideally Locust and/or JMeter
• Python - scripting
• SQL - ideally analysing and optimizing Postgres SQL queries
• Experienced working within GCP
• Kubernetes

Disability Confident

As a Disability Confident employer, ONS encourage applications from disabled and neurodivergent candidates. Applications from candidates who identify as having a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role will be prioritised for review. Where application volumes are high, additional role‑specific and desirable criteria may be applied as part of the shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

Armed Forces Covenant

As a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, ONS welcome applications from veterans, service leavers, reservists and military spouses or partners. Applications from eligible candidates who meet the essential criteria for the role will be prioritised for review. Where application volumes are high, additional role‑specific and desirable criteria may be applied as part of the shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different".