Assurance Manager

Work for an organisation steeped in history with a front row seat for the digitalisation of the financial sector, and the rise of rise of fintech and regtech. A core organisational strength, with our people at our centre, Technology enable the Bank of England to deliver its mission by providing a hugely diverse set of technical solutions and platforms. From supporting critical systems which underpin the UK economy, to evolving data analytics, reinventing our online presence, and introducing a fully digital workplace. Be part of a team that’s constantly evolving, just like our industry.

We take pride in our people, with backgrounds and experiences as diverse as the solutions they provide. You’ll enjoy flexible working opportunities, a good sense of community and well-being, and a collective mission to promote the good of the people of the UK. All of which add up to make the Bank a hugely rewarding place to work.

Department Overview

The Technology division supports all aspect of technology delivery across the Bank, from maintaining critical systems which underpin the UK economy, to providing big data analytics, implementing comprehensive cyber security programmes, and introducing innovative solutions in support of a digital workplace.

Technology’s key objective is to support all other areas of the Bank in achieving our collective mission to promote the good of the people of the UK by maintaining monetary and financial stability. This is achieved through the delivery of appropriate, impactful, resilient solutions and information services across the organisation and externally.

The Test Manager roles sit within the Digital Assurance & Productivity domain within Applications and Product Engineering, responsible for software testing and quality on business services including development, implementation, and ongoing support of IT applications and infrastructure.

Job description

This is a people management role. You will be responsible for day to day management of the team and for defining roles and responsibilities. You will develop your team through sharing information effectively, coaching and communicating a clear vision to ensure that your staff are productive, engaged and motivated to deliver the area's aims. This will include setting clear goals and smart stretching objectives that are aligned to those of the team, division and directorate. You will also be responsible for handling all staff-related matters that may arise including performance, absence and sickness.

Reporting to the Portfolio Test Manager, the Test Manager is responsible for the end to end implementation of a test solution (functional and non-functional) within the SDLC across a specified portfolio of work, which can range from small change to large programmes of work.

The role will comprise of:

• Strategy and Direction of Testing – Capable of using their analytical skills and judgement to define Test Strategies for their programme / portfolio, ensuring that these align with both the relevant business objectives and policies & standards and applicable to the delivery of testing within their portfolio. This includes overall accountability for the test strategy itself, and for the various test plans derived from it, that define the operation of testing within each test phase.
• Resource Planning and Management – Understanding the testing staff needs of their programme / portfolio. Working with other Test Managers in securing and deploying those staff in line with the needs of the whole programme / portfolio, managing the balance between demand for staff and the available supply, and for supporting the Portfolio Test Manager in predicting the future staff needs of the Test Practice.
• Managing Business Engagement – Recognised as an authority on Testing, and capable of advising and guiding stakeholders to ensure that stakeholders understand their responsibilities during user Acceptance Testing. Able to provide such support relating to testing as may be needed to enable the business to deliver those responsibilities while ensuring that they have secured sufficient staff to deliver those responsibilities.
• Managing the Delivery of Testing – Ensuring that the preparation and execution of testing remains on track, acting as an escalation point for issues as they arise, ensuring that 3rd party providers to projects deliver in line with their responsibilities in respect of testing, and ensuring that regular, accurate progress updates are provided to stakeholders.
• Supporting Staff Development and Process Improvement – By setting objectives for staff, assisting their development wherever possible, including the provision of career progression and development opportunities and by working to find opportunities for improvements in testing related processes and methods across the SDLC.

Key Responsibilities / Accountabilities of the Role:

