Application Deadline : Wednesday 19th November at 23:55pm As a Lead Change and Release Manager, you will manage IT related Change to Services and you will be responsible for delivering business-critical analytical data products used across the Home Office. You will navigate the complex landscape of technologies, 3rd party suppliers, internal and cross-government teams to provide key service within Home Office. In line with the organisation’s strategic decisions, direction, policies, you will be able to make difficult decisions based on information gathered and effectively assess risk, applying process, methods, tools and applications to provide the best possible availability and performance from technology. You will set the strategy for the Operational Change and Release Management team, deciding areas of focus and priority across both practices. You will ensure that processes are well-documented and reflective of best practice and support the seamless planning, coordination and deployment of changes into live environment. This includes agreeing templates and frameworks for process variations that might apply across services and portfolios and ensuring that release activities are integrated with change governance to minimise risk and maximise service stability. What will you be doing? As a Lead Change and Release Manager, your main day-to-day responsibilities will be: Leading the team to oversee the end-to-end process of change and release, allocating workload and acting as the highest escalation point if there are any issues. Setting the strategy for the Operational Change and Release Management team by deciding areas of focus and priority. Providing specialist advice and being responsible for the approval, prioritisation, scheduling and refusal of major Change Requests, ensuring all authorised changes and releases maintain the integrity of the IT architecture and are within budget and resource constraints. Ensuring that services and releases are delivered are within defined timescales and well documented and that deployment activities are coordinated to minimise disruption and risk. Developing policies, processes and procedures in line with best practice to deliver quality services, seeking ways to automate and draw on efficiencies from other Service Management areas where possible. Providing reporting to senior IT Operations and wider portfolio’s, representing the function on various boards and forms of governance and ensuring visibility of upcoming changes and releases. Driving continual service improvements through the measurement and challenge of services and processes, using tools and capability to automate where appropriate, and reflecting on outputs from Post Implementation reviews. Organising team engagement with Incident Management during major incidents, managing patterns or trends of non-compliance of the Change and Release assurance policies and processes, by engaging at a senior level with Business Portfolios, Suppliers, Transition or Project Managers. Your skills for this role As a Lead Change and Release Manager, you will have a demonstrable passion for change and release management of a service, with the following skills or strong experience in: Developing, implementing and adhering to ITIL v3 / v4 service management processes and procedures. Performing a similar role within the Civil Service or at other organisations. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to communicate effectively and professionally. Proven ability to lead and manage large teams. Proven ability to build and manage relationships with suppliers and senior stakeholders. Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills. Why join us? Exceptional pension : Employer contribution of 28.97%. Generous leave : 25 days annual leave (rising to 30 with service), 8 public holidays, and 1 day for the King’s Birthday. Flexible working : Options include full-time, part-time, compressed hours, job sharing, and a hybrid model (minimum 60% on-site). Learning and development : Access to training, technical accreditations, and funded qualifications (subject to approval). Inclusion and recognition : A culture that champions diversity, enhanced parental leave schemes, annual bonuses, and recognition awards. Learn more about our benefits: Benefits - Home Office Careers Please note: This role requires SC clearance. To meet national security vetting requirements, you must typically have been resident in the UK for at least five years. Ready to lead and innovate? Click "Apply" to access the full job description and salary details.