Test Lead

We are recruiting an experienced Test Lead / Senior Test Analyst to support a major Housing Management System implementation within a large UK housing organisation.

This is a hands-on contract role rather than a test management position. You will personally own and deliver testing across the initial implementation phase, working closely with the Programme Manager, Business Analyst, configuration specialists and the NEC implementation team.

The immediate focus will be NEC Housing Estates and Rents, taking the programme through configuration, system integration testing, data migration and UAT ahead of go-live.

What you will be doing

• Develop the test approach and personally create test scripts and scenarios across Estates and Rents.
• Execute functional, integration and regression testing as configuration is delivered.
• Plan and facilitate UAT with operational users, translating requirements into practical test scenarios.
• Own defect management from identification and triage through to retesting and closure.
• Validate migrated data, including record, balance and reconciliation checks.
• Maintain clear test evidence and provide assurance around readiness for key programme milestones.

You will have strong, hands-on experience delivering testing for complex system implementations and be comfortable operating independently without a test team beneath you.

NEC Housing / Northgate Housing testing experience is strongly preferred, alongside experience within a housing association, local authority or similar housing environment.

You should also bring solid experience across SIT, UAT, defect management and test documentation, together with confidence working directly with system vendors and non-technical operational users.

Experience testing Rents, income management, arrears, Estates, property or tenancy functionality would be particularly valuable, as would previous involvement in housing system data migrations.

Knowledge of Jira, Azure DevOps, ALM or similar test management tooling is useful.