Implementation Manager

Implementation Manager (Manchester - 3 days Hybrid)

About Finova

Finova is the UK's leading lending and savings technology provider, supporting one in every five mortgages nationwide. Our agile, cloud-native solutions enable over 60 banks, building societies, specialist lenders, equity release providers and a network of 2,400+ brokers to stay ahead in a competitive market.

Built on open architecture and backed by deep industry expertise, our platform is designed to scale. Each year, we process over £50 billion in loans, manage nearly £50 billion in savings, and support the digital servicing of more than 650,000 UK borrower accounts.

Be part of a team that’s driving innovation, enabling growth and shaping the future of UK lending.

Finova offers a flexible, modular technology suite designed to help lenders move faster, scale efficiently and deliver standout digital experiences.

Financial Institutions use Finova to launch products faster, process applications up to 50% more efficiently and reduce operational costs — all while staying fully compliant in a fast-moving market.

As an Implementation Manager, you will join Finova's wider Release Team and report directly to the Senior Implementation Manager. In this role, you will sit at the central coordination point between Business Consultant, Test, and Engineering work streams, serving as the dedicated owner for end-to-end release planning, readiness, and quality for BAU releases.

Operating alongside Consultants and Quality Engineers, you will act as the key counterpart to Client Delivery Managers (CDMs) taking direct ownership of release scheduling, governance, and go/no-go decisions to ensure smooth, predictable client go-lives and free up delivery leadership.

• Proven Implementation Track Record: Extensive hands-on experience managing and executing end-to-end software releases and technical implementations within complex environments.
• Financial Services & Fin Tech Expertise: Deep domain experience in financial services or regulated software environments, with specialist knowledge in lending or mortgage platforms strongly preferred.
• Release Governance & Decision-Making: Demonstrated capability in setting release criteria, managing environment readiness, conducting defect/risk impact assessments, and confidently making binding go/no-go decisions.
• Cross-Functional Leadership Without Authority: Proven ability to drive alignment, sequencing, and accountability across disparate technical work streams (Business Consulting, Quality Engineering, Software Engineering) without direct line management control.
• Client & Stakeholder Management: Excellent verbal and written communication skills with experience acting as a calm, authoritative point of contact for external clients during critical phases like UAT, rehearsals, and live cutovers.
• Technical Infrastructure Familiarity: Practical exposure to modern software delivery practices, including automated deployment pipelines, CI/CD tooling, and automated regression testing frameworks.
• Professional
  
  Qualifications:
  
  Relevant industry certifications in delivery or project management frameworks (e.g., PRINCE2, APM, Agile/Scrum) or equivalent demonstrable practical experience.

• Release Schedule Ownership: Direct, sequence, and optimise the BAU release pipeline, managing master slot allocations and cross-team dependencies to ensure smooth execution.
• Go/No-Go Governance: Enforce robust delivery entry/exit criteria, evaluate environment readiness, manage defect triage, and serve as the final authority on critical go/no-go decisions.
• Client Delivery Partnership: Act as the direct operational counterpart to Client Delivery Managers, providing single-point coordination for release timings and taking direct lead on unassigned client accounts.
• Cross-Discipline Orchestration: Align and sequence deliverables across Business Consulting, Test, and Engineering work streams, maintaining pace and alignment without needing direct line authority.
• Live Deployment & Cutover Management: Lead critical client milestone activities including UAT support, dress rehearsals, and live cutover events with…