Test Lead
Role details
Job location
Tech stack
Job description
About Scrumconnect Consulting
Scrumconnect Consulting is a multi-award-winning digital consultancy whose work has positively influenced the lives of over 40 million UK citizens. We deliver impactful technology solutions across UK government departments, working at the forefront of user-centred design, agile delivery, and scalable digital services that genuinely make a difference.
? Why This Opportunity Stands Out
- Work on a high-impact UK public sector digital programme, delivering services used by millions
- Opportunity to be based in Swansea, with relocation support of up to £5,000
- Visa sponsorship available for eligible candidates
- Strong focus on work-life balance with a flexible hybrid model (3 days onsite)
- Be part of a collaborative, multidisciplinary agile environment alongside civil servants and industry experts
Based in Swansea, South Wales - three days per week on-site
This role requires three days per week at our client's Swansea offices and we want to be straightforward about that. Swansea is a coastal city offering a genuinely excellent quality of life: lower cost of living than London or Birmingham, shorter commutes, and the kind of work-life balance that is hard to find elsewhere. If you have spent years commuting into a major city, working three days a week by the sea without taking a pay cut may be more appealing than you expect. The work is meaningful too, public sector digital delivery that directly impacts people's lives across the UK. We also offer relocation support of £3,000 - £5,000 to help make the move straightforward.
Role Overview
We are looking for a Test Lead/Test Manager to own and shape the quality strategy for digital services delivered to a UK government client. You will lead testing across one or more multi-disciplinary teams operating in a hybrid estate of modern cloud-native services and established Legacy platforms, including Mainframe integrations.
This role combines hands-on test leadership with strategic quality ownership. You will operate within structured and governed environments where reliability, security, accessibility, and compliance are critical to service success, and you will be a key voice in go/no-go release decisions.
Key Responsibilities
- Define and own the overall test strategy and approach across services built in Java Spring Boot, AWS Serverless (Lambda/Node.js), Ruby on Rails with React, and Legacy Mainframe systems
- Lead, mentor, and coach testers working within one or more multi-disciplinary teams (MTD)
- Plan and coordinate functional, integration, regression, performance, accessibility, and security testing across the delivery lifecycle
- Establish quality metrics, reporting, and dashboards to give delivery and government stakeholders clear visibility of risk
- Drive a shift-left approach, embedding testing into design, refinement, and CI/CD pipelines
- Own end-to-end test environments, test data strategy, and integration testing across modern and Legacy components
- Lead defect triage, root cause analysis, and quality improvement initiatives
- Contribute to release planning, go/no-go decisions, and operational acceptance criteria for live services
- Ensure services meet WCAG 2.2 accessibility standards, GDS service standards, and security assurance requirements
- Engage with security, architecture, product, and delivery leads to balance quality, risk, and pace
Essential Skills & Experience
- Strong experience leading testing across complex, multi-team digital programmes
- Demonstrable experience defining test strategies that span modern (microservice, serverless, web) and Legacy (mainframe, monolithic) systems
- Hands-on experience with test automation frameworks across API, UI, and service layers (eg RestAssured, Postman/Newman, Cypress, Playwright, Selenium, JUnit, Jest)
- Experience integrating automated testing into CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitLab CI)
- Strong understanding of non-functional testing including performance, resilience, and security testing approaches
- Solid grasp of accessibility testing (WCAG 2.2) and assistive technology validation
- Experience with test management and defect tracking tools (eg Jira, Zephyr, TestRail, Azure DevOps)
- Experience leading testers in Agile or hybrid delivery models (Scrum, Kanban)
- Experience working in regulated, security-conscious, or high-assurance environments
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to articulate quality risk to senior stakeholders
- Experience delivering testing within a UK public-sector or government context
- Familiarity with GDS service standards, the Technology Code of Practice, and the GOV.UK Design System
Desirable
- Experience testing Mainframe integrations or coordinating testing across Legacy modernisation programmes
- Experience supporting services through GDS Alpha, Beta, and Live assessments
- ISTQB Advanced, ISTQB Test Manager, or equivalent professional certification
- Experience with contract testing (eg Pact) and chaos/resilience testing tooling
- Experience building or scaling testing communities of practice
What we offer
- Competitive salary with annual review
- Company pension scheme
- Generous annual leave entitlement
- Critical illness cover
- Relocation support of £3,000 - £5,000
- Visa sponsorship for eligible candidates
- Access to learning and development resources
- A supportive, inclusive working environment
Our interview process
We keep things straightforward. Following an initial CV review, successful candidates will be invited to a short screening call with our recruitment team, followed by a two-stage process comprising a technical assessment and a values-based interview with the hiring team. We aim to move quickly and will keep you informed at every stage.
Equal Opportunities
Scrumconnect Consulting is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team and welcome applications from all backgrounds, regardless of age, disability, gender, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.
How to Apply
Please submit your CV to (see below) or apply directly through this listing. For an informal conversation about the role, contact jaswanth at (see below)
Requirements
- Strong experience leading testing across complex, multi-team digital programmes
- Demonstrable experience defining test strategies that span modern (microservice, serverless, web) and Legacy (mainframe, monolithic) systems
- Hands-on experience with test automation frameworks across API, UI, and service layers (eg RestAssured, Postman/Newman, Cypress, Playwright, Selenium, JUnit, Jest)
- Experience integrating automated testing into CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitLab CI)
- Strong understanding of non-functional testing including performance, resilience, and security testing approaches
- Solid grasp of accessibility testing (WCAG 2.2) and assistive technology validation
- Experience with test management and defect tracking tools (eg Jira, Zephyr, TestRail, Azure DevOps)
- Experience leading testers in Agile or hybrid delivery models (Scrum, Kanban)
- Experience working in regulated, security-conscious, or high-assurance environments
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to articulate quality risk to senior stakeholders
- Experience delivering testing within a UK public-sector or government context
- Familiarity with GDS service standards, the Technology Code of Practice, and the GOV.UK Design System
Desirable
- Experience testing Mainframe integrations or coordinating testing across Legacy modernisation programmes
- Experience supporting services through GDS Alpha, Beta, and Live assessments
- ISTQB Advanced, ISTQB Test Manager, or equivalent professional certification
- Experience with contract testing (eg Pact) and chaos/resilience testing tooling
- Experience building or scaling testing communities of practice
Benefits & conditions
- Work on a high-impact UK public sector digital programme, delivering services used by millions
- Opportunity to be based in Swansea, with relocation support of up to £5,000
- Visa sponsorship available for eligible candidates
- Strong focus on work-life balance with a flexible hybrid model (3 days onsite)
- Be part of a collaborative, multidisciplinary agile environment alongside civil servants and industry experts
Based in Swansea, South Wales - three days per week on-site
This role requires three days per week at our client's Swansea offices and we want to be straightforward about that. Swansea is a coastal city offering a genuinely excellent quality of life: lower cost of living than London or Birmingham, shorter commutes, and the kind of work-life balance that is hard to find elsewhere. If you have spent years commuting into a major city, working three days a week by the sea without taking a pay cut may be more appealing than you expect. The work is meaningful too, public sector digital delivery that directly impacts people's lives across the UK. We also offer relocation support of £3,000 - £5,000 to help make the move straightforward., What we offer
- Competitive salary with annual review
- Company pension scheme
- Generous annual leave entitlement
- Critical illness cover
- Relocation support of £3,000 - £5,000
- Visa sponsorship for eligible candidates
- Access to learning and development resources
- A supportive, inclusive working environment