Job Description
DIGITAL HEALTH AND CARE WALES
RESOURCE SPECIFICATION
Lead Test Engineer 8a
OVERVIEW
Digital Health and Care Wales was established as a new Special Health Authority (“SHA”) in NHS Wales, on 1st April 2021 (replacing NHS Wales Informatics Service). Created to take forward the digital transformation needed for better health and care in Wales, DHCW will make services more accessible and sustainable while supporting personal health and well-being.
Building on recent digital investment, DHCW have a leading role in delivering the national programmes needed for modern technology-enabled healthcare. These are large-scale developments that will make a significant difference to the people of Wales.
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BACKGROUND
1. As a Lead Test Engineer, you will write new automation test frameworks based on project/product requirements.
2. You will promote the use of open-source tools and be proficient in multiple test scripting languages.
3. You will have a presence in external test communities and regularly share learning championing quality.
4. A Lead Test Engineer will guide test team members to design test strategies, which may involve more complex and larger scale delivery.
5. Key technologies are Specflow including GWT, GWT for API, Specflow Hooks, and Data Driven Scenarios, UI Network Interceptor, Selenium, C# and HTML/CSS, and Blazor UI.
REQUIREMENT
Suppliers are required to provide CVs accompanied by the daily rate (inclusive of all fees) for the provision of a LeadTest Engineer.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Management, Leadership and/or Training
· Expertly advise on up-to-date functional and non-functional testing techniques.
· Confidently assess and peer-review the work of others.
· Coach, mentor and provide training to others, and give direction on which tools or methods to use.
· With expert knowledge write test approaches (functional and non-functional) for major projects and provide guidance on risk
approaches.
· Devise new test techniques (functional and non-functional) and provide recommendations focusing on quality.
· Act as a recognised expert and advocate for the approaches, continuously reflecting and challenging the team.
· Keep abreast of industry best practice through research and effectively cascade ways of working.
· Lead on efficient operations management and be responsible for creating and designing important processes to satisfy external requirements.
· Develop a strategy and apply strategic thinking to provide the best service for the end user. · Demonstrate experience in meeting the needs of users across a variety of channels.
· Bring insight and expertise in how user needs have changed over time to ensure they're met by the product.
Planning and Design
· Lead on the planning and organising of multiple complex activities.
· Act as an adviser with a strategic understanding of digital trends and technologies.
· Confidently plan and write high level papers.
· Demonstrate specialist knowledge of emerging tools and techniques.
· Set up, coordinate, and deliver frameworks based on the needs of the team.
· Effectively work across different tools and software languages.
· Plan, organise and work creatively, ask the right questions and critically evaluate and communicate findings to a larger team.
· Lead investigative work into problems and opportunities in existing processes.
· Drive the collection of information and the creation of recommendations for improvement. · Expertly absorb large amounts of conflicting information and use it to determine solutions. · Have expert understanding of the marketplace.
· Confidently lead on applying sustainable testing approaches to major projects to measure performance of software and solutions.
· Realise benefits by linking work in progress back to the business case.
· Confidently leads on building business cases based on user needs.
· Responsible for identifying, adapting and utilising information systems to capture requirements, sprint metrics to produce comprehensive user insights, products backlogs, road maps and performance reports and coaches and advises others to do so.
· Leads and is responsible for the implementation of policies and operating procedures for own work area and proposes policy, or service changes which impact the wider organisational community.
Improvement and Monitoring
· Anticipate problems and defend against them at the right time.
· Provides and receives highly complex information. For example, analysing complex technical requirements, scrum performance metrics and user insights to make decisions that ensure high quality user centred deliverables.
· Research latest delivery techniques and tools to ensure maximum efficiency and identify more innovative ways of working.
· Understand how the problem fits into the larger picture, building problem-solving capabilities in others.
· Expertly adapt the approach depending on the constraints.
· Lead on and use research to develop new and innovative ways of working to achieve the right outcomes.
· Act as the escalation point for major operational issues and champion operational management across the community.
· Prioritise and mitigate complex constraints and turn them into an advantage.
· Identify issues through Agile ‘health checks’ with the team and help to stimulate the right responses.
· Engage in varying types of feedback, choosing the right type at the appropriate time and ensuring the discussion and decision stick.
· Accelerate the team development cycle.
· Utilise judgement skills to analyse complex facts or situations, which require interpretation and comparison of a range of options.
· Provides and receives highly complex information. For example, analysing complex technical requirements, scrum performance metrics and user insights to make decisions that ensure high quality user centred deliverables.
· Research latest delivery techniques and tools to ensure maximum efficiency and identify more innovative ways of working.
Communications
· Expertly manage communications between projects to control integration and dependencies.
· Provide and receive highly complex or highly sensitive information, where developed persuasive, negotiating, or re-assurance skills are required. For example, effectively manage stakeholder expectations, demonstrating empathy for the stakeholder's perception, listen to their needs and interpret them whilst negotiating a desirable outcome.
· Lead difficult discussions within the team or with diverse senior stakeholders. For example, where stakeholder needs are unclear or conflicted, where technical environments are challenging and where resources are constricted.
· Professionally mediate between people and mend relationships, communicating with stakeholders at all levels.
· Manage stakeholder expectations and moderate discussions about high risk and complexity, even within constrained timescales.
· Speak on behalf of and represent the community to large audiences inside and outside of DHCW.
