Manager of Test and Release

Manager of Test & Release

Location: London – Permanent | £110,000–£130,000 DOE | Hybrid

VIQU is partnering with a leading UK insurance and financial services organisation to recruit a Manager of Test & Release. This strategic, senior leadership role sits within the CIO Capability Transformation team and is ideal for someone with experience in Test & Release Management, Quality Assurance, and Test Centres of Excellence (CoE). You will lead the transformation of testing practices, build high-performing teams, embed quality across iterative delivery, and influence senior stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and transform the Test & Release Management Centres of Excellence (CoEs)
• Define and implement test strategies, frameworks, and standards for quality assurance, functional testing, automated testing, and release management across the organisation.
• Partner with CIO leadership, Delivery Directors, Engineering, Product, Business Analysis, and Portfolio teams to embed shared accountability for quality and ensure testing is integrated into Agile, Scrum, and DevOps delivery models.
• Own recruitment, onboarding, capability planning, and vendor/partner management, including managing a £6m budget.
• Define, track, and report meaningful test metrics, KPIs, and quality indicators to demonstrate improvement, capability maturity, and value to senior stakeholders.
• Influence and shape testing approaches across portfolios, championing continuous integration (CI), continuous delivery (CD), automated testing, and quality engineering best practices.

Key Requirements:

• Proven experience leading and transforming Test & QA capability at scale (50+ people).
• Strong track record of building high-performing teams and developing leaders.
• Hands-on experience with modern testing practices, automation, release management, and test strategy implementation.
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders in a complex, matrix organisation.
• Data-driven mindset, using metrics and reporting to demonstrate progress, improvement, and value.
• Passionate about quality engineering, testing excellence, and embedding quality in delivery.
• Experience within Product-led, Agile, and DevOps environments is highly desirable.
• Exposure to modernising legacy testing approaches and managing operational budgets is desirable.

Apply in confidence with Phoebe Rees at VIQU IT: 0121 720 3665 | phoebe.rees@viqu.co.uk. Know someone great? Earn up to £1,000 if your referral is successful (terms apply). Follow us on LinkedIn @VIQU IT Recruitment.