Test Manager

Jobtailor; Pocklington; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor in the United Kingdom is seeking a Test Manager to lead software testing and quality assurance across projects, shaping testing strategy and standards.

You will drive modern testing and automation, ensure coverage across functional and non-functional areas, and align testing with sprint goals and releases.

As a people leader you will mentor the team, manage workloads and metrics, and communicate progress and risks to stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading software testing or quality assurance teams.
• Strong leadership, coaching and people management skills.
• Ability to develop and maintain a collaborative, high-performing testing function.
• Strong understanding of modern software testing methodologies and QA practices.
• Experience across manual, automated, functional, non-functional and regression testing.
• Experience developing testing strategies, standards and quality frameworks.
• ISTQB Test Manager Certification is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve testing strategy in line with business objectives.
• Promote a quality-first approach across the software development lifecycle.
• Drive adoption of modern testing, automation and quality engineering practices.
• Improve testing standards, processes and methodologies.
• Ensure quality from requirements through deployment and support.
• Oversee test planning, execution and reporting across projects.
• Align testing with sprint goals, delivery priorities and release schedules.
• Maintain test coverage across functional and non-functional testing.
• Support post-release validation and feedback into future development.
• Lead, mentor and develop the testing team.
• Conduct performance reviews, coaching and development discussions.
• Support training, mentoring, recruitment, onboarding and workforce planning.
• Define and maintain automated testing standards.
• Improve unit, integration, regression and end-to-end test coverage.
• Support automated testing integration into CI/CD pipelines.
• Build relationships with technical and business stakeholders.
• Communicate testing progress, quality metrics, risks and release readiness.
• Identify quality risks and implement mitigation strategies.
• Oversee defect management, prioritisation and resolution.
• Analyse quality trends and lessons learned.

Skills

Leadership Skills

Test Automation Strategies

Quality Assurance Practices

Agile Delivery Experience

ISTQB Test Manager Certification

Education

ISTQB Test Manager Certification

BPSS Check

Tools

CI/CD Tools

Automated Testing Frameworks

Quality Reporting Tools

Job description

• Define and evolve the testing strategy in line with business and delivery objectives
• Promote a quality-first approach across the software development lifecycle
• Drive adoption of modern testing, automation and quality engineering practices
• Improve testing standards, processes and methodologies
• Ensure quality is considered from requirements through deployment and ongoing support
• Oversee test planning, execution and reporting across projects and programmes
• Align testing activities with sprint goals, delivery priorities and release schedules
• Maintain appropriate test coverage across functional and non-functional testing
• Support post-release validation and continuous feedback into future development
• Lead, mentor and develop the testing team
• Conduct performance reviews, coaching and development discussions
• Support training, mentoring, professional growth, recruitment, onboarding and workforce planning
• Define and maintain automated testing standards
• Improve unit, integration, regression and end-to-end test coverage
• Support automated testing integration into CI/CD pipelines
• Build relationships with technical and business stakeholders
• Communicate testing progress, quality metrics, risks and release readiness
• Identify quality risks and implement mitigation strategies
• Oversee defect management, prioritisation and resolution
• Analyse quality trends and contribute to incident reviews and lessons learned

Requirements

• Proven experience leading software testing or quality assurance teams
• Strong leadership, coaching and people management skills
• Ability to develop and maintain a collaborative, high-performing testing function
• Strong understanding of modern software testing methodologies and quality assurance practices
• Experience across manual, automated, functional, non-functional and regression testing
• Experience developing testing strategies, standards and quality frameworks
• Good understanding of the software development lifecycle
• Strong understanding of test automation strategies and modern quality engineering approaches
• Experience implementing automated testing within CI/CD environments
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to identify quality risks and drive practical improvements
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Experience in a Test Manager, QA Manager, Test Lead or similar leadership role
• Proven track record of delivering high-quality software within Agile delivery environments
• Strong background in software testing and quality assurance
• Experience managing workloads, priorities and resource planning
• Experience using quality metrics and reporting to support decision-making
• BPSS check required
• ISTQB Test Manager certification or equivalent professional qualification is desirable
• Experience within regulated or compliance-driven environments is desirable
• Experience with performance, security, accessibility or resilience testing is desirable
• Experience working with automated testing frameworks and tooling is desirable

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in leading software testing and quality assurance teams, with a strong focus on developing and implementing testing strategies, standards, and quality frameworks. Proficient in automated testing integration within CI/CD environments and fostering a quality-first approach throughout the software development lifecycle.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Leadership Skills
• Test Automation Strategies
• Quality Assurance Practices
• Agile Delivery Experience
• ISTQB Test Manager Certification

Hard Skills

• Software Testing
• Quality Assurance
• Automated Testing
• Regression Testing
• Functional Testing
• Non-Functional Testing
• Testing Strategy Development
• CI/CD Integration
• Quality Metrics Analysis
• Defect Management

Soft Skills

• Coaching Skills
• Stakeholder Management
• Analytical Skills
• Problem-Solving Skills
• Communication Skills

Certifications & Qualifications

• ISTQB Test Manager Certification
• BPSS Check

Industry Keywords

• Regulated Environments
• Compliance-Driven Environments
• Performance Testing
• Security Testing
• Accessibility Testing
• Resilience Testing

Tools & Technologies

• Automated Testing Frameworks
• Quality Reporting Tools
• CI/CD Tools