Test Manager – Cards

Work Arrangement: To be confirmed

Industry: Banking / Financial Services

Role Focus: Test Governance, Coordination & Quality Assurance

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Test Manager with strong Cards domain expertise to lead and govern functional testing across Cards initiatives.

This role is responsible for ensuring quality and testing readiness for new Cards platform implementations, product launches, and Visa certification. You will establish the overall test strategy, coordinate testing activities across bank product teams and vendors, manage defects, and provide clear visibility into testing progress, risks, and go-live readiness.

The ideal candidate combines strong test management experience with hands-on knowledge of Cards programs and the ability to coordinate multiple stakeholders across SIT, UAT, and scheme certification activities.

Key Responsibilities

• Test Strategy & Governance

• Define and own the overall test strategy, scope, approach, and governance framework for Cards programs

• Establish testing plans, entry and exit criteria, quality gates, and readiness requirements

• Ensure testing activities remain aligned with program objectives and implementation timelines

• Maintain clear governance and visibility across all testing phases

• SIT, UAT & Visa Certification

• Govern functional testing across System Integration Testing (SIT), User Acceptance Testing (UAT), and Visa certification phases

• Coordinate test planning, execution, validation, and completion across participating teams

• Track test coverage and ensure critical business scenarios are appropriately validated

• Support testing readiness for new Cards platforms and product launches

• Stakeholder & Vendor Coordination

• Coordinate closely with bank product teams, technology teams, business stakeholders, and external vendors

• Facilitate test planning, status, defect, and readiness discussions

• Ensure ownership and timelines are clearly established across testing activities

• Escalate testing blockers and dependencies requiring stakeholder intervention

• Defect Management & Quality Assurance

• Lead defect triage and ensure defects are appropriately assessed, prioritized, assigned, and tracked

• Monitor critical and high-priority defects through resolution and retesting

• Identify quality risks that could impact certification, implementation, or product launch

• Provide clear reporting on defect trends, outstanding issues, and overall quality status

• Go-Live & Launch Readiness

• Track testing progress, risks, dependencies, defects, and completion status

• Assess overall test readiness ahead of platform go-live and product launch

• Provide stakeholders with clear quality and readiness reporting to support go/no-go decisions

• Ensure testing requirements and critical issues are addressed before production implementation

Experience Requirements

Strong experience in Test Management, QA Management, or Test Governance

Proven experience supporting Cards programs within banking or financial services

Experience managing SIT and UAT testing phases

Experience supporting Visa certification or card scheme certification is highly preferred

Experience coordinating testing across internal bank teams, technology teams, and external vendors

Strong experience with defect management, testing progress reporting, and go-live readiness

Technical Skills

Cards functional testing and quality assurance

SIT and UAT governance

Visa or card scheme certification

Test strategy and test planning

Defect triage and management

Test coverage and execution tracking

Quality and readiness reporting

Risk, issue, and dependency management

Go-live and product launch readiness

Abilities

Quality ownership: Takes accountability for testing quality and readiness throughout the program

Cards domain understanding: Understands the testing requirements and complexities associated with Cards platforms and product launches

Stakeholder coordination: Effectively manages communication across business, product, technology, and vendor teams

Decision-making: Can assess testing results, defects, and risks to support readiness decisions

Structured communication: Provides clear reporting on testing status, risks, blockers, and required actions

Execution focus: Keeps multiple testing streams moving toward agreed milestones and launch dates

Success Measures

Success in this role means delivering a structured and well-governed testing program across SIT, UAT, and Visa certification, with clear visibility into test coverage, defects, risks, and readiness.

The Test Manager will ensure critical issues are identified and managed early and that stakeholders have the quality information required to confidently assess readiness for Cards platform go-live and product launch.