QA Programme Management Lead

Department: Technology

Location: Remote first, UK

Compensation: circa £65,000

Description

We are looking for a strategic and experienced QA Programme Management Lead to oversee and drive quality assurance across complex, multi-stream programmes. This role is responsible for defining and executing the QA strategy, providing governance and leadership across all test phases, and ensuring alignment with programme goals. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in both manual and automated testing, test tooling, stakeholder management and programme-level resource planning. In addition, the role will be responsible for people management of internal testers within the team.

Location: We perform at our best when we feel trusted and are able to choose an approach to working that suits us best, which is why we are a remote-first company. However, we also believe in face to face collaboration, and our UK colleagues meet once a month for team time and quarterly for company get togethers in our Leeds office, so we ask that you be within a commutable distance that you are comfortable with in order to attend the office on those occasions.

About our Recruitment Process: We welcome applications from all individuals, irrespective of age, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion, or belief. As we understand the value of the transferability of skills and experiences, we are not looking for the 'perfect candidate', we encourage everyone who is truly excited about our mission to apply.

We receive a high volume of interest in our roles and may close applications early if we reach capacity. We strongly recommend applying as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
If you require additional time to complete your application due to accessibility needs or other circumstances, please don’t hesitate to contact us, we’re happy to support you.

Day to day we’ll trust you to:

• Lead QA strategy and governance across programmes, setting standards, processes, and best practices.
• Oversee all testing activities (system, integration, regression, UAT), ensuring coverage, traceability, and timely delivery.
• Manage test tooling, environments, data provisioning, and defect triage.
• Drive resource planning and team management, including onboarding, training, and allocation of internal and external QA resources.
• Act as QA lead, providing progress updates, managing risks, and ensuring quality gates are met.
• Champion quality and continuous improvement, fostering a strong QA culture across programmes.
  
  

You’ll need to have:

Required Skills & Experience

• 10+ years in QA, including 4+ years in programme or enterprise-level leadership.
• Proven track record in test strategy, governance, and delivery for large-scale programmes.
• Strong expertise in manual and automated testing.
• Hands-on experience with CI/CD, DevOps, and test automation frameworks.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management.
• People management experience, leading high-performing QA teams.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Qualifications & Experience

• ISTQB Advanced or equivalent certification.
• Experience in the publishing industry.
• Familiarity with Agile delivery.
• Knowledge of cloud-based testing and environment management.
  
  

What’s in it for you?

At Emerald, we value our people. Becoming a part of our team means you’ll join a trusting and flexible environment and we've been flexified so you can trust that we're a truly flexible workplace. All we ask is that you attend the office once a month to come together with work colleagues. You'll also have numerous opportunities to progress your career, as well as access to professional development and the opportunity to learn new skills.

You’ll receive a wide range of benefits, such as 38 days annual leave (inclusive of bank holidays, remote flexible working, a discretionary performance bonus, 6% pension contribution and various benefits aimed at supporting your wellbeing and work-life balance such as a working from home allowance. You can check out a full list of our benefits here.

Roles are advertised at a benchmarked market median rate. Offers will be made within a range of the median, depending on skills and experience.

Please note - Applicants must be authorized to work in the UK without restrictions or sponsorship. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

Emerald Group is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all of our applicants. If you would like to request any accommodations/adjustments from application through to interview stages, please complete the relevant section within the application or contact us at [email protected] and let us know.