· Expertly communicate verbally through comprehensive and sometimes complex reporting and through clear and compelling presentations.
· Articulate complex problems and help others to do so.
Finance and Budget
· Manage and take responsibility for complex relationships with contracted suppliers.
· Identify and negotiate appropriate contractual frameworks and identify good value suppliers and contracts.
· Negotiate and influence budgets in complex environments.
· Communicates business-value propositions and produce high level business cases.
· Balances cost versus value and consider the impact of user needs to ensure value for money is delivered.
Digital and Information
· Demonstrate an advanced understanding of design, technology, and data principles.
· Expertly work with scant information and explain it in abstract terms.
· Use autonomy to make professional judgements involving highly complex facts or situations on products.
· Lead on developing services and make decisions to meet user needs.
QUALIFICATIONS
Essential
· Educated to Master’s level or equivalent qualification / experience
· Evidence of continuous professional development
· Practitioner of Agile working with multi-disciplinary teams.
· A relevant testing certification or relevant functional and non-functional technical testing experience.
· Proficient in Automation Testing and test analysis using technologies.
Desirable
· Working knowledge of the NHS or the Health sector.
· Understanding and knowledge of health service terminology and information requirements.
· Knowledge of DHCW and how it supports the NHS.
SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
Experience· Significant experience of working in a tester role with use of testing tools including Specflow and Selenium and proficient in C#, HTML and CSS.
· Experience applying highly developed specialised knowledge, supported by pertinent theoretical knowledge and applicable practical
experience, across a range of work methods and practices.
· Proven experience in the analysis, testing and product management of digital systems.
· Proven record in the delivery and support of major digital products and services.
· Experience in coaching and mentoring staff; specifically agile and multi-disciplinary teams.
· Excellent understanding of translating business/functional requirements into specialist technical specifications and complex operational
digital products and services.
· Can demonstrate a track record of testing.
· Experience of working in an Agile environment.
Skills and Attributes
· Ability to manage and motivate staff by contributing to and identifying training needs.
· Ability to learn and assess new technologies quickly, understanding their wider implications and where appropriate implementing them.
· Ability to organise own work and manage a team effectively.
· Implement Change Management methodology within team environment.
· Ability to analyse and resolve complex issues using expert judgement skills to prioritise and compare options.
· Ability to provide or receive highly contentious information, and use persuasive, negotiating, and re-assurance skills to understand and mitigate barriers and blockers.
· High quality written and verbal communication skills with excellent presentation skills.
· In depth understanding of the information and service delivery needs of NHS Wales
· Proven experience of working in testing.
· Ability to manage under pressure with excellent planning and organisational skills.
· Professional, and positive approach to work.
· Ability to establish good working relationships.
· Welsh Language Skills are desirable level 1 or above in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing.
Other
Satisfactory Standard DBS clearance
WORKING ARRANGEMENTS
The successful candidates will report to Elizabeth Porter – DHCW Test Principle.
Work will be based at Ty Glan yr Afon in Cardiff but is hybrid. On site attendance is required every other Friday for Sprint Planning, Show and Tell and Retrospectives. Any other office days will be agreed in advance 7 days ahead of time.
The successful candidate will be required at their own expenseto collect and return equipment from their Base.
Expenses will be paid for any mileage covered in the course of the working day (i.e. from work base to any other NHS premises) in accordance with the Authority’s Public Transport rate (33p per mile). In the event that the successful candidate is required to work on site (at the confirmed work base) travel expenses will not be paid from the successful candidates home to Ty Glan yr Afon.
The contract will be awarded according to the Terms and Conditions of Contract governing the Crown Commercial Services Non Clinic staffing Framework Agreement. (RM6277)
CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS
This job role has been assessed as operating ‘Inside’ IR35. Agencies must only submit candidates who operate on this basis.
The initial duration of this agreement will be for six (6) monthswith a potential to extend by mutual agreement for a further six (6) months.
The successful candidate will be required to work on a full-time basisbetween the hours of 8am – 6pm, Monday to Friday, hours per day, hours per week (Start/end times will be confirmed on day 1 of the contract). The successful candidate must work solely for DHCW during the hours stated above. Any other work which sits outside of this contract must not affect the successful candidates ability to undertake the required tasks during the course of their working day with DHCW.
Notice period for this assignment will be 2 weeks.
TIMESCALES
Candidate CV’s must be submitted to Rhys Tandy () by 5pm on 11th April2025.
THE SELECTION PROCESS
The selection process will be undertaken by the following means: -
6. CVs –CV’s will be reviewed, and a short list developed for interview.
Followed by:
7. Interviews
It is currently anticipated that the interviews will take placeremotely via Microsoft TEAMS on17th Aprilwith a start date as soon as practicable after interview. Agencies are requested to submit CVs for those candidates who are available to start within timescales indicated above, however this should not exclude exceptional candidates.
Our Vision
Our Vision is to create greater social economic value by delivering to the people of Wales first-class digital health and care services which will enable more effective, efficient, safer decision making by providing access to content- rich, personal focused health and care data and information.
Our Values
We LEARN from our colleagues through the sharing of knowledge and experience to continually improve our service.
We CARE about the people we support and those we work with.
We RESPECT and treat everyone in the way we would wish to be treated.
We act with INTEGRITY to build trust.
We take PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for what we do, being honest with ourselves and others.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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