Lead Release & Deployment Manager 12-Month Contract (with potential to extend) | Hybrid Working The Opportunity This is a rare chance to step into a senior, strategic leadership role for a major transformation program. We're not looking for someone to manage releases, we're looking for someone to own the release management function entirely: the framework, the governance, the vendors, and the people. You'll lead a team of Deployment Managers and operate at program level, setting direction and driving consistency across a large-scale, multi-platform, multi-vendor environment with real complexity and real stakes. The Context The utilities sector is undergoing rapid change, and this organisation is at the centre of it, running a major Retail Transformation program to modernise its customer platforms and become future-fit. If you're someone who's been doing the execution work and is ready to step fully into a strategic leadership seat, or if you're already operating at this level and want a meaty program to sink your teeth into, this role was built for you. What You'll Be Doing Owning and continuously improving the end-to-end release management framework across the program Leading, mentoring, and developing a team of four Deployment Managers Driving vendor governance and accountability — holding external delivery partners to a high standard Managing release risk across multiple platforms, workstreams, and delivery teams Acting as the senior point of contact for release-related governance forums and senior stakeholder communications Identifying issues early and navigating complex deployment challenges with composure and clarity What We're Looking For Essential: Demonstrated experience leading release and deployment functions at program level — multi-vendor, multi-platform, large-scale Strong governance mindset — you design frameworks, you don't just follow them Proven ability to hold external vendors accountable and drive uplift in delivery performance People leadership experience — you've led senior practitioners, coached teams, and built capability Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, including presenting to senior leadership Calm, structured, and decisive under pressure Tooling: Jira, Confluence, ServiceNow or equivalent ITSM platforms Desirable: ITIL certification or strong working knowledge Experience with SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) Background in utilities or large-scale retail/customer platform transformations
