Senior Software Tester at The South African Revenue Service (SARS)

Job Purpose

• The primary purpose of the senior software tester is the execution of test cases of both medium and high complexity, relating to both system function and process, as well as the identification and logging of defects in accordance with SARS standards. Also may be required to carry out basic system testing without the presence of formal test cases and within agile development environments.  

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

•  National Diploma / Advanced Certificate (NQF 6) in Information Technology AND 2-3 years' software testing experience of which 1 - 2 years at a knowledge worker level and must have completed some form of formal, certified training in Software Testing Techniques (e.g. ITSEB or ISTQB foundation.

ALTERNATIVE #

• Senior Certificate (NQF 4) AND 5 years software testing experience, of which 1 - 2 years at a knowledge worker level and must have some form of formal, certified training in Software Testing Techniques (e.g. ITSEB or ISTQB foundation)

Minimum Functional Requirements

• Must have a working knowledge of the following applications:
• MS Word, MS Excel, HP Quality Centre and A+ software and hardware.
• Must have the ability to interact effectively with members of the team involved with the project or maintenance.

Job Outputs:

Process

• Accumulate information and provide reports with recommendations applicable to area of specialisation.
• Apply practical and applied knowledge and act authoritatively on methods, systems and procedures to identify trends and potential risks.
• Communication of situational interpretation and judgement of work outputs and queries in area of specialisation.
• Effectively plan and schedule own activities to continuously improve quality and service delivery in area of specialisation.
• Execute process and procedural change, implement the change and provide guidelines and support related to new requirements as a result of the change.
• Correctly apply applicable legislation, including amongst others policies, procedures, and SOPs in the delivery of work outputs.
• Use practical and applied knowledge and situational judgement to consider policy implications and to arrive at decisions / conclusions.
• Apply and utilise systems in a manner that ensures efficient and effective service delivery, optimised quality, financial accuracy and calculation.
• Be observant and engage on possible violations of procedures and standards of conduct and escalate where necessary.
• Take accountability for delivery of contracted work outputs within agreed parameters, quality standards and client service targets.
• Perform compatibility testing to prevent software failure due to compatibility between application software, operating systems or operating systems versions such as Desktop Applications, Web Browsers i.e. Internet Explorer new versions etc.
• Perform backward compatibility testing of latest software versions that not all users may be running on.
• To manage the early identification of defects and systems failures.
• Actively participate in the Testing Life-Cycle.
• Execute test cases captured and assigned within QC.
• Update QC to reflect testing progress.
• To capture defects within QC in accordance with SARS defect reporting standards.
• Active participate at all Testing Levels (Unit / Systems/ Regression/ Stability / Distribution.
• To test activities that verify a specific action or function of the application and test objective and output answers the questions…"can the user do this" or "does this particular feature work.
• Execute varied range of multiple complexity test cases as assigned and defects recorded as per divisional policy and procedures.
• Active participate in all Testing Levels (Unit / Systems/ Regression/ Stability / Distribution / Disaster recover, etc.)
• Plan and organise own work tasks within area of work.

Governance

• Comply to set governance and compliance procedures and processes related to an area of specialisation and continuously identify and escalate risks.

People

• Develop and maintain productive working relationships with peers and team members to achieve predefined objectives.
• To have the ability to interact effectively with members of the team involved with the project or maintenance testing effort.

Finance

• Adhere to organisational policies and procedures to ensure cost effectiveness and reduction of financial costs.

Client

• Contribute to a culture of service excellence, which builds positive relationships and provides opportunity for feedback and exceptional service.
• Ensure own understanding and adherence to customer service delivery and provide specialist support to meet or exceed customer expectations.
• Contribute on execution of assigned tasks, roles and deliverables to project resources involved as and when required.

Behavioural competencies

• Accountability
• Adaptability
• Analytical Thinking  
• Attention to Detail
• Building Sustainability
• Commitment to Continuous Learning  
• Conceptual Ability
• Fairness and Transparency
• Honesty and Integrity
• Organisational Awareness
• Respect
• Trust

Technical competencies

• Automated Unit Testing  
• Business Knowledge 
• Computer Literacy 
• Efficiency improvement  
• Execute, Implement & Follow Through
• Functional Policies and Procedures
• Quality Orientation  
• Reporting
• Standard operating procedure compliance  
• Testing Software  

Compliance Competency

• Quality Management (IT)   
• Ability to work under pressure  
• Business Analysis Tech (IT)
• Facilitation Skills  
• GOC Confidential 
• Have a sense of urgency  
• Project Management Processes (IT)Aware
• Resource Allocation (IT)  
• Software Metrics (IT)
• Software Testing (IT)
• Systems Qualification and Testing  
• Tact and Diplomacy   

Deadline:15th March,2026