Job vacancy: Automation Test Analyst, NHS Business Services Authority, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Job summary

Main area

Automation Test Analyst

Grade

NHS AfC: Band 6

Contract

Permanent

Hours

Full time
Flexible working

37.5 hours per week

Job ref

914-BSA7124260

Employer: NHS Business Services Authority
Employer type: NHS
Site: Stella House
Town: Newcastle Upon Tyne
Salary: £37,338 - £44,962 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 25/05/2025 23:59

Automation Test Analyst

NHS AfC: Band 6

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

In this role, you are accountable for:

Specialist skills
1. Evaluating, analysing, and interpreting information and requirements to inform the design and development of scalable automation testing frameworks.
2. Applying specialist knowledge, to define and create automated functional and regression tests using well structured-maintainable code.
3. Designing, developing and delivering project test plans and test specification based on a variety of documents that outline both functional and non-functional requirements.
4. Assurance of testing cycles for externally delivered projects, validating and approving documentation, and outputs of testing, escalating issues and risks appropriately.
5. Provide specialist QA and Automation Test advice and guidance, provide defect triage sessions with selected users, and third parties to resolve issues that affect bespoke services, third-party applications and configurable of the shelf products (CoTS) and services, to support swift resolution and delivery.
6. Proactively engaging in conversations to support the on-going development and maintenance of your own skills and knowledge, including attending relevant Communities of Practice.
7. Communicating complex information effectively across a wide range of people and levels of understanding, including both technical and non-technical audiences, to influence, negotiate and secure value based outcomes and sign of ahead of delivery of services.
8. Regularly horizon scans to keep abreast of new and emerging technologies and standards to support innovative and creative delivery of QA and Test.

Staff
9. Support relevant recruitment and selection in line with organisational processes.
10. Mentor and coach other team members, and apprentices to enable the on-going personal development and growth of skills within the team.
11. Co-ordinate and allocate work to other team members in line with agreed delivery of services

Financial Management
12. Maintain an awareness of financial and personal implications in the use of a range of resources.
13. Contribute to and prepare proposals for estimating new and existing pieces of work.

Relationship Management
14. Identifying opportunities and engaging in partnership working with other individuals, groups and agencies within the NHS, DoH and other third parties.
15. Effectively engage and collaborate across multiple disciplines to ensure consistent approaches, methods, standards, and patterns are holistically applied

Information Management
16. Contributing to, monitoring, maintaining and reporting on agreed testing metrics, reviewing own performance and adapt own approach to maximise the success and to meet agreed standards.

Delivery Management
17. Preparing plans to enable the delivery of QA and Test activities for projects and programmes undertaken.
18. Proactively identify challenges that may affect delivery, providing mitigating actions and a decisive response.
19. Creating and delivering tests to ensure the overall needs of the business are met.

In addition to the above accountabilities, as post holder you are expected to:
1. Undertake additional duties and responsibilities in line with the purpose of your role and as agreed by your line manager.
2. Demonstrate NHSBSA values and core capabilities in all aspects of your work.
3. Encourage an environment where your own and colleagues’ safety and well-being is promoted.
4. Contribute to a culture which values diversity and inclusion.
5. Follow NHSBSA policies, procedures, and protocols as they apply to your role.

Working relationships

Responsible to: Assigned Team Manager

Key relationships and connections:
1. Team members,
2. Service delivery teams,
3. Business stakeholders
4. Service Managers
5. Suppliers
6. Peer Networks

Person specification

Personal Qualities, Knowledge and Skills

Essential criteria

Working collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary team setting, both internal and externally.
Design, development and execution of manual and automated test approaches and frameworks.
Management of own work and others work to meet deliverables.
Working within Agile scrum teams; creating and estimating tasks.
Pro-active approach to self-learning and continuous professional development.
Specialist knowledge consistent with attainment of degree level qualifications.
Business change and rationalisation of systems processes and services.
Analysis of requirements, design and development of applications to meet business needs.
Analysis, investigation and resolution of complex
ICT issues, within new and existing services to enable business continuity and resolve major incidents.
Use of version control systems such as Github/Gitlab, SVN
Frameworks and approaches to automation within a Continuous Deployment environment.
Translating requirements into user stories to create deliverable features.

Desirable criteria

Awareness of digital channel shift and approaches
Knowledge of design principles (Object oriented design; common design patterns; responsive web design; security by design; government service design)
Working knowledge of cloud, Windows and Unix environments

Experience

Essential criteria

Software development lifecycle, including where, why and when quality assurance and testing processes fit into the lifecycle of an application or service.
One or more of the following frameworks: Agile, Java, Ruby, Selenium, HTML/ CSS/ JavaScript, SQL and/or BDD TDD
Communicating complex technical information easily to both technical and non-technical people.
Mentoring, coaching and sharing best practice with a range of staff.
Proactive approach to learning and keep abreast of latest technologies to keep skills up to date and adaptable to change.
Writing and maintaining testing documentation.
Presenting work to peers, communities and user groups
Selenium Webdriver or Watir frameworks
Test tools and principles in: Cross Browser testing, Accessibility testing

Desirable criteria

Identifying, assessing and managing risk.
GDS type design principles in action – “coding in the open”
GDS Digital Standards.
Use of Browser Stack or Selenium Grid.
Accessibility Tools (Wave, Tenon & axe)
Performance Test Tools (JMeter / Gatling)
Security testing methods (Pen Tests, XSS, SQL injection)
SQL and its use in one or more DBMS (Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQL Server).
Spring
Jasper

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Degree calibre with relevant in-depth knowledge of the subject matter, OR
Relevant experience of the subject matter

Desirable criteria

Qualifications in appropriate IT certification (eg ITIL, TOGAF, Agile, ISTQB etc)

The NHSBSA is passionate about creating a diverse and inclusive organisation, which is a great place to work and truly reflects the diversity of our customers. We welcome applications from talented people of diverse characteristics including age, disability, gender identity and expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or any marginalised group. We also welcome applications from all those in the Armed Forces Community.

At the NHSBSA we pride ourselves on being a Disability Confident Leader, Stonewall Top 100 employer and we’ve recently been awarded the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion Gold Standard benchmark.

We offer an invitation to the first stage of the selection process for people with disabilities that wish to be considered under the Disability Confident scheme, and for members of the Armed Forces Community, where all of the essential criteria in the person specification are met.

A copy of our Privacy Notice is available to view at the link below:

NHSBSA Privacy Notice