Test Manager

Polo; Cheltenham; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

PoloWorks, recruiting on behalf of Marco Group, seeks a Test Manager to lead the Group-wide testing and QA framework across Marco Capital. You will own test strategy, governance and delivery oversight across IT projects, coordinating with project managers, IT teams and external partners.

The role demands hands-on leadership of end-to-end testing lifecycle, from strategy definition through to test creation, execution and delivery assurance, ensuring quality across the organisation.

Qualifications

• Extensive test management or quality assurance experience in regulated financial services.
• Proven ability to implement enterprise-wide testing frameworks and governance standards.
• Strong knowledge of Waterfall, Agile and Hybrid delivery methodologies.
• Experience leading UAT, SIT, Regression testing and release assurance.
• Excellent stakeholder management, reporting and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain a group-wide testing strategy aligned to regulatory requirements.
• Define policies, standards, governance processes and quality gates.
• Create and govern test plans, schedules and resource needs.
• Coordinate testing across projects, releases and external partners.
• Monitor progress, manage defects and provide testing evidence for releases.
• Collaborate with Information Security for security testing involvement.
• Produce reporting for project boards and IT leadership.
• Drive continuous improvement and lessons learned across deliveries.

Skills

Test management

Quality assurance

Governance

Stakeholder management

Test strategies

Defect management

Reporting

Risk-based testing

Testing across MS 365/Azure/AWS

Education

ISTQB Test Manager certification

Tools

Microsoft 365

Azure

AWS

Test management tools

Job description

Test Manager

Department: Central Services

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: London or Cheltenham

Description

PoloWorks are currently recruiting this role on behalf of our parent company Marco Group.

Working as part of the Marco IT Team, the Test Manager will lead the development, implementation and ongoing management of the Group-wide testing and quality assurance framework across Marco Capital.

This role combines test strategy, governance, delivery oversight, stakeholder engagement and supplier coordination, ensuring technology change is delivered safely, consistently and to an appropriate quality standard. The Test Manager will define and govern testing standards, methodologies, environments, reporting and quality assurance processes across IT projects and business change initiatives.

The role will work closely with project managers, business stakeholders, IT teams, Information Security, suppliers and third-party partners to ensure effective test planning, execution, risk management and delivery assurance.

This is a hands-on position, covering the full testing lifecycle from strategy definition through to test creation, execution and delivery oversight.

Key Responsibilities

Test Strategy & Framework Development

• Develop and maintain a Group-wide testing strategy aligned to Marco's technology, operational resilience and regulatory requirements.
• Define testing policies, standards, methodologies, templates and governance processes.
• Establish risk-based testing approaches aligned to project complexity and business criticality.
• Define quality gates, entry and exit criteria, and release readiness requirements.
• Develop testing KPIs, metrics, dashboards and reporting standards.
• Promote a consistent and repeatable testing approach across all Marco entities.

Test Planning & Management

• Define testing approaches and scope for projects, infrastructure changes and operational initiatives.
• Create and govern test plans, schedules, resource requirements and milestones.
• Ensure adequate coverage across SIT, UAT, Regression, Infrastructure, Security and Disaster Recovery testing.
• Coordinate testing activities across concurrent projects and releases.
• Manage testing risks, dependencies, assumptions and constraints.
• Ensure appropriate test documentation and evidence is maintained throughout the testing lifecycle.

Test Execution & Delivery Oversight

• Design and execute tests where required.
• Coordinate testing activities across project teams, business users, suppliers and third-party partners.
• Monitor progress against plans and elevate issues when necessary.
• Ensure defects are tracked, prioritised and resolved through agreed governance processes.
• Support business teams during UAT and implementation readiness reviews.
• Manage test environments, system availability and test data requirements.
• Ensure releases are supported by appropriate testing evidence and approvals.

Quality Assurance & Reporting

• Implement quality assurance processes to ensure solutions meet business, technical, security and regulatory requirements.
• Monitor quality metrics across projects and operational change activities.
• Produce reporting for project boards, steering committees, executive stakeholders and IT leadership.
• Provide management information on test progress, defect trends, coverage and release readiness.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives and embed lessons learned across future deliveries.

Security, Compliance & Operational Resilience

• Work with Information Security teams to ensure appropriate security testing is incorporated into change initiatives.
• Support regulatory, GDPR, operational resilience and governance requirements.
• Participate in cyber security exercises, disaster recovery testing and business continuity validation.
• Maintain traceability between requirements, risks, controls, defects and delivery outcomes.
• Ensure critical risks identified during testing are communicated and managed appropriately.

Supplier & Stakeholder Management

• Coordinate testing activities delivered by external suppliers, software vendors and implementation partners.
• Review supplier testing deliverables and quality assurance artefacts.
• Engage business stakeholders to define acceptance criteria and testing expectations.
• Facilitate testing workshops, defect review meetings and release readiness assessments.
• Act as the primary point of contact for testing governance, quality assurance and release assurance activities.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Essential

• Extensive Test Management, Quality Assurance or Technology Delivery experience within regulated financial services, ideally London Market insurance.
• Proven experience implementing enterprise-wide testing frameworks and governance standards.
• Strong knowledge of Waterfall, Agile and Hybrid delivery methodologies.
• Experience creating and managing test strategies, plans, execution activities and quality assurance processes.
• Experience leading User Acceptance Testing, System Integration Testing, Regression Testing and Release Assurance.
• Experience overseeing testing across Microsoft 365, Azure, AWS, infrastructure, networking and business-critical applications.
• Strong understanding of defect management, root cause analysis and testing metrics.
• Experience managing third-party suppliers and technology partners.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication and reporting skills.

Desirable

• ISTQB Test Manager, Test Analyst or equivalent certification.
• Experience within Lloyd's of London or the wider London Market insurance sector.
• Experience with Microsoft technologies including Microsoft 365, Azure, SharePoint Online, Power Platform and Teams.
• Exposure to infrastructure, cyber security, data migration and cloud transformation testing.
• Knowledge of ITIL, Operational Resilience, Change Management and Project Governance frameworks.