Test Manager
Posted Today by Pontoon
Negotiable
Undetermined
Remote
Southampton, Hampshire, UK
Summary: The Test Manager role is focused on overseeing the testing activities within a major insurance migration programme, ensuring compliance and audit readiness throughout the delivery phase until October 2026. The position requires strong leadership in managing end-to-end testing across multiple systems and teams in a regulated financial services environment. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing test strategies, managing defect resolution, and coordinating various testing approaches. Strong experience in migration programmes and stakeholder management is essential for this role.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead all test execution activities across the delivery phase
- Own test strategy execution for migration-related testing activities
- Create and maintain Test Plans, Test Completion Reports, and Test Risk Assessments
- Ensure all testing activity is compliant, traceable, and audit-ready
- Own Quality Gateways and governance checkpoints
- Manage end-to-end testing across multiple workstreams
- Oversee defect management through to resolution
- Deliver daily test status reporting during execution
- Lead Test Leads, Senior Test Engineers, and Test Engineers
- Coordinate automated, manual, and exploratory testing approaches
- Work closely with Project Managers, Analysts, Developers, Architects, and stakeholders
- Manage third-party suppliers ensuring required test evidence is provided and compliant
- Support resource planning and delivery capacity management
- Operate across both Agile and Waterfall delivery models
- Provide coaching and mentoring to improve team capability
Key Skills:
- Strong migration programme testing experience is essential
- Strong experience in software testing leadership within Financial Services environments
- Proven experience working in delivery-phase programme environments
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills
- Demonstrable experience ensuring compliance, governance, and audit readiness in all test deliverables
- Experience producing audit-ready documentation and reporting
- Background in large-scale transformation or organisational change programmes
- Experience working with third-party suppliers in regulated environments
- Ability to work under tight timelines while maintaining quality standards
- Experience across Agile and Waterfall delivery models
- Proven ability to mentor and lead test teams effectively
Salary: undetermined
City: Southampton
Country: UK
Working Arrangements: remote
IR35 Status: undetermined
Seniority Level: undetermined
Industry: IT
Test Manager (Insurance Migration Programme - Delivery Phase)
Location: Edinburgh/Glasgow/Newcastle/Southampton (Remote with occasional travel)
Contract: Until October 2026
About the Role
We are seeking an experienced Test Manager to join a major insurance migration programme currently in the delivery phase, running through to October 2026.
The programme involves a critical migration of insurance channels from Barclays to Tesco IMS, alongside a wider data centre migration (non-cloud). Strong migration experience and ensuring all testing activity is compliant and audit-ready is essential.
This role is focused on end-to-end test execution, governance, and delivery assurance across a complex, regulated financial services environment.
You will take ownership of ensuring all testing outputs meet strict audit, compliance, and governance standards, while supporting successful migration delivery across multiple systems, teams, and suppliers.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead all test execution activities across the delivery phase
- Own test strategy execution for migration-related testing activities
- Create and maintain Test Plans, Test Completion Reports, and Test Risk Assessments
- Ensure all testing activity is compliant, traceable, and audit-ready
- Own Quality Gateways and governance checkpoints
- Manage end-to-end testing across multiple workstreams
- Oversee defect management through to resolution
- Deliver daily test status reporting during execution
- Lead Test Leads, Senior Test Engineers, and Test Engineers
- Coordinate automated, manual, and exploratory testing approaches
- Work closely with Project Managers, Analysts, Developers, Architects, and stakeholders
- Manage third-party suppliers ensuring required test evidence is provided and compliant
- Support resource planning and delivery capacity management
- Operate across both Agile and Waterfall delivery models
- Provide coaching and mentoring to improve team capability
Requirements
- Strong migration programme testing experience is essential
- Strong experience in software testing leadership within Financial Services environments
- Proven experience working in delivery-phase programme environments
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills
- Demonstrable experience ensuring compliance, governance, and audit readiness in all test deliverables
- Experience producing audit-ready documentation and reporting
- Background in large-scale transformation or organisational change programmes
- Experience working with third-party suppliers in regulated environments
- Ability to work under tight timelines while maintaining quality standards
- Experience across Agile and Waterfall delivery models
- Proven ability to mentor and lead test teams effectively
Insurance Domain Experience (Essential)
- End-to-end insurance journey testing (policy life cycle, claims, servicing)
- Claims systems testing (new and existing claims processes)
- Multi-channel insurance testing (digital, partner, internal platforms)
- Financial separation/transformation programmes
- API testing within insurance environments
- Payment interface testing for insurance/financial products
- Experience with both internally and externally hosted insurance systems
About You
You are a delivery-focused Test Manager with strong migration experience, who can operate confidently in complex regulated environments. You balance hands-on leadership with strong governance, ensuring all testing activity is compliant, traceable, and fully audit-ready throughout the delivery life cycle.
We use generative AI tools to support our candidate screening process. This helps us ensure a fair, consistent, and efficient experience for all applicants. Rest assured, all final decisions are made by our hiring team, and your application will be reviewed with care and attention.
Pontoon is an employment consultancy. We put expertise, energy, and passion into improving everyone's chance of being part of the workplace. We respect and appreciate people of all ethnicities, generations, religious beliefs, sexual orientations, gender identities, and more. We do this by showcasing their talents, skills, and unique experience in an all-encompassing environment that helps them thrive.
Candidates will ideally show evidence of the above in their CV to be considered.
Please be advised if you haven't heard from us within 48 hours then unfortunately your application has not been successful on this occasion, we may however keep your details on file for any suitable future vacancies and contact you accordingly.
Pontoon is an employment consultancy and operates as an equal opportunity's employer.
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