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Test manager

Find out what a test manager in government does and the skills you need to do the role at each level.

Last updated 28 November 2025 — See all updates

Contents

What a test manager does

A test manager is responsible for planning, monitoring and documenting testing. They implement a test strategy to ensure quality principles are delivered on time and within budget.

In this role, you will:

  • create and implement test plans and approaches to mitigate risk
  • monitor and control test activities, ensuring compliance with standards
  • communicate risks and assess and report timely test status’ to stakeholders
  • define metrics for monitoring and controlling test activities
  • provide direction on complex testing issues, outlining and influencing delivery of projects and programmes
  • identify opportunities for continuous improvement
  • lead and support teams, providing coaching in good testing practices

Test manager role levels

There are 2 test manager role levels, from test manager to head of test.

The typical responsibilities and skills for each role level are described in the sections below. You can use this to identify the skills you need to progress in your career, or simply to learn more about each role in the Government Digital and Data profession.

1. Test manager

A head of test sets the strategy for test quality and influences testing practices across a broad area. They develop, monitor and evaluate testing standards, practices, methods and specifications, and make strategic decisions that improve testing in an organisation.

At this role level, you will:

  • lead and influence testing activities to ensure the organisation implements quality test frameworks
  • select and guide the implementation of testing tools and technologies
  • define good practices, standards and ways of working, continuously improving testing capability
  • escalate risks to senior stakeholders
  • contribute to cross-government test communities to improve test practices
  • lead the organisation in adhering to test industry compliance and regulatory standards

This role level is most often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:

  • SEO (Senior Executive Officer)
  • G7 (Grade 7)
Skill Description

Communicating between the technical and non-technical

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • mediate between people and strengthen relationships, adopting the appropriate communication method with stakeholders at all levels
  • manage stakeholder expectations and moderate difficult discussions about high risk and complex topics, even within constrained timescales
  • speak on behalf of, and represent the community to, large audiences inside and outside the organisation

Designing and executing tests

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • set up suitable environments
  • influence and guide the use of appropriate test types and techniques to mitigate risk early
  • lead others in designing, building, maintaining and executing tests that align to user needs and requirements
  • contribute to developing and implementing standards for designing and executing tests
  • improve test types and techniques through a structured process.

Managing, reporting and resolving defects

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • lead and coach others in improving test and defect management processes
  • support others in assessing complex and challenging defects across the organisation
  • lead and coach others in using defect patterns and trends to make tactical and strategic recommendations
  • influence improvements to quality processes, informed by defect patterns and trends

Test analysis

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • lead work with stakeholders across teams to determine which functional and non-functional quality characteristics add value
  • determine if an approach needs to change based on effort and risk
  • ensure test needs are implemented early
  • use multiple techniques to analyse complex information to identify risks
  • coach others in test analysis

Test and quality planning

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • create and manage multiple quality testing plans, approaches and strategies
  • lead and guide multiple teams in adopting quality testing strategy
  • advocate for early quality testing involvement in organisational delivery processes
  • guide teams across an organisation in optimising quality testing approaches, plans and strategies by using appropriate data

Test engineering

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • explain why testing processes, environments and tools are important
  • follow test engineering practices and standards, with support
  • support the maintenance of automated tests and tools required for testing

2. Head of test

A head of test takes ownership of establishing policy for the test team and setting the testing strategy.

At this role level, you will:

  • own continuous improvement, researching new technology and new techniques to implement change
  • make important decisions
  • build the QAT community and provide organisational leadership
  • potentially advocate test capabilities, both internally and outside of government
  • ensure that teams have the right capabilities

This role level is most often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:

  • G6 (Grade 6)
Skill Description

Communicating between the technical and non-technical

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • mediate between people and strengthen relationships, adopting the appropriate communication method with stakeholders at all levels
  • manage stakeholder expectations and moderate difficult discussions about high risk and complex topics, even within constrained timescales
  • speak on behalf of, and represent the community to, large audiences inside and outside the organisation

Designing and executing tests

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • set standards and influence organisational decisions for test types, techniques, design and execution
  • coach others in test types, techniques, design and execution
  • advocate for continuous improvement and refinement of test types and techniques
  • make strategic decisions on new or improved test types and techniques used in your area

Managing, reporting and resolving defects

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • lead and coach others in improving test and defect management processes
  • support others in assessing complex and challenging defects across the organisation
  • lead and coach others in using defect patterns and trends to make tactical and strategic recommendations
  • influence improvements to quality processes, informed by defect patterns and trends

Test analysis

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • lead and guide multiple teams in test analysis, ensuring it is implemented early in the life cycle
  • advocate for risk-based analysis to drive improvements across many teams
  • set standards and principles for test analysis across the organisation

Test and quality planning

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • create and manage multiple quality testing plans, approaches and strategies
  • lead and guide multiple teams in adopting quality testing strategy
  • advocate for early quality testing involvement in organisational delivery processes
  • guide teams across an organisation in optimising quality testing approaches, plans and strategies by using appropriate data

Test engineering

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • explain why testing processes, environments and tools are important
  • follow test engineering practices and standards, with support
  • support the maintenance of automated tests and tools required for testing
Role Shared skills
Quality assurance test analyst

Test analysis

Communicating between the technical and non-technical

Designing and executing tests

Managing, reporting and resolving defects

Test and quality planning

Test engineering
Test engineer

Test analysis

Communicating between the technical and non-technical

Designing and executing tests

Managing, reporting and resolving defects

Test and quality planning

Test engineering
Analytics engineer

Communicating between the technical and non-technical
Data analyst

Communicating between the technical and non-technical
Data architect

Communicating between the technical and non-technical

Updates

Published 7 January 2020

Last updated 28 November 2025

28 November 2025

The test manager role has a new role description and new role level descriptions.

30 May 2025

The test manager role has been refreshed with updated skills. The role now includes the new skills ‘communicating between the technical and non-technical’, ‘designing and executing tests’, ‘managing, reporting and resolving defects’, ‘test and quality planning’ and ‘test engineering’, and the updated skill ‘test analysis’.

These skills have been removed from the role: 'functional testing’, ‘non-functional testing’ and ‘technical breadth’.

7 January 2020

First published.