Change and Release Manager

Contract Opportunity: Change & Release Manager - SC Cleared £400/day Outside IR35 Hybrid (Milton Keynes)

I am currently supporting a government-focused organisation in their search for an experienced Change & Release Manager to join their team on a 6-month contract basis. This is a hybrid role, requiring onsite presence in Milton Keynes around 60% of the time.

This is an exciting opportunity to work in a highly secure, fast-paced environment, where you'll play a crucial part in managing and evolving enterprise-level change and release processes across a complex IT landscape.

As Change & Release Manager, you'll be responsible for leading, coordinating and overseeing all aspects of Change and Release Management activities. Working closely with Service Transition, Delivery, and Architecture teams, you will ensure that all changes and releases into live service environments are well planned, controlled, and executed with minimal risk to service disruption.

You'll act as the Process Owner, championing best practice, continuous improvement, audit compliance, and cross-functional collaboration to maintain service excellence.

• Lead and manage the end-to-end Change and Release Management lifecycle.

• Coordinate cross-functional stakeholders across service owners, developers, architects, and technical teams.

• Oversee planning, scheduling and execution of changes and releases into production environments.

• Act as the escalation point for complex change/release issues and provide clear recommendations.

• Build strong working relationships with both internal and external stakeholders, ensuring clear communication of risk, change schedules, and service impact.

• Manage stakeholder expectations and ensure full transparency through consistent reporting.

• Contribute to process maturity assessments and implement continuous improvements aligned with ISO standards (ISO9001, ISO20000, ISO27001).

• Provide leadership and direction to supporting teams, ensuring training, mentoring, and knowledge sharing.

• Deliver regular reporting on KPIs, change volumes, release performance and process compliance.

• Ensure all activity complies with organisation policies, risk controls, and H&S responsibilities.

Essential:

• Proven experience delivering results in Change and/or Release Management within complex IT environments.

• Excellent understanding of ITIL frameworks - minimum ITIL v3 or v4 Foundation certified.

• Strong communication skills, able to engage technical and non-technical stakeholders at all levels.

• Strong analytical mindset - capable of interpreting and presenting data clearly.

• Experience using IT Service Management tools (e.g., ServiceNow, BMC Remedy, Cherwell).

• Demonstrable ability to manage risk, communicate change impact, and lead process adherence.

• Comfortable working in a secure/public sector environment.

• Active SC clearance (must be valid and in place at the time of submission).

Desirable:

• ITIL Intermediate certification (especially in Service Transition or Release, Control & Validation).

• Experience working within central government or similar high-assurance organisations.

• Experience supporting process audits and ISO-aligned service delivery environments.

• Knowledge of ServiceNow is highly advantageous.

• Duration: 6 months (extensions possible)

• Location: Hanslope Park, Milton Keynes (Hybrid - 60% onsite expected)

• Clearance: SC Cleared (mandatory)