Red Bee Media Limited

Red Bee Media Limited
JOB SPECIFICATION
Job Title:
Base:
Salary:
Contract:
QA Analyst
Ealing, London W5
Up to £38k
Fixed Term- Maternity cover
Job Purpose
The primary purpose of the role is to deliver the continued improvement in the quality and testing
activities within the IT department taking ownership for the efficacy of strategic features.
The key responsibilities are to:














Analyse and question requirements corroborating their use against existing features and
practices
Plan quality assessment activity for each change ensuring it's completion to schedule
Support the Principal and Lead QA Analyst as directed, offering a broad range of skills
including deputising
Create and maintain suitable functional, system and non-functional test scenarios
capturing evidence as appropriate
Employ the most appropriate quality techniques throughout with the agility to adapt those
in use in keeping with project pressures
Contribute towards the QA teams move to an Automated Testing System
Liaise with business analyst, software architects, software engineers and users conveying
concerns and key messages succinctly. Use these interactions to ensure both high quality
and good product visibility
Assess the project risks formulating and communicating these whilst planning and
conducting quality checks
Keep both quality and other feature information consolidated, organised and up to date
Exploit all sources of information to prioritise QA activities
Employ an ability to grasp and reverse engineer, in fluent English, descriptions of
functionality from various Developer provided information
Work with Red Bee “internal customers” and users to ensure effective service delivery
Ensure potential software issues found are captured and followed up appropriately
Deliver suitable training and development of existing QA and user staff
Context
Red Bee Media, recently acquired by Ericsson Broadcast and Media Services, is one of the world’s
leading media services companies. Working with broadcasters, content owners, platform operators
and brands, the company blends technology and creative expertise to provide a range of services;
from playout, multi-platform media management and distribution through to access services,
metadata, content discovery, companion applications and brand consultancy.
Page 1
Reporting Lines and Key Relationships
The role will work closely with:







The owner of requirements, usually someone from outside the team, for individual projects
to make sure that the scope of planned deliverables is fully understood and that changes
are well managed.
Business Analysts determining comprehensive quality assessment criteria for each change.
Software architects to make sure the scope of the technical solution covers the required
deliverables and there is a clear understanding of the features and the estimate effort
required to achieve them.
Software engineers to ensure the development is as accurate, robust and timely as possible
requesting additional effort or alternative solutions when necessary to make release
deadlines.
Project managers ensuring the appropriate estimates and progress reporting during the
entire end-to-end lifecycle.
The various TeleView user representatives to ensure smooth handover of new solutions or
services into “Business as Usual” operation. This includes all acceptance testing, training,
documentation and making sure that all delivered solutions are operable and supportable.
Line reporting to QA Manager
Person Specification
The individual should have significant experience of major software development projects and
quality over a number of years, combined with a good technical understanding. The person must
be self motivated with a great deal of confidence and demonstrable passion for quality. They will be
passionate about quality imbuing it within the product delivery across a diverse range of disciplines
involved. Exposure to Business Analyst domain being favourably considered. They must be capable
of managing the complexities within pressurised, technology, driven projects with skill and the
clarity of action required.
The person in this role must be a self starter with confidence and have the gravitas to be taken
seriously at all levels. Influencing skills are critical here as is the attention to the detail of what is
required to ensure successful project delivery. Communication skills are also critical.
Essential
 Familiar with enterprise level applications
 An appreciation of enterprise level architectures
 Extensive experience of test planning & execution and all aspects of the software
development lifecycle
 Experience of Continuous Integration and Software Test Automation
 Practiced at working in multidiscipline teams, i.e. Business Analysis, Developers,
Environment Build and Delivery etc
 Experience with configuration management and the delivery phase of development
 Knowledge of the full SDLC from hands on, quality-focused roles
 Skilled in defect management employing a recognised industry product
 Proven Exploratory testing skills
 ISEB/ISQTB qualified (Foundation Level)
 Quality Assurance focused and driven
 Estimation skills and techniques
 Scripting
Desirable
 Demonstrable know-how working with an iterative delivery model (e.g. Scrum) and within
the framework of larger waterfall/V-model process in combination (e.g. MSF)
Page 2








Capability with unix/linux language with basic skills
Experience of the media industry, culture and issues would be an advantage as would be a
technical understanding of the technologies used in the industry and technical directions
Delivered quality whilst following an adaptive planning approach to project management
Coming from a development background with demonstrable experience of test approaches
Familiarity with an Agile support product(s) e.g. Grasshopper, ScrumWorks, Version1
Acquainted with JIRA
Confluence / Twiki skills
Progress OpenEdge knowledge
Competencies
The following competencies (behaviours and characteristics) have been identified as key to success
in the job. Successful candidates are expected to demonstrate these competencies.
Leadership & Creativity - Understand what is expected of you as well as what you can expect from
your own manager and the team, making sure mutual expectations are understood. Foster
imagination, creativity and experimentation, takes and promotes considered risks, celebrates
creative successes and learns from failure. Demonstrable role model who promotes quality
procedures, value for money, creativity, continual improvement and transparency in all aspects of
work.
Planning and organisation - Able to think ahead in order to establish an efficient and appropriate
course of action for self and others. Prioritises and plans activities taking into account all the
relevant issues and factors such as deadlines, resources and quality.
Managing relationships - Able to build and maintain effective working relationships with a range of
people. Working cooperatively with others as part of a team. Encouraging people to achieve more
by setting demanding targets and the means to achieve them. Taking prompt action in response to
live issues that arise and ensure the resolution of recurrent mistakes. Takes measures to improve
productivity and quality of the outcomes where required. Give balanced feedback on a regular
basis.
Influencing and persuading - Able to present sound and well reasoned arguments to convince
others. Can draw from a range of strategies to persuade people in a way that results in agreement
or behaviour change. Ability to operate with tact and diplomacy, building strong working
relationships with key individuals in other groups and areas. Capable of assessing conflicting
opinions and negotiating agreed outcomes.
Flexibility - Adapts and works effectively with a variety of situations, individuals or groups. Able to
understand and appreciate different and opposing perspectives on an issue, to adapt an approach
as the requirements of a situation change, and to change or easily accept changes in one’s own
organisation or job requirements.
Resilience - Able to perform under pressure and remain calm and positive in the face of setbacks.
Can handle interference or opposition and does not take it personally, Identifies and uses different
ways of approaching persistent problems, keeps problems in perspective and is willing and able to
persevere. Able to work independently on high profile projects and lead when required.
Please log onto www.redbeemedia.com for information.
(A job description is a written statement of the essential characteristics of the job, with its principal
accountabilities, incorporating a note of the skills, knowledge and experience required for a
satisfactory level of performance. This is not intended to be a complete, detailed account of all
aspects of the duties involved).
Page 3