Programme Test Manager in Manchester

As Programme Test Manager, you will lead end-to-end testing for a complex protection insurance transformation and migration programme. You will integrate distributed test streams, strengthen quality governance and provide programme leadership with a single, evidence-based view of quality, risk and release readiness. The programme includes implementation and customisation of a new Policy Administration System and migration of approximately 280,000 in-force policies across the UK and Ireland.,

• Define, own and maintain the programme-wide Test Strategy across all delivery streams.
• Develop and govern the Integrated Master Test Plan across platform delivery, customisation, migration, business testing, releases and cutover.
• Lead and quality-assure Test Managers and Test Leads across multiple vendors, locations and delivery teams.
• Establish common standards, quality gates, entry and exit criteria, metrics, reporting cadence and evidence requirements.
• Own programme-level assurance across system, integration, end-to-end, migration, regression, UAT, non-functional and operational readiness testing.
• Lead migration assurance, including transformation validation, reconciliation, controls, exception management, dress rehearsals and production verification.
• Establish cross-vendor defect governance and maintain end-to-end traceability from requirements through testing, defects and acceptance evidence.
• Coordinate test environments and test data, ensuring appropriate security, compliance and data controls.
• Provide concise executive reporting on coverage, defect health, dependencies, residual risk and release readiness.
• Provide evidence-based quality-gate and go/no-go recommendations, driving recovery actions where testing is fragmented or delayed.
• Extensive Programme Test Manager experience on large, complex transformation and migration programmes.
• Demonstrable ownership of testing across multiple workstreams, vendors and locations, including offshore teams.
• Strong Policy Administration System experience within Life, Protection, Pensions, Annuities or Long-Term Savings.
• Significant data migration testing experience, including reconciliation, transformation validation, exception analysis, rehearsals and production verification.
• Proven ability to define programme test strategies, integrated plans, quality gates and enterprise-level governance.
• Strong defect governance and management-information discipline, translating complex data into a clear readiness position.
• Experience governing UAT, business acceptance, operational readiness, major releases, cutover and production assurance.
• Strong executive stakeholder management, including engagement with Programme Directors, CIOs, Steering Committees and senior business leaders.
• Experience in regulated UK or Irish Financial Services, with strong audit, traceability and evidence disciplines.
• Proficiency with Jira, Confluence, Azure DevOps or equivalent test management and delivery tools.

Desirable skills/knowledge/experience:

• Testing experience across both UK and Irish regulated entities.
• Knowledge of commission, finance, actuarial, valuation or general-ledger testing.
• Experience with SaaS-based Policy Administration Platforms.
• Experience introducing CI/CD, automation and shift-left practices within hybrid Agile and Waterfall programmes.
• Experience stabilising or recovering fragmented testing structures or software-quality challenges.
• ISTQB Advanced Test Manager certification or equivalent professional accreditation.