Release Manager; SC Cleared

Location: Remote (with ad-hoc travel to London office)

Contract Length: 12 Months (with scope to extend)

Start Date: ASAP

IR35: Inside

Interview Process: 2 Stage, MS Teams

Clearance: SC

We are supporting a public sector client in hiring a Release Manager to own and coordinate the release process across a large, multi-team programme delivering into a live production environment over a 12-to-15-month release window.

This is a complex, high-stakes release management role requiring someone who can coordinate releases across 16 to 20 delivery teams, manage technical and business stakeholder engagement simultaneously, and maintain control across a wide scope of release activity including external interfaces, UI and integration work streams. The successful candidate will be comfortable setting up release processes from scratch, managing ambiguity, and planning long-horizon releases from initial delivery planning through to production go-live.

This role suits an experienced Release Manager with a strong track record managing multiple simultaneous releases, familiarity with GDS service standards, and proven experience with Big Bang and toggle-based release approaches in complex, regulated public sector environments.

• Coordinate and manage releases into live production across 16 to 20 delivery teams, ensuring all parties are aligned and release readiness criteria are met
• Own the end-to-end release process including planning, scheduling, dependency management, risk identification and go and no-go decision facilitation
• Develop and maintain release plans covering a 12-to-15-month release window, working from early delivery planning through to production deployment
• Manage release activity across a wide scope including external interfaces, UI work streams and technical integration areas
• Engage with both technical teams and business stakeholders throughout the release lifecycle, ensuring all parties are informed, aligned and satisfied with release outcomes
• Take control of technical release notes, ensuring accuracy, completeness and timely distribution to relevant stakeholders
• Manage Big Bang and toggle-based release strategies, adapting approach to programme requirements and minimising risk at go-live
• Proactively identify and escape blockers, risks and dependencies that could impact release timelines or production stability
• Proven track record of successfully managing multiple simultaneous releases across large, complex multi-team programmes
• Experience setting up release processes from scratch, including planning frameworks, release governance and go-live criteria
• Familiarity with GDS service standards and experience delivering within or alongside GDS-aligned programmes
• Experience with Big Bang and toggle-based release strategies in large-scale production environments
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills across both technical and business audiences, with the ability to manage competing priorities and drive consensus
• Comfortable operating with ambiguity and making pragmatic decisions under pressure
• Experience producing and managing technical release notes across multi-team delivery programmes
• Experience with in public sector or central government delivery environments
• Familiarity with Agile delivery frameworks and coordinating releases across Agile squads
• Experience with release tooling and deployment pipeline governance
• Background in programmes involving external interface or UI-heavy release scope