QA Engineering Manager - IT Services - 57555 - Grade 9 - (2100020T)
Description
Position Details
IT Services
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £51,799 to £60,022, with potential progression once in post to £78,265
Grade 9
Full time
Permanent
Closing date: 8th November 2021
Job summary
The primary responsibility of the post holder is to is to provide technical leadership in the area of QA Engineering and to effectively manage the QA Engineering team. To define and implement strategy and architecture for manual & automated test framework covering the whole process from test planning to results analysis and reporting. To work as part of the Application Services Management team on continually improving the performance of the department and the quality of our services.
Main duties
Management
The QA Engineering Manager manages a team of QA Analysts, QA Engineers & RPA Engineers Allocates responsibilities and/or packages of work. Allocates responsibilities and/or packages of work. Provides support and guidance as required, in line with individuals’ abilities. Delegates responsibilities as appropriate. Advises individuals on career paths, and encourages pro-active development of skills and capabilities. Sets performance targets, and monitors progress against agreed quality and performance criteria. Provides effective feedback, throughout the performance management cycle, to ensure optimum performance. Mentors individuals, possibly within other parts of the organisation. Participates, as appropriate, in formal processes such as compensation negotiations and disciplinary procedures. Will deputise for the Head of Application Management when required.
Resourcing
Develops plans to ensure that the organisation has appropriately skilled resources to meet organisational objectives and commitments. Manages the effective implementation of resource planning, recruitment, selection, assessment, on-boarding and transitioning of resources. Advises on standards, methods and tools for resource management. Ensures compliance with relevant statutory or external regulations and codes of good practice. Contributes to the development of resource management policies, standards and guidelines and to audits and assessment of resource management processes.
Professional Development
Determines the required outcomes for learning or development, from organisational development needs training strategies, and agreed career pathways. Mentors assigned practitioners, ensuring alignment with predetermined statements of required development outcomes. Assists each practitioner with the creation of development plans based on the outcome statements. Ensures that each practitioner records evidence of continuing professional development. Validates practitioners' records at the end of each cycle of planned development, to ensure that achievements and enhanced capabilities are correctly recorded and referenced to the outcome statements. Contribute to practitioners' performance appraisals.
Supplier Management and Sourcing
Researches Quality Engineering services, suppliers and markets, and maintains a broad understanding of this commercial environment, to inform and develop commercial strategies and sourcing plans. Advises on the business case for alternative sourcing models, and on policy and procedures covering the selection of suppliers, tendering, and procurement. Leads procurement teams, managing tender, evaluation and acquisition processes. Negotiates with potential partners and suppliers, developing acceptance criteria and procedures. Drafts and places contracts. Carries out benchmarking and ensures that supplier performance is properly monitored and regularly reviewed. Liaises with designated supplier(s), and manages and implements supplier service improvement actions and programmes.
Sourcing
From the viewpoint of Business Case, Options Appraisal, Requirement and Benefit Management best-practice influences policy and procedures covering the selection of suppliers, tendering, procurement and benchmarking. In conjunction with procurement professionals within the University, establishes procurement strategies, standards, methods, processes and good practices that ensure solutions meet the needs of the University. Identifies external Quality Assurance and consultancy partners, engaging with professionals in other related disciplines as appropriate. Ensures that Quality Assurance feeds into terms and conditions is aligned with current legislation and policy. When necessary and appropriate leads the procurement process, from clarifying requirements through to placing, monitoring and terminating contracts. Ensures Application Services measures the perception about how services are delivered, assessing the performance of the supplier, their experience of own organisation’s performance, and effectiveness across the supply chain.
Contract Management
Oversees and measures the fulfilment of contractual obligations for external Quality Engineering services. Uses key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor and challenge performance and identify opportunities for continuous improvement. Develops strategies to address under-performance and compliance failures, including application of contract terms. Identifies where changes are required, evaluates the impact, and advises stakeholders about the implications and consequences for the business and/or the procurement element of programmes/projects. Negotiates variations and seeks appropriate authorisation. Actively supports and engages with experts and stakeholders to ensure continuous improvements are identified through review and benchmarking processes. Develops and implements change management protocols.
Relationship and Stakeholder Management
Builds long-term, strategic relationships with senior stakeholders. Acts as a single point of contact and facilitates access to colleagues and subject matter experts. Maintains a strong understanding of the HE sector and the University, assists clients in the formation of IT strategies, and acts to ensure that they are offered Quality Engineering services aligned to these strategies. Negotiates at senior level on QA technical and commercial issues. Makes recommendations on and influences the development and enhancement of QA services, and oversees the management and planning of business opportunities. Oversees monitoring of relationships and acts on relevant feedback.
IT Strategy and planning
Sets policies and standards and guidelines for how the University conducts QA strategy development and planning. Leads and manages the creation or review of a QA strategy which meets the requirements of the University. Develops, communicates, implements and reviews the processes which ensure that the strategic management of QA is embedded in the management and operational plans of the organisation.
QA Engineering Methods and Tools
Sets direction and leads in the introduction and use of QA engineering techniques, methodologies and tools, to match overall business requirements (both current and future), ensuring consistency across all user groups.
Financial Management
Monitors and maintains a delegated budget for quality engineering services for compliance and audit to all agreed requirements. Assists all other areas of ITS with identification of quality engineering service, project and component costs and the calculation and subsequent reduction of all quality engineering, project, component and process failures. Contributes to financial planning and budgeting. Collates required financial data and reports for analysis and to facilitate decision making.
