UAT Manager- 12 months Fixed Term

Marks & Spencer Plc; Hemington; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

20% colleague discount on products and

Competitive holiday allowance

Discretionary bonus schemes

Strong pension and life assurance

Tailored induction and training

Exclusive perks and savings via M&SCh🍃

Family policies: parental/adoption/nep

24/7 wellbeing support

Volunteer day

Job summary

Marks & Spencer Plc seeks a UAT Manager for our Castle Donington Distribution Centre on a 12-month fixed-term contract. You will own all aspects of User Acceptance Testing for warehouse management and automation solutions, ensuring readiness before go-live.

Working with operations, technology, engineering and external partners, you will lead cross-functional teams, validate processes, and provide clear stakeholder updates to keep programs on track. Travel to other DCs may be required.

Qualifications

• Experience leading UAT across warehouse operations and automation projects.
• Proven ability to coordinate testing across operations, IT, engineering and vendor partners.
• Strong stakeholder management and clear communication with senior leaders.
• Hands-on tester with attention to detail and problem-solving mindset.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end UAT process, develop test strategies, plans, and criteria.
• Coordinate readiness including environments, data, resources, user engagement.
• Manage UAT execution: test cases, defects, issues, reporting.
• Build partnerships with SMEs, end users, stakeholders; communicate readiness and risks.
• Drive governance and go-live readiness; capture lessons learned.

Skills

UAT leadership

Stakeholder management

Warehouse operations

Test planning

Defect management

Blue Yonder Dispatcher

Cross-functional coordination

Tools

WMS (Warehouse Management System)

WCS (Warehouse Control System)

Blue Yonder Dispatcher

Job description

Our Castle Donington Distribution Centre is fast, flexible and always evolving, with ongoing investment in automation helping us support the growth of our online business and handle increasing volumes of customer orders more efficiently.

Can you ensure every system, process, and automation solution is ready to perform from day one?

We’re looking for a UAT Manager to join our Castle Donington Operations team on a 12-month fixed term contract with a dotted line into our Supply Chain and Logistics Delivery Team.

This role will be at the heart of successful warehouse transformation projects, ensuring new systems, automation solutions and business processes are fully tested and ready for operation before implementation. Working across operations, technology, engineering and external partners, the UAT Manager will lead all aspects of User Acceptance Testing, validating that warehouse management systems, warehouse control systems, automation controls and integrated processes perform seamlessly in a live environment. This is an opportunity to shape large-scale supply chain and automation initiatives, helping new capabilities deliver the reliability, efficiency and operational performance needed to keep the business moving.

This opportunity would suit someone who combines hands-on testing expertise with excellent stakeholder management skills and can confidently lead cross-functional teams through complex change. A proactive problem solver with a keen eye for detail, they will be comfortable working across operational, technical and vendor environments to ensure new solutions are delivered successfully and ready to perform from day one.

NB: This role will be based at our Distribution Centre in Castle Donington; however, some travel to our other distribution centres may be required as the need arises.

What you’ll do

Your key accountabilities will include:

• Lead the end-to-end User Acceptance Testing (UAT) process, developing test strategies, plans, and acceptance criteria to ensure successful project delivery
• Coordinate operational readiness, including test environments, data, resources, and user engagement, ensuring comprehensive coverage of warehouse processes and automation solutions
• Manage UAT execution, overseeing test case creation, defect management, issue resolution, and progress reporting across business, IT, engineering, and vendor teams
• Build strong partnerships with operational SMEs, end users, and stakeholders, providing leadership to business testers and communicating readiness, risks, and outcomes to senior leaders
• Drive governance, quality, and continuous improvement by securing UAT sign-off, supporting go-live readiness, creating operational procedures, and capturing lessons learned for future implementations

Who you are

Your skills and experience will include

• Deep understanding of warehouse operations, with experience of working within a fast-paced distribution centre environment and strong knowledge of operational processes and challenges
• Proven problem-solving capability, with a passion for identifying root causes and delivering sustainable solutions that improve performance and efficiency
• Strong project coordination and organisational skills, able to manage testing activities with a structured, disciplined approach and attention to detail.
• Working knowledge of Blue Yonder Dispatcher and the ability to translate operational requirements into effective testing scenarios and business outcomes
• Confident communicator with excellent written, verbal and presentation skills, capable of influencing stakeholders and presenting findings to senior leaders.

What’s in it for you?

Working at M&S means being part of something bigger - helping to deliver quality, value and service to millions of customers every day. We’re inclusive, fast-moving and always evolving, with a strong sense of purpose and a focus on doing the right thing.

Here are just a few of the benefits that make working here even more rewarding:

• 20% colleague discount on all M&S products and many third-party brands for someone in the household, available once probation is complete
• Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy more
• Discretionary bonus schemes linked to individual and business performance
• Strong pension and life assurance to help plan for the future
• Tailored induction and training to support development from day one
• Exclusive perks and savings through the M&S Choices portal
• Market-leading family policies, including parental, adoption and neonatal leave
• 24/7 wellbeing support, including virtual GP access and mental health services
• One paid volunteer day a year to support a cause that matters

Everyone’s welcome

We are ambitious about the future of retail. We’re reinventing, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by colleagues, customers and suppliers.

We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. If any support or reasonable adjustments would help during any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know when completing the application so steps can be put in place to support the process.

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