Senior Test Manager

Transport for London; Greater London; On-site; GBP 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Final salary pension scheme

Free travel for you on the TfL network

Rail travel reimbursement

30 days annual leave

Hybrid working

Private healthcare (discounted)

Cycle-to-work

Discounted Eurostar travel

Job summary

Transport for London is seeking a Senior Test Manager to lead multiple testing teams and optimise testing across major programmes. You will drive strategy, resource planning, and automation initiatives to ensure high-quality technology solutions for London’s infrastructure.

You will report to the Head of Delivery and Test, champion standardised testing practices, and partner with stakeholders to prioritise risk management and delivery outcomes. This role offers hybrid working in London.

Qualifications

• Extensive knowledge of Agile methodologies and test automation frameworks.
• Proficient in Microsoft Visual Studio Test and Azure DevOps.
• Experience scaling testing across multi-vendor projects.
• ISEB certification or degree desirable.

Responsibilities

• Define and oversee the test strategy across multiple project streams.
• Manage resource allocation and budgeting for testing teams.
• Establish standardised testing methodologies across projects.
• Lead test automation initiatives to improve productivity.
• Develop KPIs and reporting to track quality and risk.
• Recruit and develop cross-functional testing teams.
• Engage with internal stakeholders and external vendors.

Skills

Multi-Team Leadership

Strategic Test Management

Automation Leadership

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement

Collaboration & Influence

Education

Degree in a relevant subject area or ISEB certification

Tools

Microsoft Visual Studio Test

Azure DevOps

Job description

Welcome to Transport for London Careers
Take a look at job opportunities with us and you may be surprised at what you discover: a rich heritage, a commercial outlook, an iconic brand, a unique public service. It all adds up to make Transport for London a great place to develop your career. Here you can start your journey!

Key Information

Job title: Senior Test Manager

Contract type: Permanent Reference: 5751

Team: Testing Directorate:TfL Corporate

All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory right‑to‑work checks. Candidates must be able to demonstrate their right to work in the UK. At the present time TfL is unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.

Hybrid working within this role enables a balance of 50 per cent of time split between the office and home over a 4-week period. Hybrid working arrangements can evolve subject to business requirements.

Job Overview

Are you an accomplished test management professional with extensive experience leading multiple teams across multiple project streams? Join us as a Senior Test Manager, where you'll oversee and optimise testing teams responsible for delivering high-quality technology solutions across critical programmes and projects.

You will manage the resourcing, budgeting, and direction of multiple teams of automation, performance, functional, and integration testers, ensuring that systems meet both customer requirements and organisational quality standards.

The Senior Test Manager will report in to the Head of Delivery and Test. In this role, you’ll be instrumental in implementing a standardised testing capability across various projects, championing test automation, and ensuring resources are effectively assigned. This position offers an exciting opportunity to influence major initiatives that contribute to London’s infrastructure, leading skilled teams that support the delivery of resilient, high-performing technology solutions.

Key Accountabilities

Leadership & Strategic Oversight

Define and oversee the test strategy across multiple project streams and teams, ensuring alignment with business objectives and quality expectations. Provide strategic direction across teams to ensure consistency in testing practices and adherence to project timelines.

Multi-Team & Resource Management

Manage the allocation of resources across multiple teams and projects, ensuring each team is equipped with the skills and tools required to achieve project ob-jectives. Regularly review and adjust resource allocation based on project needs, priorities, and team workloads in collaboration with the Head of Delivery and Test.

Standardisation & Methodology

Establish consistent testing methodologies across all project streams, ensuring best practices and compliance with organisational and industry standards across multiple teams. Maintain standardised processes for multi-vendor projects to streamline delivery.

Automation & Efficiency

Lead efforts to integrate test automation within teams, promoting tools that enhance productivity, accuracy, and efficiency across all testing activities. Ensure automation solutions are scalable and reusable, providing long-term cost savings.

