Role summary/purpose of job
The Test and Environments Manager is responsible overall for Quality Assurance and Testing as part of a broader risk-based approach. Responsible for establishing policy and setting the testing strategy, direction and approach. Responsible for strategy and management of the non-production environments.
The role will own continuous improvement of testing, research new technologies and new techniques, will make important decisions and provide leadership to the QAT community. The role will work closely with the outsource provider around test capabilities to ensure Freshfields have the right capabilities and resources to provide an effective and efficient service.
Setup and maintenance of the non-production environments ensuring they are properly configured and maintained to support development and testing activities. Continuously monitor the performance and availability of the non-production environments, addressing any issues that arise.
Work with cross functional teams to plan and schedule software releases in non-production environments, ensuring environment are fit for purpose.
Location Overview: Manchester
The Freshfields Global Centre provides both business and legal services to the firm. Our services are delivered in a way which supports the global nature of our firm and our clients, enables our fee earners to deliver exceptional service to our clients and to do that in a way which is efficient and effective.
Function Overview
There are three key towers in the IT organisation: Technology, Data and Product. Technology is made up of Technology Services, concerned with systems support and the run and maintenance of systems, Technology Delivery is concerned with delivering technology change into the Business and Architecture that is concerned with supporting the delivery functions in IT in delivering to the Business agenda and expectations.
The Test and Environments Manager reports into the Global Head of Technology Delivery who reports into the CTO.
The Technology Delivery team comprises of Business Analysts, Project Managers, Delivery Managers and the Testing and Environments Manager.
Key responsibilities and deliverables
Communicate effectively with management and colleagues within IT at all levels and liaising with customers.
Communicate cross functionally across IT team(s) regarding key project plans, commitments, and essential changes which include project requirements, schedules, scope of changes, and QA plans.
Governance of tools sets integrated by both 3rd party services and Freshfields.
Responsible for testing and non-production environment supplier management for any 3rd party service providers
Testing
Responsible for setting test strategy and ensuring that the outsourcer and their testing resources are aware of these and that this is consistently applied for all resource assignments.
Involved in test estimations, providing a consistent and reliable conduit for ensuring appropriate test approach is applied for each request for testing resource.
Advocate for raising standards for quality assurance across Technology and Technology changes
Identify new applicable technologies that can enhance the Testing team capabilities, working in step with outsource provider.
Responsible for test improvement and optimisation, including the periodic review of technical tools and processes for improvements.
Promote and advocate test capabilities internally and outside of Freshfields.
The central point of contact for the outsourced testing team and capability to quickly respond to technical queries or issues that arise on a daily basis.
Environments
Accountable for defining the strategy for Non-Production Environments to support projects and application feature enhancements. This will support the wider IT strategy for cloud based, dynamic, reliable and quality environments.
Execution of the strategy that will address: Data, non-production platforms and tooling challenges.
Reporting on environment lifecycle to meet the requirements of the Senior Manager Application Platforms.
Key Requirements
Experience
Software testing on leading the strategy for non-production environments
Team leading role in software development / testing within different development methodologies, such as waterfall and agile
Ability to design and execute a wide range of testing techniques and communicate results to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Effective decision making on all aspects of testing for non-production environments.
A good working knowledge of different tools and techniques and coach others.
Experience in running maturity assessment’s and improvement plans based on the results
Understanding of the ITIL Processes for test and environment management, with ability to bring them into governance and execution of the process.
In-depth knowledge of IT infrastructure, including servers, networks, databases, and cloud services.
Expertise in tools used for automating the setup and management of environments.
Ability to monitor system performance and optimize environments for efficiency and reliability.
Ability to manage projects, including planning, execution, and monitoring to ensure timely delivery of environments.
Has knowledge of security best practices to ensure environments are secure and compliant with regulations.
Excellent communication skills to collaborate with development, testing, and operations teams.
Ability to engage with various stakeholders to understand their requirements and ensure environments meet their needs.
Familiarity with DevOps methodologies and tools to streamline environment management processes.
Experience with cloud platforms like Azure or Google Cloud for managing cloud-based environments.
Experience in handling incidents and ensuring minimal downtime for environments.
Experience with CI/CD pipelines to automate the deployment of environments, a good understanding of SDLC and version control systems.
Proficiency with technologies like Azure, Docker, and Kubernetes to create and manage virtual environments.
Ability to identify potential risks across testing and environments whilst developing mitigation strategies to address them.
Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams to ensure that all parts of the environments and test scripts
Performance testing to evaluate the stability, responsiveness, reliability, speed, and scalability of a system or application under varying workloads
Accessibility testing governance on the non-production environments
Knowledge & Skills
Thinks creatively, ask the right questions and critically evaluate and communicate findings to a larger team. Can lead investigative work into complex problems taking a proactive approach to analyse the issues and generate solutions.
Drives the collection of information and creation of recommendations for improvements. Can absorb large amounts of conflicting information and use it to determine solutions.
Excellent oral and written communication skills with the ability to listen, clarify and share information easily with the ability to flex style to suit different audiences.
The ability to build strong working relationships and to be able to persuade and influence a range of people at all levels and across cultural and geographical boundaries.
The ability to lead in an environment with a focus on continuous improvement.
Resilient and able to remain calm and positive under pressure and when dealing with ambiguity and can have challenging conversations with difficult stakeholders.
Is delivery focussed and drives forward quality of service.
A commitment to the highest level of integrity.
A good understanding of AI testing methods.
A good understanding of application security standards and OWASP.
Desirable
Freshfields Overview
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is a major international law firm, providing business law advice of the highest quality. We want to be the law firm that clients turn to for legal advice where it most matters, wherever in the world that may be. The Firm has over 2,400 lawyers in 28 offices around the world, providing a comprehensive service to national and multinational corporations, financial institutions, and governments.
Our people make our firm - we are a people business and want to create a welcoming and supportive environment where all can flourish. We see diversity as a strength which creates fresh perspectives and generates new ideas. We enjoy our work and are determined to do an outstanding job. We deliver best when working in teams. Our culture is a product of the combined mindsets and behaviours of our people which is through the Being Freshfields principles, outlined below:
we show respect to everyone
we are there for one another
we are open with each other
we are positive role models
We think and work globally - we do not just say we are one firm; we act like one firm right across the world. We work wherever our clients need us. This is how we define ourselves, not by reference to where we have offices. Cross-border work is not just what we do, it is what we excel at. We understand what it really takes to work across different legal systems and commercial environments and to bridge language and cultural gaps.
We aim to add value in everything we do - we are passionate about helping our clients succeed. We use our experience and creativity to help clients make judgements and achieve their goals. In everything we do, we seek to make a real difference to the communities in which we operate.
Freshfields is committed to promoting equality and diversity and to developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds make important and positive contributions to our business and how we service our clients.
Inclusion
Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered based on their merit alone and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background. All offers of employment will be conditional on the candidate having/securing the right to work in the UK and providing the firm with evidence of that right (as required by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) prior to employment commencing.
Freshfields is a Ban the Box employer. We ask applicants to disclose criminal convictions only when a conditional job offer is made. A conviction does not automatically lead to withdrawal of the offer: we make decisions on a case-by-case basis and take a number of factors into account (e.g. the role you are applying for and the circumstances of the offence). You would have the opportunity to discuss the matter with us before we make a decision.