Innovation
Provides organisational leadership and guidelines to promote Quality Enginnering in the organisation .Recognises potential strategic application of quality engineering capabilities. Initiates and manages investigation and development of innovative methods, practices and technology, to the benefit of the University. Plays an active and dynamic role in improving the interface between all interested parties, facilitating knowledge flow to enable sharing and development of creative ideas.
Risk and Sustainability Management
Investigates and reports on hazards and potential risk events within the QA Engineering function. Assesses and reports on how different tactical decisions affect organisational sustainability. Evaluates factors and risks (political, legislative, technological, economic, social) that impact on operational processes and strategic direction.
Project Management
Takes full responsibility for the definition, approach, facilitation and satisfactory completion of projects (typically with direct business impact and firm deadlines) when required. Identifies, assesses and manages risks to the success of the project. Ensures that realistic project plans are maintained and ensures regular and accurate communication to stakeholders, consistent with the methods in use (agile, waterfall, etc). Ensures Quality reviews occur on schedule and according to procedure. Manages the change control procedure, and ensures that project deliverables are completed within agreed cost, timescale and resource budgets, and are signed off. Provides effective leadership to the project team, and takes appropriate action where team performance deviates from agreed tolerances.
Organisation Design and Implementation
Anticipates major changes affecting the organisation, and mobilises resources to implement changes. Advises business managers about the implications of planned IT-enabled change on the business, on processes, on staff and on customers. Initiates the definition of new organisation boundaries, and creates future organisation design, including location strategy and the number of locations required. Outlines performance measurement objectives and the high level implementation approach.
Business Process Testing
Is responsible for organisational commitment to high standards in human factors. Specifies ergonomics standards and methods to meet organisational objectives. Sets the policy and standards for business process testing. Manages the design and execution of business process tests, usability evaluations, network and business trials, confidence tests. Maintains an overview of the business environment, required outcomes and potential exposures.
Testing
Determines testing policy, and owns the supporting processes including software security testing. Takes responsibility for the management of all testing activities within a development or integration project or programme. Manages all risks associated with the testing and takes preventative action when any risks become unacceptable. Assesses and advises on the practicality of testing process alternatives, including automated testing. Initiates improvements to test processes and directs their implementation. Assesses suppliers' development and testing capabilities. Determines project testing standards for all phases, influencing all parties to conform to those standards. Manages client relationships with respect to all testing matters.
Quality Management
Sets the quality strategy for approval and adoption by the University. Measures the extent to which the quality policy meets the organisation's needs and objectives and reviews it as necessary. Plans, resources (either directly or indirectly) and monitors the internal quality audit schedule. Defines and reviews quality and environmental systems. Ensures that adequate technology, procedures and resources are in place to support the quality system.
Quality Assurance
Develops organisational commitment to ongoing quality and environmental improvement by ensuring that the quality assurance process is robust and is based on the best industry practice. Considers implications of emerging technological developments, economic and social trends, etc. Plans and resources periodic quality assurance audits. Conducts and/or manages audits of quality requirements, and analyses audit results, to ensure appropriate quality standards and operational definitions are in place. Prepares and delivers formal audit reports.
Quality Standards
Takes responsibility for the control, update and distribution of quality standards, and advice on their use.
Software release and deployment
Leads the assessment, analysis, planning and test design of software release packages, including assessment of risk. Liaises with business and IT partners on software release scheduling and communication of progress. Conducts post release quality reviews. Ensures QA release processes and procedures are applied.
Technical Specialism
Provides organisational leadership and guidelines to promote the development and exploitation of QA Engineering within the University including:
• Functional testing
• Systems testing
• Integration testing
• Regression testing
• Load and stress testing
• User acceptance testing
• Defect Management
• Accessibility testing
• Test engineering
• Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Person Specification
Dimensions and Impact
The QA Manager will be responsible for quality across IT services leading on QA strategy development and the formulation of operational plans to deliver QA strategy across IT Services. They will constructively challenge assumptions and traditional views, generate approaches and innovative solutions to opportunities within IT Services and across the University and facilitate their implementation to achieve strategic change. They will be responsible for test engineering within Product teams and for an RPA service.
Knowledge
Highly developed knowledge of the principles, theory and practice of Quality Engineering, and aware of broader developments relevant to this area, across functions and within the HE sector, so able to identify need for and make recommendations for significant changes in the following areas:
Functional Testing
Non-Funtional Testing
Change Control
Quality Assurance Standards
Test Automation Strategy
Risk Based Approach to Testing
Test engineering
Robotic Process Engineering
Communication
Must be able to interact at senior levels within the University to keep abreast of strategy to ensure the Quality Engineering service provision is in line with broader agendas and network with fellow professionals in the wider community to stay up-to-date professionally. Strong influencing and negotiating skills with the ability to gain peoples commitment, cooperation and support for a rigorous approach to Quality Engineering. Ability to communicate and engage with non-IT staff effectively using oral and written communication with a strong customer service ethos.
Informal enquiries can be made to Stella Poole - [email protected]
Valuing excellence, sustaining investment
We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.
Primary Location
: GB-GB-Birmingham
Job
: Specialist/Professional
Organization
: IT Services
Schedule
: Regular
Full-time
Job Posting
: 25.10.2021, 8:42:29 AM
Grade (for job description): Grade 9
Salary (Pay Basis)
: 51,799.00
Maximum Salary
: 78,265.00
Advert Close Date
: 08.11.2021, 6:59:00 PM
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