Who are we?

First Customer Contact sits at the heart of FirstGroup’s commitment to delivering outstanding customer experiences. As an established, multi‑brand contact centre, we support millions of passengers across First Rail’s operations, including Great Western Railway, Avanti West Coast, Hull Trains and Lumo. Our teams play a vital role in helping customers travel with confidence across intercity, commuter, regional and sleeper services

We use industry‑leading systems and a continually evolving service model to ensure every customer receives timely, accurate and empathetic support. From compensation and complaints handling to group travel, assisted travel services, retail sales, fraud prevention and quality assurance, our specialist teams manage a wide range of customer needs with professionalism and care.

As part of FirstGroup, the UK’s largest rail operator and one of the country’s biggest transport employers, First Customer Contact contributes to a wider mission: making travel simpler, more reliable and more sustainable. With circa 30,000 colleagues across the UK and Ireland, FirstGroup is committed to reducing environmental impact and delivering transport services that help people move better every day.

About the job

Reporting to the Head of IT & Applications the IT tester will ensure the quality and functionality of software systems, applications, or websites. The IT Tester will be responsible for identifying defects, bugs, or issues in software products before they are released to FCC end users. Their primary goal is to assess the performance, reliability, and usability of the software through rigorous testing processes. IT Tester will support ongoing projects and change management working with functional leaders, organisational units, and subject matter experts to support the successful deliver progression of sprints and projects. The Tester will handle administrative tasks, update test reports and build a repository of test scripts for all FCC systems.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Plan and design test strategies that translate business and technical requirements into clear, comprehensive test scenarios covering functional, non‑functional, integration, and regression needs.

• Execute manual and automated test cases to validate system behaviour, ensuring defects are identified early, logged accurately, and tracked through to resolution.

• Manage defects effectively, collaborating with developers and product teams to prioritise issues, verify fixes, and maintain a smooth release pipeline.

• Produce high‑quality test documentation, including test scripts, execution evidence, defect reports, and test summaries that give stakeholders clear visibility of progress and risks.

• Support test environment setup and maintenance, ensuring environments are stable, representative of production, and ready for test execution.

• Create, manage, and maintain test data that enables realistic, repeatable testing while ensuring compliance with data governance standards.

• Contribute to test automation, helping design, build, and maintain automated test suites and integrating them into CI/CD pipelines to improve efficiency and coverage.

• Collaborate closely with cross‑functional teams, providing clear communication, sharing insights, and championing a quality‑first mindset throughout the delivery lifecycle.

• Drive continuous improvement, identifying opportunities to enhance testing processes, tools, and standards to increase quality, speed, and consistency.

You will need to have:

• Proven experience testing enterprise systems and applications, with a strong understanding of the SDLC and structured testing approaches aligned to ISTQB principles

• ISTQB certification (Level 1 through to Level 4) or equivalent professional qualification

• Ability to design, execute, and document test cases, manage defects, and work across integrated systems such as CRM platforms and APIs

• Experience using tools such as Postman or similar for API testing

• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to apply risk‑based testing and contribute to quality assurance and compliance activities

• Comfortable working in Agile environments and collaborating effectively within cross‑functional teams

• Ability to work well under pressure while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Strong time‑management and organisational abilities

• Adaptability and commitment to continuous learning

• Quality‑focused mindset with a solid understanding of IT and business processes

About the location

Sheffield city centre at our modern offices.
Ten minutes’ walk from Sheffield Station.
Travel to other UK locations as appropriate

Working pattern

37.5 hours per week, between 0800 and 1800 Monday to Friday; some weekend working by exception

The Reward

• 25 days Holiday plus National Bank Holidays

• Travel Offers for Bus and Rail*

• Payroll Giving – donate directly from your pay to a Charity of your Choice

• Shopping Discounts including discounts and cashback on electrical goods, your weekly shop, holidays, cinema trips, car insurance, upgrading your mobile and lots more

• All employee Share Schemes*

• Save as You Earn - gives you the opportunity to save a regular amount each month for three years. At the end of the savings period, you can use your savings to buy shares at a discounted price set at the start of the Scheme, or take your savings as cash.

• Buy as You Earn - allows you to buy shares each month, with 2 free ‘matching' shares for each 3 shares you buy. You can vary the amount you save, or stop it at any time. You need to participate in the scheme for at least 3 years in order to receive the matching shares.

• Employee Assistance Helpline – free, confidential employee support service provided by an independent provider

*after 6 months of employment