Partners Life is one of New Zealand’s largest life and health insurance companies. As part of the Dai-ichi Life Group, a leading global insurance provider, we are entering an exciting new chapter of growth and opportunity.

We know the industry needs bold thinkers and passionate people to help reshape the future of insurance—and that’s exactly who we’re looking for. We’re committed to doing things differently: lifting industry standards, challenging the status quo, and delivering real value through innovation and personalised advice.

If you are looking to join a company that’s redefining the insurance landscape and backed by the strength of a global group, Partners Life is the place to grow your career and make a real impact.

About the Role

You’ll join Partners Life to lead end-to-end testing across IT initiatives and operational change.

You’ll own the test approach across projects and releases—setting strategy and scope, planning test phases (SIT/UAT/regression/parallel run), managing environments and defects, and providing clear reporting on quality and release readiness. Working closely with delivery teams, business SMEs and vendors, you’ll help ensure solutions are fit for purpose, meet requirements, and can be confidently accepted into BAU—while also lifting test maturity and coaching teams on strong testing practices.

What we’re looking for

You’ll bring strong experience leading testing across complex IT change, including system, integration, UAT and regression testing, with a solid grasp of the end-to-end testing lifecycle and defect management. You’ll have excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills, be confident working across Agile, Hybrid and/or Waterfall delivery environments, and take a pragmatic, risk-based approach—challenging when needed and advocating for quality outcomes. Formal testing qualifications (e.g., ISTQB) are preferred. Experience testing vendor-delivered solutions is beneficial, and experience in financial services or other regulated environments is desirable.

You’ll be focused on outcomes, work well with others, and be comfortable switching between strategy and delivery.

Why Partners Life?

At Partners Life, you’ll have the opportunity to:

• Do meaningful work that genuinely improves customer outcomes

• Influence decisions at senior levels through insight, evidence, and trust

• Work in a values‑led organisation that supports high performance and collaboration

• Be part of a team that values curiosity, integrity, and continuous improvement

What We Offer

At Partners Life, we believe our people are our greatest asset and are proud to invest in their growth, wellbeing, and success. Here are just some of the benefits you will enjoy as part of our family (some benefits apply to permanent employees only):

· Comprehensive training and ongoing support

· Genuine career development and progression opportunities

· Participation in our discretionary bonus scheme (eligibility criteria apply)

· Life insurance and income protection covers at our cost, plus subsidised medical insurance (permanent employees only)

· Birthday leave and long service leave

· Maternity leave salary top up, reduced hours options, and secondary parental leave

· Flexible hybrid working arrangements

· Modern office with stunning ocean views in the centre of Takapuna

Ready to make an impact?

If you’re passionate about delivering high-quality technology change and ensuring solutions are truly ready for go-live, we’d love to hear from you.

Apply now and help Partners Life deliver confident releases through strong test leadership, disciplined defect management, and a pragmatic, risk-based approach to quality.

To be eligible for this role, you will need to have the legal right to work in New Zealand.

We are not engaging recruitment agencies for this role.