Senior Manager - Enterprise Release Management

Lanson Partners; Sydney; On-site; AUD 210,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Unknown Client, a leading Australian financial services organisation, seeks a Senior Enterprise Release Manager to build an enterprise release function from the ground up in Sydney.

You'll define the operating model, governance rhythm and metrics, coordinating across cloud, data and integration platforms while reporting to senior technology leadership. This role demands an automation-first mindset and credibility with GMs and the CIO.

Qualifications

• Proven track record building or transforming a release management capability in a large organization.
• Hands-on with CI/CD, automated testing, deployment and rollback strategies.
• Experience in regulated environments with change control and audit expectations.
• Ability to credibly engage GMs and C-suite with concrete delivery examples.

Responsibilities

• Design and embed an enterprise release framework, calendar and operating rhythm across platforms and lines of business.
• Identify, track and manage release dependencies and risk across cloud, data and integration platforms.
• Embed release governance into Change Management processes and the Change Advisory Board.
• Present release readiness, risk posture and dependencies to GMs and C-suite technology leadership.
• Define and report on release health metrics to drive uplift across the organization.

Skills

Release governance

Cross-platform coordination

Change integration

Stakeholder engagement

Metrics & reporting

Tools

CI/CD

Job description

Senior Manager - Enterprise Release Management

A New Function with a Mandate to Build
Our client, a leading Australian financial services organisation, is investing heavily in a major technology transformation - including a significant clearing and settlement replacement programme alongside broader cloud, data and integration platform uplift. As part of this, they are creating a brand-new Senior Enterprise Release Manager role, reporting into senior delivery and technology leadership, to bring structure, governance and collaboration to release management across the organisation.

This is not a BAU release desk. Each platform currently runs its own release manager, but there's no unifying framework, forward schedule or enterprise view - and that's exactly what this role exists to build. You'll define the operating model, governance rhythm and reporting standards from scratch, working closely with GMs and the CIO to get buy-in and drive adoption.

Do Work That Matters
You'll sit across cloud, data and integration platforms and multiple lines of business, coordinating release planning, dependencies and readiness - without directly managing the platform-level release managers day to day. Instead, you'll hold the enterprise view: building the release calendar, tracking cross-platform risk, and ensuring runbooks, validation and post-implementation reviews are fit for purpose. You'll champion an automation-first approach to release practices and be the person who translates release complexity into clear, decision-ready reporting for senior leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Release Governance: Design and embed an enterprise release framework, calendar and operating rhythm across multiple platforms and lines of business, where none currently exists.
• Cross-Platform Coordination: Identify, track and manage release dependencies and risk across cloud, data and integration platforms, working closely with platform-level release managers to align schedules and readiness.
• Change Integration: Embed release governance into existing Change Management processes and the Change Approval Board, driving continuous improvement in standards and forums.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Present release readiness, risk posture and dependency conflicts credibly to GMs and C-suite technology leadership, cutting through ambiguity and detail-heavy scrutiny.
• Metrics & Reporting: Define and report on release health measures - success rate, change failure rate, deployment time - and use these to drive uplift across the organisation.

We're Looking for People Who Have:

• A proven track record of building or materially transforming a release management capability within a complex organisation - not just operating an existing one.
• Strong recent and hands‑on experience with modern delivery practices - CI/CD, automated testing, deployment and rollback strategies,
• Experience in a highly regulated environment with strong change control, audit expectations and Change Approval Board exposure - financial services, markets or similarly regulated sectors ideal.
• Seniority and presence to face off credibly to GMs and C-suite stakeholders, backed by specific, detailed examples of what you've actually delivered.
• Resilience and a hands‑on approach - comfortable in a fast-paced, still-maturing environment without established frameworks, and willing to build them.