Metrics & Reporting

Develop KPIs, metrics, and regular reporting to monitor productivity and quali-ty across teams. Deliver concise and actionable reports to stakeholders, tracking overall perfor-mance, defect resolution, and risk management.

People Leadership & Development

Recruit, develop, and manage multiple cross-functional testing teams, promoting a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and innovation. Conduct per-formance reviews, set team goals, and foster a strong technical skill base across teams.

Risk Management

Conduct proactive risk assessment across all project streams, implementing ro-bust risk mitigation strategies to maintain quality standards and minimise delivery delays.

Stakeholder & Vendor Engagement

Build and maintain effective relationships with internal stake-holders and external vendors, ensuring alignment on quality standards and contractual testing re-quirements.

Knowledge:

• Extensive knowledge of Agile methodologies, test automation frameworks, and quali-ty assurance best practices, with the ability to manage cross-functional testing across multi-ple teams.
• Proficient in software testing and development management tools, such as Microsoft Visual Studio Test and Azure DevOps.
• Skilled in scaling testing strategies to accommodate multiple, simultaneous project streams within complex enterprise environments.
• Familiarity with regulatory safety standards, quality legislation, and relevant industry standards.
• Degree in a relevant subject area or ISEB certification is desirable.

Skills:

• Multi-Team Leadership: Exceptional ability to lead and allocate resources across multiple testing teams, ensuring alignment with project requirements and quality goals.
• Strategic Test Management: Skilled in developing and executing comprehensive test strategies for complex, multi-stream projects, ensuring quality and consistency across all teams.
• Automation Leadership: Strong experience in overseeing test automation integra-tion across teams, promoting efficiency and reusability of testing solutions.
• Communication & Stakeholder Engagement: Excellent verbal and written skills with a demonstrated ability to convey complex information to various stakeholders, fostering clarity and understanding across teams.
• Collaboration & Influence: Proven capacity to inspire and influence multiple teams, driving quality-focused practices and fostering alignment across all testing functions.

Experience:

• Extensive experience managing multiple teams within large, multi-vendor systems development projects.
• Proven ability to deliver multi-stream test operations in Agile environments, with strong alignment to CI/CD, TDD, BDD, and high levels of automation.
• Demonstrated success in managing budgetary and resource allocation for large test-ing operations across various project streams.
• Strong background in leading test strategy development, defect prioritisation, and stakeholder engagement for complex, high-impact projects.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We want to represent the city we serve, which will help us become a more innovative and efficient organisation. Our goal is to make our recruitment as inclusive as possible. We are a disability confident employer who guarantee an interview to any disabled candidate who meets all of the essential criteria.

Benefits

• Final salary pension scheme
• Free travel for you on the TfL network
• Reimbursement of 75% of the cost of a standard class Ticket for National Rail travel from home or 75% reimbursement on a 28-day flexi ticket
• 30 days annual leave plus public and bank holidays
• TfL is committed to work-life balance, operating a hybrid working approach where business and role requirements allow
• Private healthcare discounted scheme (optional)
• Tax-efficient cycle-to-work programme
• Retail, health, leisure and travel offers
• Discounted Eurostar travel

Hybrid working within this role enables a balance of 50 per cent of time split between the office and home over a 4 week period. Hybrid working arrangements can evolve subject to business requirements.

We will make every effort to give you as much notice as possible, however some interviews/assessments could be organised at short notice.

Vetting Process

At Transport for London, safety, trust and fairness sit at the heart of how we recruit. Our Vetting Charter ( https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/careers/our-vetting-process ) explains the checks we carry out before you join us, helping ensure we create a safe, inclusive and reliable network for everyone who depends on our services. We simply ask that the information you provide is honest and accurate so we can progress your application smoothly. If something doesn’t match or can’t be verified, we may not be able to move forward with yourapplication,but we’ll always treat you with transparency,respect,and clear communication throughout.