Start: as soon as possible
Duration: through the end of 2027
Rate: max €112,= including MSP fee, depending on education and work experience
Self-employed: Yes
Location: The candidate will be in the Arnhem office 2 days a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays

Test Manager / Test Specialist Fit4Future Asset
Alliander context
The Netherlands runs on energy. And by 2050, it will run entirely on renewable energy. It’s up to the network companies and all our partners to help make this energy transition possible. And we’re working hard to achieve that. For example, by managing and adapting our energy grids, and by providing the data and services our customers, governments, and partners need. We do this so that everyone who needs energy—or can supply it—can do so or receive it. At the same time, we ensure that the energy system as a whole remains reliable, affordable, and accessible to everyone—both now and in the more sustainable Netherlands of tomorrow. Serving our customers and achieving our goals requires a future-proof and robust information infrastructure.

Alliander committed to digitalization early on to facilitate the energy transition, with teams that develop, implement, and manage digital solutions. These include apps for field technicians and municipalities, as well as advanced algorithms for investment optimization and preventing bottlenecks in the power grid. However, for part of our information provision, we are still dependent on outdated systems with complex interfaces and data that is difficult to access. That is why we will be replacing and upgrading our core IT systems over the next five years.

Fit4Future Alliander has launched a program called Fit4Future to prepare its IT foundation for the future. Fit4Future consists of four separate (but complementary) programs: 1) ERP, 2) Data, 3) IAM, and 4) Asset.

Asset Program
The Fit4Future Asset program focuses on designing future-proof asset management processes within Alliander. This is achieved through the standardization of processes and the implementation of a new IT landscape, including EAM/APM (IBM Maximo), FSM (IFS), and CMDB-OT, along with integrations with existing core systems.

The Role
To ensure the successful rollout of EAM/APM within the HS chain, we are seeking a Test Manager or Test Specialist who will shape and position the testing organization. The initial focus will be on structuring the testing process through a robust testing strategy and concrete test plans.

Profile:
A results-oriented and pragmatic Test Manager with strong communication skills and extensive experience in complex IT and OT landscapes. Expert in structuring, coordinating, and managing test processes within both Agile/Scrum and traditional waterfall projects. Excels at bridging the gap between business requirements, technical IT solutions, and operational systems. Monitors data quality and system integrity with a keen eye for risks and business value.

Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Guidance: Responsible for determining the most appropriate test strategy within the program and translating business requirements into concrete test scenarios.
Chain and Integration Testing: Coordinating end-to-end (E2E) chain testing, functional acceptance testing (FAT), and user acceptance testing (UAT) in an environment where systems (such as SAP, EAM, GIS) are closely interconnected.
Multidisciplinary Team Management: Responsible for the day-to-day management, motivation, and facilitation of a diverse, integrated testing team. This team consists of technical test engineers, business experts, and key functional users/end users from operations. You ensure optimal synergy between technical validation and business acceptance.
Hands-On Expert: You don’t just manage remotely; you actively participate in testing critical components by leveraging your specific domain knowledge. Thanks to your in-depth knowledge of IT/OT chains (such as SAP, EAM, GIS), you understand complex data flows. You independently perform ad-hoc analyses of data anomalies and help identify the root causes of persistent chain defects.
Quality Insight & Risk Management: You continuously translate test results into a crystal-clear picture of current data quality and system integrity. You look beyond “successful test cases”; you analyze patterns in findings. This enables you to provide the business and management with in-depth insight into the actual risks to business operations (such as the impact of anomalous secondary or dynamic asset data).
Defect Management & Prioritization: Chairing the findings review meetings. Together with developers, data analysts, and business experts, you evaluate defects. You prioritize them not only based on IT urgency, but specifically based on business value and the impact on the upcoming go-live.
Transparent Progress Reporting: Setting up and maintaining dashboards. You provide periodic, fact-based reports on the progress of test execution (burn-down, test coverage, open defects). You combine this data with your expert opinion to provide a reliable quality assessment for the steering committee.
Go-Live Advice: Providing independent and well-founded discharge or go/no-go recommendations based on predefined acceptance criteria and strict prerequisites.

Qualifications and Experience

• At least 10 years of verifiable experience as a tester in complex IT environments.
• Experience as a test manager.
• Experience working in multidisciplinary teams.
• Familiar with structured testing and documenting findings.
• ISTQB Advanced Test Manager and/or TMap NEXT Test Manager certified,
• Good Dutch and English language skills.
• Strong communication skills and analytical abilities.
• Knowledge and experience with OT environments is a definite plus.
• Experience working within large organizations or on transformation programs is a plus.

Skill-based profile

• Collaboration & Communication:Collaborating effectively with IT and business stakeholders, and communicating clearly about quality and risks.
• Quality awareness:a focus on the reliability and stability of IT solutions in asset-driven processes.
• Strong analytical skills: Quickly identifies the impact of a change or data anomaly on the rest of the chain.
• Communicative & Collaborative: Can explain technical testing risks to the business in plain language.
• Stress-resistant: Keeps a cool head during intense cut-over or go-live phases.
• Pragmatic: Always seeks the optimal balance between test depth (risk coverage) and turnaround time