QA Manager- x2- Cape Town- Permanent- Remote (with occasional office visit)

We are seeking a QA Manager for our client who has offices based in Cape Town and Jhb. You must have a minimum of 5 years experience of Software QA experience in a software/technology environment, 2 years of which should be a QA Management role.

Why this role might BE for you:

• You thrive in a strategic leadership role.
• You're passionate about quality assurance and innovation.
• You excel at Stakeholder relationship management.
• You're not afraid to fail.
• You're hands-on and proactive.
• You have a proven track record in automation strategies.
• You're a collaborative team player.
• You enjoy tackling complex problems.
• You adapt well to fast-paced environments.

Why this role might NOT be for you:

• You prefer clearly defined tasks over strategic thinking.
• You're not comfortable leading multiple teams simultaneously.
• You're not comfortable building and maintaining relationships.
• You prefer to avoid hands-on involvement.
• You're not driven by innovation.
• You find working in a fast-paced environment overwhelming.
• You're not passionate about recruiting and nurturing top talent.
• You're not interested in driving automation initiatives in partnership with teams.

Your mission should you choose to accept it: Lead and provide strategic oversight to multiple QA Teams across diverse products and stakeholders, ensuring alignment with overall business objectives.

• Foster seamless coordination and robust communication channels among QA teams and various product stakeholders to build a cohesive quality assurance strategy.
• Cultivate a self-sustaining environment where teams are empowered to make autonomous decisions, thereby allowing you to dedicate efforts towards strategic enhancements and innovation in the QA domain.
• Engage actively in QA processes to garner insights and drive technical advancements, leveraging firsthand experience and hands-on involvement to refine processes and develop strategic initiatives.
• Build and nurture strategic alliances with product teams within and across divisions to synchronize QA goals with broader business strategies.
• Contribute to the Community of Practice for Quality Assurance within the engineering landscape to share knowledge and best practices.
• Spearhead recruitment efforts to attract top talent for the QA team, ensuring a robust and competent workforce.
• Elevate development quality by formulating and instituting superior testing processes and practices in collaboration with engineers and engineering managers.
• Collaborate with engineering leadership to architect and manage an integrated roadmap for automation initiatives, with a focus on enhancing efficiency and coverage.
• Play a pivotal role in refining the automation strategy and expanding automation coverage for both UI and service-based tests.
• Ensure teams continuously develop, execute and maintain comprehensive test cases to identify and address bugs, aligned with best practices and strategic objectives.
• Oversee the creation and maintenance of sustainable and reusable test data, ensuring data integrity and efficiency.
• Proactively identify testing gaps and lead the collaborative resolution process with automation engineers, engineers, and QA Analysts.
• Maintain rigorous standards in bug identification, documentation and tracking in line with strategic goals and industry best practices.
• Oversee regression testing operations, ensuring robust quality control when addressing resolved bugs.
• Ensure continuous feedback from production issues is integrated into the QA test base by reevaluating coverage and updating test cases to uphold adequate coverage.
• Strategically increase code coverage across the technology stack by identifying critical tests at the unit, service, and functional levels.
• Develop and disseminate detailed status reports based on test outcomes to team leaders, highlighting implications for overall project plans and timelines.
• Initiate and drive programs aimed at elevating QA visibility in project progress, building dynamic relationships with product stakeholders to ensure early and proactive QA engagement in upcoming projects.
• Mentor and coach the test teams and engineers, enhancing their capabilities in test methodologies and automation practices.

Skills Needed:

• Stakeholder Relationship Management: Demonstrated ability to build and maintain effective relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders across multiple teams and divisions.
• Leadership and Coordination: Proven experience in leading and coordinating cross-functional efforts, ensuring alignment and achievement of common quality objectives across various teams.
• Team-Oriented Approach: A team player who excels as an active listener, mentor and communicator, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing.
• Decisive and Resilient: Exhibits solid reasoning and decision-making abilities, thriving under pressure and adapting to fast-paced environments.
• Passion for Quality and Innovation: Deeply passionate about technology, systems and most importantly, quality assurance, with a drive to implement and sustain innovative solutions.
• Continuous Learner: Naturally curious and committed to staying abreast of the latest trends and advancements in the testing craft.
• Self-Motivated and Adaptive: Highly self-driven with an aptitude for rapid learning and adaptability to new tools and processes.
• Efficient Worker: Capable of working efficiently both independently and as part of a collaborative team environment.
• Analytical and Problem-Solving Expertise: Strong analytical skills with a keen ability to understand, critique and refine requirements to meet strategic goals.
• Effective Communicator: Possesses strong communication skills, essential for articulating complex ideas and facilitating productive discussions across diverse teams.

Qualifications And Experience:

• Bachelor's Degree or Advanced Diploma in Information Systems, Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering and a minimum of 5 years of Software QA experience in a software/technology environment is required, 2 years of which should be in a QA management role.
• In the event that a candidate does not have a Bachelor's Degree or an Advanced Diploma (in Information Systems, Computer Science, Mathematics, or Engineering), an equivalent experience requirement must be met, which equates to a minimum of 8 years of Software QA management experience in a software/technology environment, 4 years of which should be in a QA management role.
• Experience managing QA efforts across multiple teams to ensure alignment with best practices and cohesive QA strategies.
• Strong background in designing and implementing scalable QA processes and strategies to support continuous improvement and efficiency.
• Proven experience overseeing the full Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) testing process (development, unit, API, performance, system testing, etc.).
• Hands-on expertise in both glassbox and behavior-based testing methodologies, including writing clear, concise, and comprehensive test plans and cases.
• Proficiency in SQL and scripting, with experience in tools such as Jenkins or other CI/CD applications.
• Experience with automation frameworks (e.g., Robot Framework, Playwright, etc.) and a strong understanding of configuration management and version control.
• Experience with performance and security testing is an advantage.
• Ability to quickly adapt to new technologies and tools to improve testing processes.