NEXUS Test Manager - Ministry of Defence - HEO

Location: HP14 4UE, OX10 6AA. Although this role is technically based at RAF Benson, the office accommodation is not yet ready and the position will be based at RAF High Wycombe on a temporary basis.

About The Job

RAF Digital sits at the heart of the Royal Air Force, bringing together military, civil service and industry expertise to deliver advanced digital capability that underpins operations and drives the RAF’s future. We are recruiting a Technical Architect to support the NEXUS Programme—one of our flagship initiatives. Nexus is delivering a next‑generation, data‑driven capability that connects systems and information to enable faster, better decision‑making and operational effectiveness. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce, where everyone is supported to thrive and succeed. We support the Great Place to Work for Veterans scheme which aims to encourage more veterans to join the Civil Service when they leave the armed forces. This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job Description

This role is part of the NEXUS to Core Delivery Team. NEXUS is the Royal Air Force (RAF) Air Command and Control (Air C2) transformation programme. The programme consists of the delivery of the Air Cloud Hosting Environment; the Air Information Platform; experimentation; and a suite of operational applications.

As the NEXUS Test Manager, you will be responsible via the NEXUS to Core Delivery Lead for the following:

• Ensure that digital solutions are thoroughly tested, integrated, and function seamlessly to the defined requirements within the existing technology ecosystem.
• Ensure that testing and integration processes are aligned with project goals, timelines, and quality standards.
• Ensure that all test activities are prioritised, measurable and can be evidenced against defined requirements.
• Test Strategy Development: Develop and implement a comprehensive test strategy, including functional, non-functional, system, integration, and user acceptance testing.
• Test Planning: Create detailed test plans, schedules, and resource allocation, ensuring alignment with project timelines and milestones.
• Governance of Supplier Testing: Oversee the execution of test cases, including manual and automated testing, and ensure thorough documentation of results.
• Defect Management: Ensure that all defects are tracked and managed effectively, coordinating resolution across supplier boundaries.
• Integration Planning: Develop and implement an integration strategy to ensure new digital solutions are seamlessly integrated with existing systems.
• System Integration Testing (SIT): Lead SIT and E2E Test activities, ensuring that all components and subsystems function together as intended.
• User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Coordinate UAT with business stakeholders to validate that the system meets user requirements and is ready for deployment.
• Collaboration with Development Teams: Work closely with development teams to ensure that integration points are well‑defined, and any issues are promptly addressed.
• Continuous Improvement: Identify opportunities to improve testing and integration processes, implementing best practices and new tools as necessary.
• Reporting: Provide regular updates on testing and integration progress, including risk assessments and mitigation strategies, to project management and stakeholders.

Person specification

Essential

• Experience of programme end‑to‑end Test Management
• Experience of planning and co‑ordinating test phases such as ST, SIT, UAT
• Experience in producing test plans, test scripts as well as reporting of defects and management to resolution/fix
• Understanding of test lifecycles, test entry/exit criteria, acceptance gates and QA practices
• Test Strategy Production and Delivery, Governance across multiple suppliers.

Desirable

• Air/ISR domain knowledge and NEXUS platform familiarity
• Experience in conducting Performance, Security and Non-Functional Testing exercises
• Understanding of event driven and data centric architectures with distributed testing model coordination
• Understanding of testing in DDIL environments, resilience behaviours
• Understanding of security classifications (OFFICIAL‑SENSITIVE/SECRET) and handling of sensitive test data
• Testing and Software Development methodologies (e.g. Agile, DevOps, SDLC)
• Experience using testing automation tooling (E.g. Postman, automated regression, Selenium, Cucumber)
• Experience using project management tooling (JIRA, Teams, SharePoint, MS Project)
• Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines and automation frameworks
• Experience in supporting service transition into live operations as well as Operational Acceptance Testing (OAT)