Our client, a leading financial services organization, is seeking a Operational Readiness & Test Analyst to support technology delivery and readiness initiatives across Custody, Settlements, and Asset Servicing. This is a daily rate contract for 10 months.Hybrid: 3 days per week onsite.Key Responsibilities:Operational Readiness & TestingValidate that all business and operational requirements for custody, settlements, and corporate actions are met prior to go-live.Conduct end-to-end validation across trade capture, settlement, and asset servicing workflows to confirm system readiness and operational integrity.Design, prepare, and execute operational readiness test cases that simulate real-world business scenarios and production workflows.Perform Functional, UAT, and regression testing, ensuring alignment with business expectations and operational processes.Support dress rehearsals, dry runs, and go-live validation as part of release cycles.Assess and document operational impacts, dependencies, and business readiness for deployment.Defect & Issue ManagementLog, track, and manage defects using JIRA, ensuring issues are well-documented, prioritized, and resolved ahead of deployment.Collaborate with business analysts, developers, and operations teams to ensure defects are accurately assessed and verified.Maintain structured test evidence and sign-off documentation for audit and compliance reviews.Collaboration & Continuous ImprovementPartner closely with Operations, Product, and IT teams to align testing outcomes with business readiness objectives.Participate in test planning, readiness assessments, and change control reviews to support controlled production releases.Identify process or control gaps uncovered during testing and recommend operational improvements.Contribute to the continuous improvement of operational readiness frameworks and testing standards.Required Skills & Experience3+ years of experience in testing, business readiness, or implementation roles within custody, settlements, or asset servicing.Strong understanding of financial instruments and the transaction lifecycle, including trade capture, confirmation, settlement, and corporate actions.Demonstrated experience performing end-to-end business process validation in a financial operations environment.Proficient with JIRA for defect tracking, testing documentation, and project visibility.Working knowledge of SQL for data verification and reconciliation testing.Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a structured approach to scenario analysis and issue resolution.Effective communicator able to liaise between technical, business, and operations teams.Experience working within Agile or hybrid project delivery frameworks.Preferred QualificationsHands-on experience in Operational Readiness Testing (ORT) or Business Readiness Assessments within financial institutions.Knowledge of SWIFT messaging, corporate actions processing, and reconciliation workflows.ISTQB certification or relevant qualification in testing or operational excellence.