Lead Quality Assurance Test Analyst - ONS - G7

Location

The ONS operates a flexible hybrid working model across the UK, with colleagues linked to one of our contractual locations working between office and remote throughout the week. The locations for this role are Newport, Titchfield (Fareham) and Manchester.

All colleagues are required to work from their contractually allocated site for at least 40% of their working time.

The induction process for the role will be conducted in person.

About the job

Job summary

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK’s largest producer of official statistics, covering a range of key economic, social and demographic topics.  These include measuring changes in the value of the UK economy, estimating the size, geographic distribution and characteristics of the population, and providing indicators of price inflation, employment, earnings, crime and migration.

Are you ready to take the lead in driving quality assurance excellence? We are looking for a dynamic Lead Quality Assurance Test Analyst to shape the future of functional testing. In this pivotal role, you'll set the standard for excellence, drive complex problem-solving, and influence senior stakeholders across the organisation.  

With a sharp business and operational mindset, you'll mentor and inspire your team, deliver at pace using agile methodologies, and provide expert technical guidance. If you're passionate about raising the bar and making informed decisions that matter, join our vibrant testing community and help define the next generation of delivery practice. 

Job description

The Quality Assurance Test (QAT) Team will define test conditions, design test cases, and create test scripts which comprehensively test the functionality of a system to ensure the system/service meets the required quality standards. 

The team will use their Analytical skills, domain, and business knowledge to identify defects within a System and manage defects throughout a project to ensure quality metrics are available which can inform stakeholders in their Go/No-Go decisions. 

The QAT Team designs and executes test cases, as part of a broader risk-based test plan to ensure that systems, services, and end-to-end processes are integrated and operationally ready. 

Working with development teams, third parties, operations teams, and business areas to plan, co-ordinate and manage/facilitate testing (included inter dependencies) they ensure that the agreed test strategy is correctly implemented by means of the following activities

As a Lead Quality Assurance Test Analyst you will set the functional test approach for test analysis, establishing standards and methods. You are accountable and responsible for activities at high risk. 

Responsibilities 

• Lead to ensure progress is monitored and reported on to ensure all deliverables are on time and meet defined quality standards. 
• Accountable and responsible for reporting testing risks, and identifying potential mitigations to risks at both product and project level
• Take both a business and an operational view when strategising and test planning.  
• Lead the delivery practice, focusing on complex problem solving and influencing senior team members.
• To report on test activities and ensure the teams efficiency and quality is of a high standard.
• Be a specialist in an area of testing and have expert technical understanding and provide advice to project teams.
• Have expert technical understanding and provide advice to project team. 
• Deliver at pace using the most appropriate delivery methodologies and adopting agile principles.   
• Assist decision makers in gathering information to make informed decisions.
• Actively participate in the Testing community and broader communities to refine and develop standards, working practices, sharing of knowledge, and understanding.     
• Where appropriate and in line with divisional organisation practice, Line management of QAT Analysts within the ONS community.
• Provide Coaching and Mentoring.
• Have line management responsibilities 

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Communicating between the technical and non-technical (Expert) - Mediate between people and strengthen relationships, adopting the appropriate communication method with stakeholders at all levels,manage stakeholder expectations and moderate difficult discussions about high risk and complex topics, even within constrained timescales and speak on behalf of, and represent the community to, large audiences inside and outside the organisation.
• Designing and executing tests (Expert) -  Set standards and influence organisational decisions for test types, techniques, design and execution, coach others in test types, techniques, design and execution, advocate for continuous improvement and refinement of test types and techniques and make strategic decisions on new or improved test types and techniques used in your area.
• Managing, reporting and resolving defects (Expert) - Lead and coach others in improving test and defect management processes, support others in assessing complex and challenging defects across the organisation, lead and coach others in using defect patterns and trends to make tactical and strategic recommendations and influence improvements to quality processes, informed by defect patterns and trends.
• Test analysis (Expert) - Lead and guide multiple teams in test analysis, ensuring it is implemented early in the life cycle, advocate for risk-based analysis to drive improvements across many teams and set standards and principles for test analysis across the organisation. 
• Test and quality planning (Expert) - Create and manage multiple quality testing plans, approaches and strategies, lead and guide multiple teams in adopting quality testing strategy, advocate for early quality testing involvement in organisational delivery processes and guide teams across an organisation in optimising quality testing approaches, plans and strategies by using appropriate data. 

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Comprehensive working knowledge of using test tools to plan, report and manage all test deliverables. Set up and configure tools as required.
• Knowledge of the Software Delivery Life Cycle (SDLC)
• An understanding of common functional test techniques and the ability to apply them accordingly.