Senior Test Manager - TCoE & Banking Transformation; Onsite UAE

Job Title:

Senior Test Manager - TCoE & Banking Transformation (Onsite, Sharjah, UAE)
Role Summary

We are seeking a highly accomplished and results-driven Senior Test Manager to take the lead of our testing and Quality Assurance (QA) function at a major banking client in Sharjah. This role is central to our strategy, focusing on establishing a robust Test Center of Excellence (TCoE) and driving the successful, large-scale implementation of automation across critical banking applications. The ideal candidate will combine deep banking domain knowledge with exceptional leadership and financial management skills to ensure delivery quality, project profitability, and risk mitigation.

• Establish and Mature TCoE: Define, implement, and govern the Testing Center of Excellence (TCoE) framework, processes, standards, and templates for the client.
• TCoE Enablement: Ensure all new and existing projects are onboarded and consistently executed under the defined TCoE model, driving standardization and efficiency across the portfolio.
• QA Approval Gatekeeper: Define and enforce stringent quality gates, including formal approval mechanisms (e.g., QA Head sign-off) for all milestone and release completions.

• Automation Vision: Define and execute the strategy for successful, end-to-end automation implementation
  , ensuring maximum coverage for functional, regression, and system integration testing.
• Tools & Techniques: Drive the adoption of modern testing tools, CI/CD integration, and advanced test techniques (e.g., Service Virtualization, AI-driven testing).
• Testing Breadth: Oversee and provide technical guidance across all testing streams: functional, performance, automation, security, API/data services, and user acceptance testing (UAT).

• Effort Estimation & Planning: Conduct accurate and defensible efforts estimation for large-scale projects and Change Requests (CRs), balancing scope, quality, and time constraints.
• Financial Tracking:
  Actively monitor and control key financial performance indicators (KPIs), including milestone approval and payments.
• Change Control: Ensure rigorous governance over Change Request (CR) management, including timely submission of CR Scope of Work (SoW).

• Team Management: Manage a large, distributed team of 25-30+ resources operating across an onsite-offshore delivery model
  , fostering collaboration and accountability.
• Mentorship & Development: Identify people/skills gaps within the team and design training programs to enhance core banking domain knowledge and technical testing capabilities.
• Stakeholder Communication: Serve as the primary point of contact for CXO-level stakeholders and business owners, providing clear, concise, and proactive status reporting and risk articulation.

• Experience:
  12+ years of progressive experience in Quality Assurance and Test Management, with a significant tenure managing complex, large-scale banking programs.
• TCoE Expertise:
  Mandatory experience in successfully setting up, operating, and maturing a TCoE function
  within a financial institution or large consulting engagement.
• Banking Domain:
  Strong, demonstrable domain expertise within UAE/GCC banks, covering core areas:
• Retail and Corporate Banking
• Channels (Internet/Mobile Banking)
• UAE Payments (including local schemes and compliance)
• Compliance, Trade Finance, and Lending platforms
• Automation: Proven track record of successful implementation and scaling of automation across multiple projects, resulting in tangible effort reduction and quality improvements.
• Location: Must be willing to work onsite in Sharjah, UAE full-time.

• Accountability: Takes ownership of project financials and quality outcomes.
• Influence: Ability to secure buy-in from senior management for QA standards and processes.
• Risk Mitigation: Proactive identification and mitigation of delivery and operational risks inherent in large integration projects.