JOB TITLE:              Test and Release Manager

  (12 month contract to cover maternity leave)

LOCATION:                Manchester

REPORTING TO:        Head of Development (Production)

DIRECT REPORTS:     None

JOB PURPOSE:

  • Reporting to the Head of Development for the Production Team, the Test and Release Manager ensures the Product Teams produce quality releases through process execution in line with company goals and the adoption and use of software for Business Improvement.

OBJECTIVES

  • Developing and standardizing the testing strategies of the Product Teams to ensure quality and efficiency of Product Releases is maximised.
  • Promote the use of Software Packages to improve the efficiency and quality of team, for example Redmine for Issue Management and Work Package Management, Subversion, Hudson, Ivy and Microsoft Team Foundation Server.
  • Drive the use and adoption of SharePoint by both the Development Team and for Project Teams.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Ensure all Product Teams follow defined processes and that practices are consistent with the Quality Management System and/or local development processes & procedures.
  • Review and make recommendations to standardize processes across teams where possible.
  • Reviewing of Release Notes and ensuring the release fits with the relevant Product Road Map.
  • Responsible for leading the development of Business Improvements projects as delegated by the Head of Development.
  • Responsible for co-ordinating the administration of Quality Systems, for example Redmine, Hudson, Subversion and Microsoft Team Foundation Server.
  • Responsible for supervising testing across the Product Teams including reviewing internal testing, driving the development of Unit Tests, standardize testing where possible, ensuring “Core” test documents are created and maintained and interfacing to the Service Test Team.
  • Ensuring the intellectual property of the company through the use of Obfuscation and Code Signing.
  • Responsible for reviewing Branch Management and ensuring the creation of branches falls in line with the Product Road Map and company processes.
  • Responsible for interfacing with the Specialist Service Teams, Service Test Team, Change Manager, QA Manager and Product Management team with respect to Releases and Quality Management.
  • Assisting the Head of Development where necessary with recruitment & interviewing
  • Deputising for the Head of Development when required
  • Assisting the Head of Development with working practices

SKILLS /EXPERIENCE

Essential:

  • Experience of people management
  • Hands-on experience of software development throughout the whole software development lifecycle.
  • Experience of unit testing using a formal tool (for example jUnit, cppUnit, csUnit, nUnit, etc).
  • Experience of Source Control tools (for example Subversion, TFS, etc).

Desirable:

  • Experience of Microsoft Project and developing plans.
  • Methodologies/Tools/Platforms:
    • .NET, Visual Basic, C#
    • UNIX (Solaris/AIX, AWK, Shell Scripts)
    • Java
    • C or C++

PERSONAL STYLE AND BEHAVIOUR

  • Good communications skills – the ability to communicate effectively (both orally and in writing) with peers and line management.
  • Good coordination/organisation skills - the ability to multi task and monitor the activities of others
  • Good problem solving/analytical skills.
  • Flexibility: the ability to respond positively to issues and to actively seek solutions as necessary
  • Good organisational and planning skills.
  • Good estimation skills.

Hours of work:

  • Hours of work are 37 per week, Monday to Friday with flexibility to work additional hours as required in order to meet the needs of the business. We offer flexible working and core business hours are 9.30am – 3.30pm.

Salary:

  • Salary is in the range of £35k - £40k subject to skills and experience.
  • Benefits include 25 days holiday, flexible working, life assurance and a contributory pension scheme.

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