QA Manager

About us

At Arbor, we’re on a mission to transform the way schools work for the better.

You’ve probably seen the headlines. Heavy workloads, constant change, admin pressure on teachers and staff at every level… sometimes it feels like this is just part and parcel of school life today. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

We passionately believe that there’s a better way to work. And it starts by giving everyone the right tools and technology for the job.

We’re building a platform and products we believe in - as well as a strong, diverse team of experienced specialists, ex-teachers and Edtech engineers passionate about making a difference to the sector.

Ultimately, we’re here to help make our schools and trusts stress a little less, and focus on what matters most - improving the lives of teachers and outcomes of students everywhere.

About the role

Our QA team is pivotal to Arbor’s commitment to deliver superb quality software to our customers.

We are looking for a diligent and forward-thinking QA Manager to lead on the strategy and execution of quality assurance for Arbor’s products, whilst also leading a team of committed QA engineers. The remit and focus of the role is to develop and drive the QA strategy to ensure the product is delivered to the highest. It’s a broad and exciting role, so we’re looking for someone up for a challenge - if you’re a collaborative and a proactive leader, then this is the role for you.

Core responsibilities

• Develop and drive the QA strategy, including defining goals, objectives, and timelines for quality assurance activities.

• Oversee the entire QA process and ensure consistency with our approach across teams.

• Advocate for all aspects of QA including test planning, test design and test execution.

• Collaborate with Engineering Managers to ensure QA standards are embedded across engineering.

• Manage and plan QA resources for test activities across teams and projects.

• Foster a collaborative and inclusive culture within the team.

• Advocate and promote best practices in QA across the company, providing training and guidance to other teams as needed.

• Manage the performance of QA engineers, in a manner that encourages them to grow.

• Work alongside the customer team to understand the customer experience and ensure customer satisfaction.

About you
We’re looking for an experienced QA Manager, who has previously defined and driven a QA strategy. Beyond that, we’d love to see:

• Proven experience in defining and driving QA strategy from the ground up, an addition to improving existing processes and strategy.

• In-depth knowledge of QA methodologies, tools, and processes.

• Experience in developing and growing a QA team in a matrixed environment.

• Excellent leadership and people management skills, with the ability to motivate and inspire a team.

• Previous hands on QA experience.

• Strong collaboration and communication skills with technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Solid understanding of agile software development and software testing methodologies.

Bonus skills

• Experience with test automation, such as Selenium or Playwright.

• Experience with testing API’s.

• Knowledge of QA related frameworks and certifications, such as ISTQB

What we offer

The chance to work alongside a team of hard-working, passionate people in a role where you’ll see the impact of your work everyday. We also offer:

• A dedicated wellbeing team who champion initiatives such as mindfulness, lunch n learns, manager training, mental health first aid training and much more!

• 32 days holiday (plus Bank Holidays). This is made up of 25 days annual leave plus 7 extra company wide days given over Easter, Summer & Christmas

• Enhanced maternity and adoption leave (20 weeks full pay) and paternity (6 weeks full pay) pay

• 5 free return to work maternity coaching sessions, helping you adapt to this new exciting time of life!

• Access to services such as Calm, Bippit (financial wellbeing coaching) and Health Assured (Employee assistance programme)

• All of our roles champion flexible working and we are happy to discuss what this means to you!

• Social committees that plan team, office and company wide events to bring people together and celebrate success

• Dedicated professional development training budget (CPD courses, upskilling resources, professional memberships etc)

• Volunteer with a charity of your choice for a day each year

• Dog friendly offices!

Interview process

1. Phone screen

2. 1st stage

3. 2nd stage

We are committed to a fair and comfortable recruitment process, so if you require any reasonable adjustments during your application or interview process, please reach out to a member of the team at [email removed - click apply for more details].

Our commitment is also backed by our partnership with Neurodiversity Consultancy, Lexxic who provide us with training, support and advice.

Arbor Education is an equal opportunities organisation

Our goal is for Arbor to be a workplace which represents, celebrates and supports people from all backgrounds, and which gives them the tools they need to thrive - whatever their ambitions may be so we support and promote diversity and equality, and actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.

Refer a friend: Know someone else who would be good for this role? You can refer a friend, family member or colleague, if they are offered a role with Arbor, we will say thank you with a voucher valued up to £200! Simply email: [email removed - click apply for more details]