Quality Engineering Non-Functional Test Lead

Quality Engineering Non-Functional Test Lead

• Lead the direction of non-functional quality engineering as part of the established of a Quality Engineering Centre of Excellence.


• Shape enterprise-wide standards and influence product delivery at scale


• Hybrid 80% homeworking and 20% from Stratford-upon-Avon

Join NFU Mutual as we build a new Centre of Excellence for Quality Engineering. You’ll have the opportunity to help transform how quality is delivered across the full development lifecycle, elevating testing to a more integrated, proactive discipline. Working closely with our engineering and product teams, you’ll play a key role in delivering better outcomes for our customers. This is a rare opportunity to make a genuine impact while helping shape a team and function that’s still evolving.

About the role

We’re looking for a proven QE non-Functional Test Lead at NFU Mutual. You’ll play a pivotal leadership role within our IT Division, leading the development and delivery of non-functional quality engineering across the organisation. This role has been created as part of a strategic transformation, moving from a traditional testing approach to a modern quality engineering model that enables faster, more confident delivery while maintaining high standards of quality and compliance.

You’ll define and evolve the non-functional testing strategy, embedding consistent approaches across performance, accessibility, security and operational acceptance. Working closely with Quality Engineering leads, product teams and senior stakeholders, you’ll provide expert guidance and challenge to ensure non-functional requirements are fully integrated throughout the product lifecycle.

Leading a small team and wider partner resources, you’ll set clear direction while building a high-performing, collaborative environment. You’ll also work across the organisation to establish best practice frameworks, improve visibility of quality risk, and enable a cohesive approach to non-functional testing that supports stable, high-quality products.

This role is based in Stratford-upon-Avon, with hybrid working available. You’ll be part of a newly established Quality Engineering Centre of Excellence, with the opportunity to shape its direction and influence both IT strategy and the broader organisational transformation.

About you

You’re an experienced Quality Engineering leader with a strong track record of shaping and delivering non-functional testing strategies in complex environments. You build strong relationships and engage stakeholders effectively, ensuring alignment between technical delivery and business needs. You apply critical thinking and sound judgement to make balanced decisions, particularly when navigating competing priorities or risk-based trade-offs.

Your communication style is clear and influential, enabling you to explain complex concepts in a way that drives understanding and action. With strong problem-solving capability and a collaborative leadership approach, you create an environment where teams are empowered, supported and focused on delivering high quality outcomes.

You’ll also bring

• Strong background in defining and implementing enterprise-wide testing strategies and standards


• Experience of setting and implementing non-functional testing strategies across performance, accessibility, security and operational acceptance.


• Experience working within regulated environments and managing non-functional risk at scale


• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and work closely with technical product and delivery teams to define the right level of testing


• Leadership experience, including developing teams and working with third-party or offshore resources


• Automation skills for non-functional testing, including tools such as LoadRunner

This role is internally known as QE Non-Functional Lead

At NFU Mutual, we support an inclusive workplace and value all the differences that make us unique. We celebrate the creativity and innovation that comes from diverse perspectives and experiences and share a common vision of doing the right thing for our customers and employees.

We recognise that some candidates may experience barriers during the recruitment process. So, we encourage candidates to discuss any adjustments or accommodations they need to be the best they can be throughout our recruitment process.

We're proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, a Race at Work and Women in Finance Charter signatory and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, regardless of age, ethnicity, disability, neurodiversity, gender, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic background.

Benefits and Rewards

When you join our team, you can expect a supportive culture and an attractive range of rewards and benefits including:

• Salary – £75,000 - £85,000 depending on experience


• Annual bonus (up to 25% of salary)


• Contributory pension scheme, up to 20%, including your 8% contribution


• 28 days annual leave + bank holidays + buy/sell/save holiday trading scheme


• A Family Friendly policy that helps you balance your work and family responsibilities


• Private medical insurance + options to add family members


• Access to savings at High Street brands, travel and supermarkets


• £20 contribution to a monthly gym membership – subject to T&Cs


• Health and wellbeing plan - cashback for dentist, opticians, physio and more


• Employee Volunteering - volunteer in the community for one day each year


• Unlimited access to Refer a Friend £500 bonus scheme


• Life Assurance cover of 4 x salary


• Employee discounts of 15% on a range of NFU Mutual insurance policies.


• Salary sacrifice employee car scheme - subject to eligibility

Working at NFU Mutual

We’re one of the UK’s leading general insurance and financial services organisations, and for over 110 years we’ve put our customers at the heart of everything we do. Our people are just as important to us, so we’re proud to be recognised as “a great place to work”.

Our Gallup Exceptional Workplace 2026 award was not only awarded with Distinction, but it also marked us as the first UK based company to earn a Gallup Exceptional Workplace award for eleven consecutive years. We’ve also been consistently recognised by Glassdoor. We appeared in the Glassdoor Best Places to Work UK list in 2023, 2024 and 2026 — and in 2026, we were the highest ranked insurance business in the UK, highlighting our strong employee experience and the positive feedback our people share on the platform.

Additionally, we were named in the LinkedIn Top Companies 2026 list of “Best midsize employers to grow your career in the UK”, and we’ve been certified as a UK Top Employer by the Top Employers Institute in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
We offer a supportive and empowering culture where people are inspired to perform, given opportunities to grow, and recognised and rewarded for their contribution. Our people are proud to work for a company that respects them and their communities, and they trust us to be financially sustainable—so we’re successful now and in the future.