Director - QA - NEWSCYCLE Solutions - Minneapolis

Job description
Responsible for supporting and leading the quality and testing practices for the Quality Assurance team and the NEWSCYCLE software development organization. Plan, design and execute the testing strategies and practices to meet functional testing requirements. Lead a team of employees both on and offshore when needed. Ensures the team has what is required to achieve testing initiatives. Work with QA, Development and Product Management teams in an Agile/Scrum environment to evaluate and prioritize software needs for existing and potential customers. Institutionalize best practice testing methodologies as part of the Scrum development process.

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities
Lead and supervise the design, development, prioritization, and implementation of testing configurations and test cases
Create and provide test plans for each product as part of the Kickoff meeting in the Product Release Management Process. Test plans include at a minimum the release quality criteria, platforms, software dependencies and versions, regression, system acceptance, and smoke test definitions necessary for release
Track over time and provide trend reports for all issues in Jira for each product. Show statistical evidence that that quality is improving because of QA activities

Track over time and provide trend reports for all Critical Issues put into SalesForce by customers. Show statistical evidence that that quality is improving because of QA activities
Require and track QA testing activities during the Scrum development sprints.
Define and manage prioritized test case definition and track
Prove a decrease in the time/effort it takes to get a product to GA (General Availability) from the Code Complete milestone
Assist in the coordination of team member activities and ensure QA processes and standards are being followed.
Interact with Development and Product Management to report on product milestones, identify needs and ways to increase Return on Investment for the company.
Identify, recommend and help drive changes to practices and polices to improve Quality, efficiency and customer satisfaction
Mentor QA team members to help them increase their value to the company.
Manages personnel activities of staff (i.e., hires, trains, appraises, rewards, motivates, disciplines, recommends termination as necessary, etc.)
Supply information to executive staff regarding achievements, opportunities and metrics for QA/Development
Implement automated functional testing as part of the Continuous Integration processes
Define and track company wide Quality objectives that are implemented and tracked for each product.
Show quality improvements in Hosting uptime for each product
Budgetary responsibilities for personnel, hardware, and software
Performs testing and writing duties as needed
Provide test results or release details to other departments as necessary
Contribute to establishment of standards, efficiency and procedures for program design and testing
Participate in a Development/QA team that is responsible for developing quality software.

Desired Skills and Experience
Bachelors in Computer Science or equivalent degree or 10 or more years of experience working with the publishing and/or software industry quality assurance
Previous experience in Management preferred
Experience with Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook
Possess an understanding of database structure
Knowledge of Agile software development methodology
Excellent troubleshooting skills
Good communication skills
Physical Requirements
Must be able to sit for extended periods of time, viewing computer screen and data at close range
Availability for possible infrequent travel

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