Description
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK's largest producer of official statistics, covering a range of key economic, social and demographic topics. These include measuring changes in the value of the UK economy, estimating the size, geographic distribution and characteristics of the population, and providing indicators of price inflation, employment, earnings, crime and migration.
The Senior Quality Assurance Test Analyst role is part of the Digital Services Quality Assurance and Testing (DS-QAT) team, which oversees multiple work streams and projects, taking ownership of the QAT strategy as part of a broader risk-based approach.
Responsibilities:
- Take a business and operational view to finding solutions to complex problems.
- Lead the day-to-day work of the testing team, bringing the test team and project together to complete testing activities according to the project plan or agreed delivery dates.
- Provide test coverage support for test engineers and software developers.
- Identify additional tests for both functional and non-functional requirements where appropriate.
- Deliver at pace using the most appropriate delivery methodologies and adopting agile principles.
- Assist decision makers in gathering information to make informed decisions.
- Actively participate in the Testing community and broader communities to refine and develop standards, working practices, sharing of knowledge, and understanding.
- Line management of QAT Analysts within the ONS community.
Person Specification:
- Communicating between the technical and non-technical: listen to and interpret the needs of technical and non-technical stakeholders, and manage their expectations; manage active and reactive communication; support or host difficult discussions within the team or with diverse senior stakeholders.
- Managing, reporting and resolving defects: contribute to developing standards for defect management processes; manage and escalate dependencies, defects, and risks across the team; contribute to mitigation and contingency plans across teams; use defect patterns and trends to make recommendations on testing and quality approaches, with support; manage stakeholder expectations and communications during defect resolution.
- Test & Quality Planning: work with teams to develop and implement appropriate quality testing approaches, plans and strategies; contribute to organisational quality testing strategies; implement ways to capture data to drive continuous improvement of quality testing approaches, plans and strategies; advocate for full team ownership of quality testing activities, encouraging early engagement.
- Strategic Insight (Wider Business): understand the need for organisational testing strategy and objectives and what testing the business area(s) are trying to complete; align testing resource and activities across teams to assist decision making and action.
- Designing and Executing Tests: influence and guide the use of appropriate test types and techniques; lead others in designing, building, maintaining and executing tests that verify the system meets user acceptance criteria or requirement; contribute to developing and implementing standards for designing and executing tests; improve test types and techniques through a structured process.
Qualifications:
- ISTQ Software Testing Foundations Certification or Equivalent demonstrable experience (At least 3 years' experience)
Behaviours:
- Working Together
- Managing a Quality Service
- Leadership
- Communicating and Influencing
Technical Skills:
- Understanding of Test Management Tools (JIRA, QC, TFS, Azure DevOps, any other)
- Knowledge of Reporting and planning of test activities with Test tools or Excel