Change, Release & Service Introduction Manager – Defence in Reading, Berkshire

We are seeking an experienced Change, Release & Service Introduction Manager to own and govern the Change Enablement, Release Management and Service Introduction processes across a complex, multi-supplier, security-conscious environment.

You will ensure that production changes, releases and new services are assessed, authorised, implemented and transitioned into live operation safely and effectively. Working across technical teams, suppliers, service delivery, security and operations functions, you will balance the need for agility with the need for service stability, compliance and operational control.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and continuously improve the Change Enablement process and governance framework.
• Chair CAB and Emergency CAB meetings, facilitating risk-based decision making.
• Validate change records, ensuring appropriate impact, risk, security, testing, rollback and support plans are in place.
• Manage and maintain the Forward Schedule of Change (FSC).
• Coordinate enterprise-wide changes across multiple suppliers, regions and security domains.
• Own Release Management processes, deployment governance and release assurance activities.
• Lead Service Introduction activities for new services, suppliers and capabilities.
• Manage service readiness, acceptance and Early Life Support (ELS) activities.
• Work closely with ServiceNow teams to ensure workflow integrity, approvals and reporting accuracy.
• Produce meaningful MI and reporting focused on outcomes, risk and service impact.
• Drive compliance with security, audit and governance requirements.

What We're Looking For

Essential

• Proven experience as a Change Manager, Release Manager, Service Transition Manager or Service Introduction Manager.
• Strong experience of ITIL Change Enablement.
• Experience chairing CAB and ECAB forums.
• Experience owning Release Management and deployment governance.
• Experience managing Service Introduction, Service Acceptance and Operational Readiness activities.
• Strong ServiceNow experience.
• Excellent stakeholder management across technical, operational and business teams.
• Experience within Defence, Aerospace, National Security or another highly regulated environment.
• ITIL Foundation Certified.

Desirable

• ITIL Managing Professional certification.
• DevOps and CI/CD knowledge.
• CMDB and Service Mapping experience.
• Supplier onboarding and transition-to-service experience.
• Active SC Clearance.