Senior Test Manager

Job Title: Test Manager

Location:
Canberra, ACT (Hybrid – on-site at 1 National Circuit, Barton with flexible arrangements by agreement)

Clearance Required:
NV1 Security Clearance (must already hold – Client will not upgrade)

Contract Duration:
Initial to 30 June 2026, with 1 × 12-month extension option

Hours:
Up to 40 hours per week

Classification:
EL1 Equivalent

About the Role

This role is a
full-time opportunity to join the Local Peoples team permanently
, with your first project supporting the
Department of Health and Aged Care's Human-Centred Design (HCD) team
. Local Peoples is a preferred partner for the Australian Federal Government's Department of Health and Aged Care's Human Centred Design (HCD) Centre of Excellence (CoE). Beyond this project, you would be contributing to impactful co-design projects that improve services, policies, and products for communities across Australia.

About the first project:

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) is seeking an experienced
Test Manager
to lead and deliver high-quality testing outcomes across large-scale ICT programs. The Test Manager will be responsible for defining and implementing test strategies, managing test teams, driving automation, and ensuring program assurance through to executive stakeholders.

This role requires an accomplished leader with proven expertise in
program-level test management
,
multi-vendor environments
, and
automation strategy
, combined with excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills.

Key Responsibilities

Test Strategy & Governance

• Develop and implement a comprehensive Program Test Strategy across multiple streams.
• Define the Master Test Plan aligned with program milestones and release schedules.
• Establish and enforce testing policies, standards, and quality assurance frameworks.

Planning & Management

• Lead test planning with test leads across streams.
• Manage allocation of resources, test environments, and scheduling.
• Define entry/exit criteria and oversee adherence at all phases.

Execution & Assurance

• Oversee SIT, UAT, performance, security, and integration testing.
• Manage defect triage, prioritisation, and resolution.
• Provide assurance that solutions meet business, security, and compliance requirements.

Stakeholder Engagement & Reporting

• Report on test outcomes, risks, and quality metrics to Program leadership.
• Collaborate with business, technical teams, and vendors to align testing with objectives.
• Facilitate workshops and reviews for key test deliverables.

Continuous Improvement & Leadership

• Mentor and guide test leads and testers (manual, automation, performance).
• Drive process optimisation and implement automation strategies.
• Promote a culture of quality-first delivery.

Key Skills & Experience

Essential:

• 10+ years in ICT testing, with at least 7+ years in program-level test leadership roles.
• Proven success managing test programs in
  multi-vendor, multi-stream environments
  .
• Strong expertise in structured methodologies, test management tools, automation frameworks, and CI/CD.
• Experience delivering SIT, UAT, performance, and security testing at scale.
• Strong risk and quality management skills with proven reporting to executives.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, negotiation, and communication skills.
• Leadership experience building, mentoring, and managing diverse test teams.

Desirable:

• Government sector experience and familiarity with Commonwealth ICT frameworks.
• Strong knowledge of enterprise ICT infrastructure, cloud, applications, data migration, and integrations.
• Demonstrated experience in implementing automation, regression, and performance testing to improve efficiency and coverage.

Working Arrangements

• Hybrid role – based in Canberra with flexibility by agreement.
• Up to 40 hours per week.
• NV1 clearance required prior to commencement.

Contract Details

• Start Date:
  3 November 2025
• End Date:
  30 June 2026
• Extension:
  12 months available

Who are Local Peoples?

Local Peoples is a strategic research and design studio based in Melbourne and Canberra, specialising in policy, service, and product design and delivery.

Our mission is to co-design healthy, resilient, and resourceful communities. As a certified B-Corporation, we focus on social, environmental, and economic impact.

We create lasting value by co-designing, testing, and iterating on policies, services, products, and places to build a positive future for all Australians. We conduct independent research on education, policy co-design, and inclusive design, and use our community engagement expertise to build communities that improve lives and inclusion for those often left behind.

Our partners include state and local governments, social enterprises, universities, and large commercial organisations. We believe design research, thinking, and delivery can solve complex challenges and create positive change for people and the planet.

We produce
Matters Journal
, a publication and community of 100K+, which focuses on design-led social innovation and impact.

Why join Local Peoples?

• Representative and inclusive
• we are dedicated to building an inclusive and accessible workplace for people from diverse backgrounds
• Impact driven
• work towards achieving real impact for people and the environment
• Fantastic culture
• driven by a welcoming, supportive and collaborative team environment
• Professional support for design excellence
• benefit from being a part of one of Australia's fastest growing design and delivery communities
• Flexible working arrangements
• including the ability to work remotely
• Market rate salaries
• attractive remuneration packages in line with the market rate
• Flexible employment types
• including the preference for permanent, but will consider contracting