Change and Release Manager

We encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates.
At DfE, we are proud of the commitment we make to diversity and inclusion and of the progress we have made. We have active & vibrant staff networks, special leave policies and workplace adjustments put in place for those who need them. We are continuing to build a diverse DfE, in an inclusive environment which nurtures and realises potential in all, at all levels.
Equality and Diversity - Department for Education
Technology Directorate within the DfE are responsible for undertaking Service Management and Assurance across the whole lifecycle of a service, from the original strategy, through design, transition and into live operations.
The Change Enablement and Release Manager is an essential role within our Change Enablement Team to define and optimise the IT change process to flex with just the right amount of governance and controls based on risk to meet the required velocity and pace of DevOps ways of working.
This job role will provide support to the Service Management and Assurance Lead across these disciplines ensuring the governance of these processes are adhered to in an enabling way so that operationally business continuity of our IT services is maintained whilst still successfully delivering beneficial outcomes to our customers at pace.
This is a fast-paced, complex delivery environment with a wide-range of senior stakeholders, industry suppliers, government bodies and delivery partners., As the Change Enablement and Release Manager you will:
+ Know and understand our end users and their needs.
+ Iterate improving Change workflows and decision matrices to flex the amount of governance checks according to risk and impact.
+ Assessment of Change risk and impact.
+ Chair and co-ordinate the twice weekly Change Advisory Board (CAB) meetings to prepare agendas and the inviting of attendees. This will include performing the approval or rejection decisions on behalf of CAB Board Members and updating work notes of the meeting.
+ Attendance of a Daily Service Review as required.
+ Ensuring daily and weekly reminders are sent for change approvals yet to be gained and that any outstanding declared post change review outcomes are chased through to closure.
+ Governance and recording of failed changes and unauthorised changes.
+ Enforcing the completion of Post Implementation Reviews (PIRs) and following up any remediation actions.
+ Promote induction training of Change Process for new starters.
+ Create and drive Service Improvements within the change function. Identify and deliver Key Performance Indicators and Critical Success Factors.
+ Governance and support of other process improvements throughout the business that require change management input.
+ Maintain Policy, Process, Procedure and Work Instruction documentation., We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Managing a Quality Service
+ Changing and Improving
+ Working Together
+ Communicating and Influencing, At this stage, we will assess Experience. Candidates will be sifted through their CV and a personal statement.
Your personal statement should be no longer than 750 words and should display how your experience meets the essential skills and experience criteria of the role (listed in the person specification section above).
In the event of a large number of applications, we will sift only on the first 3 listed essential criteria.
Step 2: Interview
If successful at sift, candidates will be assessed via interview. The interview will involve two types of questions – Experience and Behaviours.
Experience is the knowledge or mastery of an activity or subject gained through involvement in or exposure to it. You will be asked questions to further assess the essential criteria.
Behaviours are the actions and activities that people do which result in effective performance in a job. We want to get an understanding of the actions and activities that you have done (or would do) that result in effective performance.
We will assess you against the following behaviours during the selection process:
+ Managing a Quality Service
+ Changing and Improving
+ Working Together
+ Communicating and Influencing
Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
Candidate Engagement Session
A candidate engagement session will be held on Friday 6 December at 2pm, chaired by Andy McBeath, Service Management and Assurance Lead. This session will provide you with more information on the role and your chance to ask any questions. For the MS Teams link to this session please contact resourcing.businesspartners@education.gov.uk
Other Information
In your application, please don’t include personal information that identifies you.
This means we can recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - it's called name blind recruitment (opens in a new window).
Please ensure that you remove from your application, all references to your:
+ name/title
+ educational institutions
+ age
+ gender
+ email address
+ postal address
+ phone number
+ nationality/immigration status
We understand that you might use AI and other resources for your application; however, please ensure all information you provide is factually accurate, truthful, and original and doesn’t include ideas or work that isn’t your own. This is so that your application is authentically and credibly your own.
We reserve the right to raise the minimum pass mark in the event of a high volume or strong field of candidates.
Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK from the location options provided and not from overseas.
The government is committed to supporting apprenticeships, enabling people to learn and progress in a role whilst earning. We want to monitor the number of people who have completed apprenticeships who are now applying to progress further in their career and are asking this question to all candidates, on all vacancies. You will be asked a question as part of the application process about any previous apprenticeships you have completed. Your response to this question will not affect your application and it is not a requirement of the role to have completed a previous apprenticeship.
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check maybe carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstance some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Department of Education of your intention by emailing Pre-Employment.Checks.DFE@education.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
Department for Education do not cover the cost of travel to your interview/assessment unless otherwise stated.
A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.
Candidates will be posted in merit order based upon location preference. Where more than one location is advertised you will be asked to state your preferred location.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
Terms and conditions of candidates transferring from ALBs and NDPBs
Bodies that are not accredited by the Civil Service Commission and are not able to advertise at Across Government on Civil Service jobs will be treated as external new starters and will come into DfE on modernised terms and conditions with a salary at the band minimum.
Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission but do not have civil service status will be offered modernised terms and will not have continuous service recognised for leave or sickness benefits. Salaries should be offered at band minimum, but there is some flexibility where this would cause a detriment to the individual.
Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission and do have Civil Service status will be treated as OGD transfers. Staff appointed on lateral transfer will move on to pre-modernised DfE terms (unless they were on modernised terms in their previous organisation). Staff appointed on promotion will move on to modernised DfE terms. Staff will transfer over on their existing salary (on lateral transfer) and any pay above the DfE pay band maximum will be paid as a mark time allowance. Staff moving on promotion will have their salaries calculated using the principles set out in the attached OGD transfer supplementary information.
Reasonable adjustment
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
Contact Department of Education via centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
Please refer to the attached ‘Reasonable Adjustments Guide 2024 – accessible version’ at the bottom of the advert, for further information.
Childcare Vouchers
Any move to Department for Education (DfE) will mean you will no longer be able to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
+ UK nationals
+ nationals of the Republic of Ireland
+ nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
+ nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
+ nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
+ individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
+ Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

+ Experience of working to an ITIL based Service Management framework, with a focus on best practice within Change Management, Incident Management and Problem Management.
+ A broad industry knowledge and experience gained in Change Management Processes with ability to define a process from zero to full maturity within a multi-disciplined team.
+ Experience in resolving complex and challenging technical issues with sensitivity and professionalism.
+ Excellent oral and written communication skills when presenting complex information to technical and nontechnical audiences.
Desirable Criteria
+ A recognised service management qualification such as ITIL v3 or 4 qualification, covering service operations/transition/design.
+ ServiceNow Service Management toolset experience.
+ Worked in an agile, DevOps focused environment.
Desirable criteria will only be assessed at interview, in the event of a tie break situation, to make an informed decision.

Alongside your salary of £41,458, Department for Education contributes £12,010 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department’s transfer / promotion policies.
As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK, with a fixed employer contribution of 28.97%.
You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years’ service. In addition, all staff receive the King’s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays.
We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
Most DfE employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending at least 60% of their time in an office or work setting. Changes to these working arrangements are available in exceptional circumstances but must be agreed with the line manager and in line with the requirements of the role.
Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.
As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities.