Job Description: Senior / Lead QA Analyst
Role Summary
We are seeking a highly capable Senior/Lead QA analyst to assist during an implementation/migration project for minimum of 6 months, as well as elevate our quality assurance function. In addition, this role will be responsible for driving best practices, enhancing automation capability and leading a small but experienced and dedicated QA team.
Reporting to the Head of Product Delivery, the successful candidate will bring a strong formal background in testing, recognised industry qualifications, and hands-on experience in both manual and automated testing.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead, mentor, and develop a small team of QA analysts
- Refine and implement QA strategy, standards, and best practices suitable for the business
- Drive adoption and continuous improvement of automated testing frameworks
- Collaborate with Product, Development, Operations and Delivery teams to ensure quality is embedded throughout the development lifecycle
- Oversee test planning, execution, and reporting across multiple projects
- Ensure robust test coverage, including functional, regression, integration, accessibility and user acceptance testing
- Champion the implementation and maintenance of CI/CD integration for automated testing pipelines
- Identify risks, defects, and areas for process improvement
- Maintain and improve QA documentation and standards, introducing where there are gaps/streamlining where appropriate
Essential Skills & Experience
- 5+ years’ experience in QA / Software Testing
- Strong formal QA background, including structured test methodologies
- Recognised QA qualifications (e.g., ISTQB or equivalent)
- Proven experience in test automation tools and frameworks (e.g., Selenium, Cypress, Playwright or similar)
- Experience of leading or mentoring a QA team
- Solid understanding of Agile / Scrum environments
- Experience working within modern development pipelines (CI/CD)
- Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills
Desirable
- Experience in a Lead QA or Test Manager role
- Exposure to performance or security testing
- Understanding or experience of Penetration testing
- Experience of accessibility testing and available relevant tools
- Experience with cloud-based environments and modern architectures
- Knowledge of programming/scripting languages (e.g., JavaScript, Python, Java)
Working Arrangements
- office-based with some flexible working options available
- Though the rest of the team are mostly remote, we want to foster better networking across the wider business to leverage support with UAT
Personal Attributes
- Passion for quality and continuous improvement
- Collaborative and supportive leadership style
- Ability to communicate with and influence stakeholders at all levels
- Pragmatic and delivery-focused mindset
Pay: £40,000.00-£45,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Wigan WN3 6PS: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Application question(s):
- Do you hold a recognised Quality Assurance qualification (e.g. ISTQB, ISEB, or equivalent)? If yes, please confirm the qualification(s) held
Experience:
- QA / Software Testing: 5 years (required)
- leading, mentoring, or managing a QA/Test team: 1 year (required)
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Wigan WN3 6PS
