Test Lead

About the role

This is a brand-new opportunity for an experienced Test Lead to join our growing Change Team during a period of significant transformation and continuous improvement. As a senior member of the team, you will act as the strategic owner of testing, defining the roadmap while also leading delivery across projects. You will: - Define and lead the testing strategy and lifecycle - Ensure all systems and products meet quality standards prior to release - Champion best-in-class testing practices across LPPA - Build strong relationships and collaborate effectively across teams About LPPA LPPA is a multi-award-winning organisation and one of the UK's leading pension administration providers, supporting over 1,500 employers and 700,000 members across Local Government, Police and Firefighter pension schemes.

Responsibilities

• Test Strategy & Governance
• Define test strategy, tools and methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, DevOps)
• Embed shift-left testing principles
• Establish and track KPIs (e.g. defect density, coverage, pass rates)
• Lead testing governance across the business
• Define automation roadmap and maintain testing velocity
• Technical Leadership & Delivery
• Develop detailed test plans, scenarios and estimates
• Identify risks and implement mitigation strategies
• Carry out complex testing and support delivery as needed
• Manage environments and test data requirements
• Oversee defect management, triage and root cause analysis
• Produce clear reporting on progress, risks and quality
• Team Leadership
• Manage, mentor and grow a team of test analysts
• Allocate work based on skills and development needs
• Lead daily syncs and drive continuous improvement
• Stakeholder & Relationship Management
• Collaborate with project teams to ensure shared quality ownership
• Align testing with Change Governance
• Partner with Business Analysts to ensure high-quality requirements
• Work closely with Systems teams on releases and change planning
• Coordinate UAT with business teams
• Manage third-party relationships to ensure quality standards

Requirements

• Essential
• Strong expertise in DevOps, SQL and API testing
• Experience developing or maintaining automation frameworks
• Excellent analytical and reporting capabilities
• Strong communication skills, able to simplify complex issues
• Effective time management and delivery focus
• Proactive, self-motivated and aligned to LPPA values
• Minimum 3 years' experience in a QA/Test leadership role
• Desirable
• Experience in pensions (ideally UPM) or public sector
• Experience with Azure DevOps and CI/CD pipelines
• Website / digital testing experience
• ISTQB certification (Advanced Test Manager or equivalent)
• Our values
• Working together
• Committed to excellence
• Doing the right thing
• Forward thinking

Benefits

Additional Information

Test Lead - Pensions (Hybrid / Remote with travel to Preston) Salary circa £65,000 (DOE)

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