Head of Test Engineering and Release

Propel Finance was established in 1996 to provide flexible and accessible finance to SMEs across the country. Now, more than 20 years on, Propel has grown to become one of the UK’s largest, independent finance houses. We have continued to deliver leading‑edge finance solutions through a unique combination of teamwork and technology.

From this continued success we are now looking to recruit a Head of Test Engineering and Release to allow us to continue our exciting growth plans.

Our aim is to take the service we offer to the next level, to push the boundaries of what’s available, and to create great customer experiences consistent with our values. Does that sound like something you’d like to be part of?

The Head of Test Engineering and Release plays a pivotal role in ensuring Propel Finance delivers exceptional, reliable, and customer‑centred digital experiences. Operating across multiple teams and disciplines, this role owns end‑to‑end quality for entire product propositions (not just features) ensuring every release is usable, stable, compliant, and loved by customers.

Acting as the gatekeeper for excellence, they will oversee enterprise‑wide testing, release readiness, and governance, ensuring a consistent, evidence‑driven approach to quality across the organisation. This leader represents QA and release governance to the board, regulators, auditors and external partners.

Role responsibilities.

• Own the enterprise QA and release governance strategy
• Ensure full proposition‑level quality validating not just functional requirements but end‑to‑end coherence, usability, accessibility, and customer experience.
• Lead the planning and execution of functional, regression, integration, performance, accessibility, and UAT testing across all major systems and releases.
• Act as the production release gatekeeper, authorising deployments based on test evidence, customer impact, business readiness, and risk assessment.
• Co‑chair the Change Advisory Board (CAB)
• Oversee Business Testing (UAT)
• Serve as the QA representative to funders, partners, and auditors
• Mentor and uplift manual and automation teams, building a high‑performing, proposition‑oriented quality capability.
• Extensive experience leading software testing and QA functions within enterprise‑scale environments.
• Strong understanding of release management, risk assessment, and change control principles.
• Experience designing and implementing QA frameworks, automation strategies, and test governance models.
• Strong knowledge of defect management, regression testing, and UAT governance.
• Understanding of ISO 27001, FCA change management, and audit evidence traceability.
• Proficient in test management tools (e.g., Jira, Xray, TestRail) and integration with CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions, CircleCI, or AWS CodePipeline).

So, why would you want to work here?

We have a great working environment and we’re an ambitious business. We achieve so much because of our people. Everyone in the business, no matter their team or role can shape the outcome, share ideas, make suggestions, and have their voice heard. It’s a truly collaborative place to work.

At Propel, we embrace hybrid working and with modern offices in Newport, London and Manchester, plus a field‑based sales team, you’ll never be too far away from colleagues.

This is a fully remote role, with occasional travel to the Newport office.

Benefits you can expect:

• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays
• 2 additional days holiday after 5 years’ service
• Birthday day off
• Opt in Private Medical Insurance
• Subsidised gym membership at £18.75 a month
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Buy Annual Leave Scheme
• Half day seasonal shopping
• Auto enrolment pension – 3% employer contribution subject to eligibility
• Life Assurance 3 × basic salary
• Company events and reward schemes

We are proud to be a member of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme and are committed to improving workplace inclusion.

The Curve Group is Propel’s outsource partner for Recruitment and a “Data Processor”. The Curve Group will hold the information you submit but Propel will have access to it. You can find their privacy policy at https://www.thecurvegroup.co.uk/privacy-policy/.

Seniority level

• Mid‑Senior level

Employment type

• Full‑time

Job function

• Information Technology
• Financial Services and Technology, Information and Media