Head of Testing

Job Description

Do you want to be part of something more than just a financial services business? Do you believe everyone, regardless of wealth, should have the opportunity to save and look after their loved ones? Do you want to be part of something that has been here for 160 years and help it be here for 160 more?

Scottish Friendly have an exciting opportunity to join our team. Based in Glasgow City Centre, we are one of the most progressive mutual life insurance offices in the UK. We have a strong, clear culture which has grown since 1862 with our customers and colleagues of today and the future being at the heart of that growth.

About the role

A dedicated, experienced individual to join the Operations function as the Head of Test, working primarily with the Change you will contribute to strategic planning and ensuring testing supports organisational priorities.

The responsibilities of the Head of Test include establishing and managing a testing framework to be used by colleagues in the delivery of change, to ensure adherence to that framework and to design and deliver effective testing for prioritised change activity.

You will also be involved day to day in supporting others working on different initiatives, helping them develop test plans, mitigate risks to the test plan and supporting them as they develop their testing capability.

You will communicate concisely, clearly, and constructively with colleagues at all levels of the organisation to ensure strong engagement in testing activity.

Key aptitudes include a strong drive to successfully agree and deliver business outcomes, brilliant collaboration across all project and programme stakeholders and a relentless focus on continuous improvement. A natural attention to detail and a desire to understand and address blockers to effective change is a must.

Strongly support a “Shift Left” approach ensuring testing activities are involved much earlier in the process thereby improving the overall quality of delivery and driving efficiencies throughout the lifecycle.

Key responsibilities

Define and own the enterprise test strategy, standards, and testing governance across all projects and platforms

Provide leadership and direction to team building testing capability, and fostering career growth.

Collaborate with engineering, product, delivery, and business stakeholders to ensure quality is embedded early in the SDLC (“shift-left” mindset) and reflects real-world use

Ensure the use of best-in-class practices

Own and manage the testing budget, tools procurement, vendor relationships, and resource planning

Define and track quality KPIs (eg, defect leakage, test coverage, release readiness) and provide regular reporting

Champion a culture of quality, continuous improvement, and innovation across all testing disciplines

Evaluate and adopt emerging technologies, methodologies, and tools to improve testing efficiency and effectiveness

Support major programme deliveries, regulatory releases, and production readiness planning

Qualifications and skills

Required:

10+ years of experience in software testing, with a minimum of 5 years in senior Testing/QA leadership roles

Proven experience managing enterprise-scale Testing/QA functions across complex programmes or portfolios

Deep knowledge of Testing/QA methods, test automation frameworks, performance and security testing

Strong understanding of Waterfall Agile, DevOps, CI/CD and hybrid software delivery methods

Good understanding of Test Maturity Model (integrated) – TMMi and how to implement this

Strong commercial awareness with experience managing budgets

Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills

Experience presenting to executive leadership and influencing at all levels

Experience in highly regulated industries (e.g. finance, telecoms, healthcare, or government)

Familiarity with enterprise tools: JIRA, Azure DevOps, Selenium, TestRail, LoadRunner, Postman, etc

Strong Knowledge of risk-based testing, compliance requirements, and audit processes

ISTQB Advanced Level Test Manager or equivalent certification is preferred

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field or related experience

Professional certifications in software testing (eg, ISTQB), Agile (e.g. SAFe), and project/programme management (e.g. PMP, PRINCE2) are a plus

With assets under management of over £5bn and more than 700,000 members we have lots to look after and lots more to do. If you want to be part of the team and you think this is you, we would love to hear from you.

We support life inside and outside work, offering:

Recognition awards: Win exciting prizes, including one weeks’ annual leave plus £3,000 spending money.

Refer-a-friend scheme: Earn rewards for bringing talented friends to our team.

Annual Leave: 25 days annual leave (rising to 28 with service) plus 8 bank holidays, and options to buy or sell extra days.

Supporting the future: 10% employer pension contribution, 4 x group life cover.

Getting around: Access to cycle-to-work schemes, Electric Vehicle scheme and travel loans.

Wellbeing: 24/7 GP access, EAP, Private Healthcare, and free legal/financial advice a variety of savings at top high street and online retailers.

Hybrid model with up three remote days per week, totalling 35 hours per week Monday to Friday.

We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where all colleagues feel valued, respected and represented. If you require any accommodations during the application process, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

16 Blythswood SquareGlasgowG2 4HJUnited Kingdom