• Defining Test Strategies for all work packages, ensuring their alignment to business objectives
• Leading the various stakeholders of the test strategies through the approval process
• Review and sign off of Test Plans, ensuring conformance to test standards and best practice.
• Integrating testing into the stages of the Delivery Framework and SDLC via the implementation of test strategies and plans
• Ensuring the clarity of understanding of test levels at all times to ensure that all testing meets the requirements of the SDLC and aligns with business need
• Working with the Portfolio Test Manager to forecast future resource requirements and highlight potential risks
• Working with the Test Enablement Manager to ensure that there are clear and concise requirements in line with policies set out for testing environments and test data management
• Providing education to Business users on the nature and impact of testing across their projects
• Advising on quality outcomes for their projects
• Acting as a resolution point for testing issues across all projects in their portfolio / programme
• Holding internal meetings with test teams to ensure all Bank technology governance standards and external regulations are followed
• Ensuring that defect management processes are adhered to, including appropriate triage and fault resolution processes
• Supporting automation by ensuring that wherever appropriate, testing tools and automated regression test packs are implemented across their projects
• Conducting static analysis of requirements to ensure testability
• Conducting regular status update meetings to identify the status of testing across the work streams in their projects
• Ensuring that a consistent set of test metrics and progress reports is made available, that conform to test policies and standards
• Representing DAP at steering group and project governance meetings
• Ensuring the active engagement of the defect board for their project, to ensure conformance with testing exit criteria
• Partnering with other domains and teams within the Bank to improve any of efficiency, effectiveness, productivity or control, insofar as changes to these relate to Technology Assurance
• Monitoring compliance with quality standards across the delivery portfolio, contributing to both high level and detailed analyses of the achievement of these standards to all levels
• Working with the Portfolio Test Manager to ensure knowledge preservation within the domain
• Benchmarking training and appraisals as well as setting key objectives and targets for team members on an individual basis as part of the appraisal process
• Building career paths and scope for progression and retention of existing staff

Number of direct reports: Approx. 1-3

Role Requirements

Minimum Essential Criteria

Experience of:

• leading testing with limited supervision with strong written and verbal communication and a strong attention to detail
• software testing functional / non-functional phases covering the complete project life-cycle, in a structured environment (both iterative/agile and waterfall)
• creating Test Strategies / Test Plans / Test Completion Reports
• test planning and estimation based on changing circumstances
• leading software testing, including where both internal and 3rd parties are involved
• test tooling for test management, test automation, test data management
• risk analysis and Risk Based software testing techniques
• understanding complex business processes involving the complex interaction of a number of systems and an understanding of how their work interacts and relates to the operation of stakeholder areas in the Bank
• ISTQB / ISQI / ISEB Foundation Level qualification

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of software testing Banking Systems and applications
• Knowledge of software architectures & technologies such as XBRL, HTML, VB, .NET, XML, Java, Web Services, SOA, SOAP, Unix/Linux, SAP, Oracle, SQL, SharePoint
• Experience of software testing in web based applications
• ISTQB / ISQI Advanced level qualification or demonstration of the equivalent level of knowledge gained through experience
• Degree
• Certification in or experience of any of the following:
• ITIL 2007 / 2011
• Agile Methodologies
• PRINCE2

Our Approach to Inclusion

The Bank values diversity, equity and inclusion. We play a key role in maintaining monetary and financial stability, and to do that effectively, we believe we need a workforce that reflects the society we serve.

At the Bank of England we want all colleagues to feel valued and respected, so we're working hard to build an inclusive culture which supports people from all backgrounds and communities to be at their best at work. We celebrate all forms of diversity, including (but not limited to) age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We believe that it’s by drawing on different perspectives and experiences that we’ll continue to make the best decisions for the public.

We welcome applications from individuals who work flexibly, including job shares and part time working patterns. We've also partnered with external organisations to support us in making adjustments for candidates and employees in the recruitment process where they're needed.

For most roles where work can be carried out at home, we aim for colleagues to spend half of their time in the office, with a minimum of 40% per month. Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them, their team and stakeholders.

Finally, we're proud to be a member of the Disability Confident scheme. You can find more information on what this means here. If you wish to apply under this scheme, you should check the box in the ‘Candidate Personal Information’ under the ‘Disability Confident Scheme’ section of the application.

Salary and Benefits Information

Salary range £61, 770- £78, 300

We encourage flexible working, part time working and job share arrangements. Part time salary and benefits will be on a pro-rated basis as appropriate.

In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below:

• A non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/95th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/50th) or decrease (to 1/120th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year.
• A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool.
• A 7% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits. (Note that from April 2023 and for the Benefits year 2023/24, this will increase to 8%)
• 26 days’ annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits.
• Private medical insurance and income protection.

National Security Vetting Process

Employment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process (and typically can take between 6 to 12 weeks post offer) and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy. Further information regarding the vetting and security clearance requirements for the role will be provided to the successful applicant, and information about how the Bank processes personal data for these purposes, is set out in the Bank’s Privacy Notice at Privacy and the Bank of England | Bank of England.

The Application Process

Important: Please ensure that you complete the ‘work history’ section and answer ALL the application questions fully. All candidate applications are anonymised to ensure that our hiring managers will not be able to see your personal information, including your CV, when reviewing your application details at the screening stage. It’s therefore really important that you fill out the work history and application form questions, as your answers will form a critical part of the initial selection process.

The closing date for applications is 04/06/2023

The assessment process will comprise of two stages.