Permanent

Manchester: £71,700 - £87,400

Hybrid Working - (2-3 days per week in the office)

Introduction

Join AQA at a pivotal moment as you help shape the future of digital assessment at a national scale. This is an opportunity to contribute to the evolution of the systems that underpin GCSEs and A-levels, used every year by learners, teachers and schools across the country. As AQA continues to modernise its technology landscape, you will join a rapidly growing team within Assessment Technology that plays a crucial role in delivering secure, resilient and innovative digital products. You’ll be part of a world-leading education organisation that is committed to delivering better outcomes for learners and making assessment more accessible, efficient and future-ready.

Purpose of the role

As the Head of Software Quality Assurance, you will lead the transformation and management of quality engineering across AQA’s digital products and services. You will manage and develop a team of Test Managers, Test Analysts, Test Automation and quality specialists, working across multiple product areas and delivery teams. Your role is central to ensuring that quality is embedded early in the delivery lifecycle, supporting our shift towards more modern engineering practices and accelerating delivery without compromising the standards expected of mission-critical assessment technology. The work you lead will directly support teachers, schools and learners, ensuring our products are reliable, secure and designed with the user at the heart.

Key responsibilities

In this role, you’ll be responsible for:

* Leading, developing and embedding a scalable, modern quality engineering practice that operates effectively across diverse delivery teams and product portfolios.

* Driving an automation-first culture by championing shift-left practices, continuous testing and modern engineering workflows.

* Partnering closely with Product, Architecture and Delivery Leadership to define and maintain pragmatic, adaptable quality standards aligned to product risk and team maturity.

* Establishing data-driven insights and actionable quality metrics-including automation coverage, defect trends and cycle time-to inform decision-making and continuous improvement.

* Building capability and consistency across internal teams and strategic delivery partners to ensure quality remains a shared responsibility across the lifecycle.

What we are looking for

You’ll thrive in this role if you’re motivated by improving quality outcomes at scale and enjoy building strong, collaborative teams. You’ll also bring:

* Proven experience leading a large QA or quality engineering function across multiple delivery teams.

* A strong understanding of shift-left testing approaches, test automation frameworks, test pyramids and continuous testing methods.

* Experience working within varied agile delivery models, including SAFe, Scrumban or hybrid approaches.

* A track record of developing QA professionals, including coaching Test Managers and building consistent capability.

* Excellent communication, influencing and relationship-building skills, with the ability to translate quality concepts for non-technical stakeholders.

What’s in it for you

Joining AQA means contributing to work with genuine national impact. You’ll play a key part in transforming the systems that support assessment, helping improve the experience of teachers and learners nationwide. You’ll also benefit from:

* 25 days’ annual leave, rising to 30 with service, plus bank holidays and extra closure days at Christmas

* a 35-hour working week with flexible working arrangements

* an excellent contributory pension scheme (6%-11.5% depending on your contribution)

* life assurance, BUPA PMI, and health cash plan

* enhanced maternity and paternity schemes

Diversity and inclusion statement

At AQA, we are committed to fostering a workplace that celebrates diversity and promotes equity and inclusion. We believe that a diverse team brings richer perspectives and drives better outcomes. Our ED&I strategy ensures that everyone-regardless of religion, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, age, disability, sexual orientation, or background-is valued, respected and empowered to thrive. We actively promote inclusive language, avoid stereotypes and strive for representation across all dimensions of diversity. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and lived experiences.

Application process

Please submit your CV and application through our careers site. Closing date for applications is Sunday 29th March. Interviews will take place w/c 6th April (MS Teams) & 13th April (F2F)

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