Job Title: Test Director / Manager
Contract: 12 Months (1-year rolling, potential for extension)
Rate: Competitive (£NEG, Inside/Outside IR35)
Location: Reading/Basingstoke (UK) with frequent European travel
Clearance Required: Valid SC Clearance (+NATO Clearance)

We are representing a specialist SME working on a high-profile defence programme. We are seeking a Test Director / Manager to lead test planning, execution, and management on a major network project. The ideal candidate will have experience in large-scale projects across defence, government, or public sector environments, and will be comfortable overseeing multiple testing phases in both UK and European locations.

As the Test Director/Manager, you will be responsible for defining and implementing Test Strategies, Approaches, and Plans, ensuring they align with the project and client requirements. You will lead the full lifecycle of testing across various phases, including Systems, Integration, Functional, Regression, UAT, OAT, BAT, and Disaster Recovery (DR). In addition, you will coordinate the execution of all testing activities while managing release and deployment processes, ensuring successful service introduction. The role involves overseeing environment builds and release coordination to guarantee smooth deployment. You will collaborate closely with development teams, stakeholders, and offshore teams to ensure timely and successful project delivery, while also handling defect management, problem analysis, and resolving issues that arise during testing.

Required Skills & Experience:

Proven experience as a Test Manager/Director in large-scale projects, preferably within the Government, Defence, or Public sector.
Expertise in testing methodologies such as Agile, Waterfall, V-Model, VV&T, ITIL, ITSM.
Hands-on experience with a range of testing tools (e.g., JIRA, Quality Centre/ALM, JAMA, Unix, Oracle, SQL/Plus).
Strong knowledge of release management and service introduction processes.
Previous experience managing offshore teams and working with suppliers/stakeholders.
Familiarity with NATO systems or defence-related projects is highly desirable.
Experience in data centre migrations, system integrations, or web portal testing (e.g., government websites, financial services portals).
Ability to create detailed documentation such as test strategies, test plans, and test reports.
Strong communication and leadership skills with a proven ability to manage and execute complex testing efforts across multiple locations.
SC Clearance is essential; NATO project experience is preferred.
NATO Clearance can be sorted by contractor.

Desirable Skills:

Experience with problem management, change management, and defect analysis.
Experience in coordination of testing efforts across multiple regions and stakeholders, including third-party suppliers and military organisations.

Application will only be considered with the correct level of clearance and sufficient experience in desired areas.
If this sounds of interest to you please get in touch!