Head - IT Quality Assurance - Insurance Domain

Job Thane

Designation: QA Head

Organisation: Leading Insurance Domain

Role Purpose:

The role is accountable for defining the organization's quality vision, standards, governance framework, and testing strategy while enabling delivery teams to achieve high levels of quality, productivity, and automation.

Key Responsibilities:

1. QA Strategy and Centre of Excellence Leadership:

- Establish and lead the enterprise QA Centre of Excellence (CoE).

- Define the long-term QA vision, strategy, operating model, and roadmap aligned with organizational objectives.

- Develop and periodically refresh the enterprise QA framework.

2. Quality Governance and Standardization:

- Define and institutionalize standardized QA processes across all delivery PODs.

- Conduct periodic quality reviews and process audits to ensure compliance.

- Monitor adherence to QA policies, procedures, and testing standards.

3. Test Automation Leadership:

- Define the enterprise test automation strategy and roadmap.

- Drive the "Automation First" mindset across delivery teams.

- Identify opportunities to maximize automation.

4. Tools, Technology and Innovation:

- Evaluate, select, and govern QA tools and technologies.

- Define enterprise standards for: 1. Test Management Tools, 2. Automation Tools, 3. Defect Tracking Tools.

- Drive adoption of emerging practices including: 1. AI-assisted testing, 2. Predictive quality analytics, 3. Self-healing automation frameworks, 4. Intelligent test case generation, 5. Risk-based testing approaches.

5. Centralized Repository and Knowledge Management:

- Establish and maintain a centralized QA knowledge repository.

- Govern the lifecycle and reuse of: 1. Test cases, 2. Automation scripts.

6. Delivery Oversight Across PODs:

- Provide functional leadership to QA Leads deployed across PODs.

- Operate a matrix governance model with dotted-line reporting relationships.

- Monitor quality outcomes and testing effectiveness across delivery streams.

7. Productivity and Quality Management:

- Define and track enterprise QA KPIs and productivity measures.

- Analyze trends and drive improvements in: 1. Defect leakage, 2. Defect density, 3. Automation effectiveness, 4. Test execution efficiency.

8. Resource Planning and Workforce Management:

- Establish enterprise QA capacity planning mechanisms.

- Ensure PODs are adequately staffed based on demand forecasts.

- Optimize utilization of internal and external QA resources.

9. Vendor and Staffing Partner Management:

- Manage relationships with QA staffing and managed service partners.

- Participate in vendor selection, onboarding, and contract governance.

- Define and monitor vendor performance against agreed SLAs and KPIs.

10. Financial and Budget Management:

- Own and manage the enterprise QA budget.

- Plan and monitor expenditure related to: 1. QA manpower, 2. Managed services, 3. Tool licensing, 4. Automation investments, 5. Training and capability building.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

The success of the role will be measured through:

Quality Metrics:

- Reduction in defect leakage into production.

- Reduction in escaped defects.

- Improvement in first-pass quality.

- Improvement in release readiness scores.

Automation Metrics:

- Automation coverage (%).

- Regression automation rate.

- Automation execution success rate.

- Reduction in manual testing effort.

Productivity Metrics:

- Test execution productivity.

- Cycle time improvements.

- Resource utilization levels.

- Cost per release.

Governance Metrics:

- Compliance to QA standards.

- Audit observations closure.

- Repository adoption and reuse.

- POD adherence to defined processes.

Vendor Metrics:

- SLA compliance.

- Partner productivity and quality.

- Vendor performance Experience in establishing QA governance frameworks and enterprise testing standards.

- Demonstrated success in scaling test automation initiatives.

- Experience managing large vendor ecosystems and distributed QA teams.

- Prior experience in the BFSI/Life Insurance domain is highly preferred.

Technical Competencies:

- Test Strategy and Governance

- Agile and DevSecOps Testing

- Test Automation Frameworks

- API and Integration Testing

- Performance and Non-functional Testing

- Test Management and Defect Management Tools

- CI/CD Quality Integration

Leadership Competencies:

- Strategic Thinking

- Influencing in a Matrix Organization

- Stakeholder Management

(ref:iimjobs.com)