diff --git a/pkg/steps/multi_stage/gen.go b/pkg/steps/multi_stage/gen.go
index 2a0ba9e3c5..3c8fadc69d 100644
--- a/pkg/steps/multi_stage/gen.go
+++ b/pkg/steps/multi_stage/gen.go
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ func (s *multiStageTestStep) generateObservers(
 type generatePodOptions struct {
 	IsObserver                  bool
 	enableSecretsStoreCSIDriver bool
+	phase                       string
 }
 
 func defaultGeneratePodOptions() *generatePodOptions {
@@ -147,6 +148,9 @@ func (s *multiStageTestStep) generatePods(
 		delete(pod.Labels, base_steps.ProwJobIdLabel)
 		pod.Annotations[base_steps.AnnotationSaveContainerLogs] = "true"
 		pod.Labels[MultiStageTestLabel] = s.name
+		if genPodOpts.phase != "" {
+			pod.Labels[MultiStageTestPhaseLabel] = genPodOpts.phase
+		}
 		needsKubeConfig := isKubeconfigNeeded(&step, genPodOpts)
 		if needsKubeConfig {
 			pod.Spec.ServiceAccountName = s.name
diff --git a/pkg/steps/multi_stage/multi_stage.go b/pkg/steps/multi_stage/multi_stage.go
index b34c8402f9..f54f3950d1 100644
--- a/pkg/steps/multi_stage/multi_stage.go
+++ b/pkg/steps/multi_stage/multi_stage.go
@@ -59,6 +59,8 @@ const (
 const (
 	// MultiStageTestLabel is the label we use to mark a pod as part of a multi-stage test
 	MultiStageTestLabel = "ci.openshift.io/multi-stage-test"
+	// MultiStageTestPhaseLabel is the label we use to mark which phase (pre, test, post) a pod belongs to
+	MultiStageTestPhaseLabel = "ci.openshift.io/multi-stage-test-phase"
 	// ClusterProfileMountPath is where we mount the cluster profile in a pod
 	ClusterProfileMountPath = "/var/run/secrets/ci.openshift.io/cluster-profile"
 	// SecretMountPath is where we mount the shared dir secret
@@ -243,16 +245,50 @@ func (s *multiStageTestStep) run(ctx context.Context) error {
 	observerDone := make(chan struct{})
 	go s.runObservers(observerContext, ctx, observers, observerDone)
 	s.flags |= shortCircuit
-	if err := s.runSteps(ctx, "pre", s.pre, env, secretVolumes, secretVolumeMounts); err != nil {
-		errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("%q pre steps failed: %w", s.name, err))
-	} else if err := s.runSteps(ctx, "test", s.test, env, secretVolumes, secretVolumeMounts); err != nil {
-		errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("%q test steps failed: %w", s.name, err))
+
+	// Track if cancellation occurred during pre or test phases
+	cancelledDuringPreOrTest := false
+
+	// Run pre phase
+	preErr := s.runSteps(ctx, "pre", s.pre, env, secretVolumes, secretVolumeMounts)
+	if preErr != nil {
+		errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("%q pre steps failed: %w", s.name, preErr))
+	}
+	// Check if cancellation occurred during pre phase (check after runSteps returns)
+	if ctx.Err() != nil {
+		cancelledDuringPreOrTest = true
+		logrus.Warnf("Job was cancelled during pre phase for test %q", s.name)
+	} else if preErr == nil {
+		// Run test phase only if pre succeeded and wasn't cancelled
+		testErr := s.runSteps(ctx, "test", s.test, env, secretVolumes, secretVolumeMounts)
+		if testErr != nil {
+			errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("%q test steps failed: %w", s.name, testErr))
+		}
+		// Check if cancellation occurred during test phase
+		if ctx.Err() != nil {
+			cancelledDuringPreOrTest = true
+			logrus.Warnf("Job was cancelled during test phase for test %q", s.name)
+		}
 	}
+
 	s.cancelObserversContext(cancel) // signal to observers that we're tearing down
 	s.flags &= ^shortCircuit
-	if err := s.runSteps(context.Background(), "post", s.post, env, secretVolumes, secretVolumeMounts); err != nil {
+
+	// Always run post steps, even if the job was cancelled during pre or test phases.
+	// This ensures proper cleanup (e.g., deprovisioning resources) to prevent resource leaks.
+	// Use the original context by default to respect job deadlines/cancellation.
+	// Only switch to context.Background() if cancellation occurred during pre/test to ensure cleanup completes.
+	postCtx := ctx
+	if cancelledDuringPreOrTest {
+		postCtx = context.Background()
+		logrus.Infof("Job was cancelled during pre or test phase, running post steps with background context to ensure cleanup completes for test %q", s.name)
+	}
+	if err := s.runSteps(postCtx, "post", s.post, env, secretVolumes, secretVolumeMounts); err != nil {
 		errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("%q post steps failed: %w", s.name, err))
+	} else if cancelledDuringPreOrTest {
+		logrus.Infof("Post steps completed successfully after cancellation for test %q", s.name)
 	}
+
 	<-observerDone // wait for the observers to finish so we get their jUnit
 	return utilerrors.NewAggregate(errs)
 }
diff --git a/pkg/steps/multi_stage/run.go b/pkg/steps/multi_stage/run.go
index c8695a76c4..3f0664c904 100644
--- a/pkg/steps/multi_stage/run.go
+++ b/pkg/steps/multi_stage/run.go
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ func (s *multiStageTestStep) runSteps(
 	logrus.Infof("Running multi-stage phase %s", phase)
 	pods, bestEffortSteps, err := s.generatePods(steps, env, secretVolumes, secretVolumeMounts, &generatePodOptions{
 		enableSecretsStoreCSIDriver: s.enableSecretsStoreCSIDriver,
+		phase:                       phase,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		s.flags |= hasPrevErrs
@@ -75,7 +76,9 @@ func (s *multiStageTestStep) runSteps(
 			Output: err.Error(),
 		}
 	}
+	s.subLock.Lock()
 	s.subTests = append(s.subTests, testCase)
+	s.subLock.Unlock()
 	logrus.Infof("Step phase %s %s after %s.", phase, verb, duration.Truncate(time.Second))
 
 	return err