IT Release Manager

JD Sports Fashion; Bury; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player in sports fashion is seeking a Technology Release Manager to oversee software releases across various IT environments. This role is pivotal in ensuring standardized release processes while collaborating with project managers, development teams, and stakeholders. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in managing releases in hybrid IT environments, a strong background in ITIL-based Change Management, and exceptional stakeholder management skills. Join this innovative firm and contribute to its mission of operational excellence and growth in the sports and outdoor industry.

Benefits

Staff Discount on purchases

Discounted Gym membership

Personal development opportunities

Access to Apprenticeships

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in technology release management and governance.
• Strong understanding of release governance frameworks and best practices.

Responsibilities

• Manage outsourced Digital Release execution and align with Retail and Supply Chain.
• Develop and oversee release management strategies and processes.

Skills

Release Management

Stakeholder Management

ITIL-based Change Management

Risk Assessment

Communication Skills

Problem-solving Skills

Analytical Skills

Education

Degree in Information Technology

ITIL Foundation Certification

Bachelor’s in Computer Science

Tools

Jenkins

GitLab CI/CD

Azure DevOps

ServiceNow

BMC Remedy

Jira Service Management

Job description

JD Sports- Head Office, Warwick House, Bury, Bury, United Kingdom Req #101

24 March 2025

Established in 1981 with a single store in the Northwest of England, the JD Group is a leading omni-channel retailer of Sports Fashion, Outdoors and Gyms with our colleagues working in stores across several retail fascias in many markets around the world.

JD Sports Fashion Plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and has been a FTSE100 publicly quoted company since 2019 and continues to grow in the UK and internationally.

We want to be the leading global omnichannel retailer in the sports and outdoor industry. To be a part of this successful company and help us to achieve this you will have the desire to ingrain our strategic goals of being a people-led, innovative and customer-focused organisation which provides operational excellence whilst identifying new areas of growth as part of our day to day objectives.

We operate in both on-premises and cloud environments. As a Technology Release Manager, you will play a crucial role in planning, managing, and overseeing software releases across various IT environments. We have outsourced the execution layer for Digital Release Management, and we expect this person to take a hands-on approach to consolidate processes and unify toolsets that are currently separate between Digital and the other business areas (Retail and Supply Chain). This role is key to ensuring efficient, standardised release processes across the organisation while driving stability and reliability in IT services. We are committed to supporting the internal growth of this function so that it evolves into the governance and enablement layer for the Group Technology Release Management function.

The Technology Release Manager will oversee release management across Digital, Retail, and Supply Chain business areas, working towards a consolidated and standardised approach to release management. They will collaborate closely with project managers, development teams, QA teams, and key stakeholders to ensure a consistent and effective release process across the organization.

What You'll Be Doing:

Release Management:

• Manage the outsourced Digital Release execution layer, ensuring alignment with Retail and Supply Chain release processes.
• Work towards consolidating release processes and toolsets across business units to establish a unified framework.
• Develop, implement, and oversee release management strategies and processes.
• Plan, schedule, and coordinate software releases, ensuring alignment with business goals.
• Ensure proper version control and documentation for all releases.

Governance and Compliance:

• Lay the foundation for a governance and enablement function within the Group Technology Release Management framework.
• Establish governance frameworks and best practices for release management.
• Ensure compliance with internal policies, industry standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Maintain and enforce change control policies to manage risks effectively.

Stakeholder Collaboration:

• Work closely with development, QA, operations, and business teams to ensure smooth releases.
• Act as a bridge between technical and business teams to align release expectations and outcomes.
• Communicate release schedules, risks, and impacts to relevant stakeholders.

Risk and Issue Management:

• Identify potential release-related risks and develop mitigation strategies.
• Manage release-related incidents, ensuring rapid issue resolution and minimal business impact.
• Conduct post-release reviews to analyse issues and drive continuous improvements.
• Identify opportunities to automate release processes to improve efficiency and reliability.
• Drive the adoption of DevOps principles, CI/CD pipelines, and release automation tools.

Performance Monitoring & Reporting:

• Track key release metrics, including deployment success rates and incident resolution times.
• Provide regular reports on release performance to senior management, ensuring visibility across Digital, Retail, and Supply Chain.

What We're Looking For:

Required Skills and Experience:

• Experience working in hybrid IT environments, managing releases across both on-premises data centres and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Extensive experience in end-to-end release management execution, including planning, scheduling, coordination, and post-release reviews.
• Strong understanding of release governance frameworks and best practices, with a proven track record of implementing structured release management processes.
• Experience in managing large-scale releases across multiple business units, ensuring seamless integration between Digital, Retail, and Supply Chain.
• Strong background in ITIL-based Change & Release Management, with expertise in risk assessment, compliance, and quality assurance.
• Proven ability to manage outsourced release execution layers, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives and quality standards.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and leadership skills, capable of influencing cross-functional teams and driving best practices in release governance.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build strong relationships with both technical and business stakeholders.
• Experience with release automation tools and CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, Azure DevOps).
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a proactive approach to identifying and resolving issues.
• Experience in managing budgets and resources effectively.
• Knowledge of specific technology areas (e.g., eCommerce platforms, cloud technology, Retail systems, ERP systems, monitoring tools, etc.).
• Proven experience in implementing and automating release processes via ITSM toolsets (e.g., ServiceNow, BMC Remedy, Jira Service Management).

Desired Qualifications:

• Degree in Information Technology or a related field.
• ITIL Foundation or ITIL Intermediate certification, with a strong focus on Release & Change Management.
• Certification in Agile, DevOps, or SAFe Release Train Engineer.
• Extensive experience governing enterprise-wide release strategies, ensuring compliance with industry regulations and best practices.
• Bachelor’s in information technology, Computer Science, or a related field. 7+ years of experience in technology release management, governance, and execution.

The Company:

The JD Group is a leading omnichannel retailer of Sports Fashion, Street & Premium Fashion, Outdoors and Gyms with over 90,000 colleagues over 4,500 stores across several retail fascia's in over 36 countries around the world.

We are an equal opportunities employer who embraces and values differences. We recognise the importance of an inclusive workplace culture in which everyone can thrive irrespective of their background or identity.

To be a part of this successful and continuously growing company, you will have the desire to ingrain our strategic goals of being a people first, a digital leader and customer focused organisation which provides operational excellence and is continuous with identifying new areas of growth into our day-to-day.

We know our employees work tirelessly to make JD Sports the success it is today and in turn, we offer them some amazing benefits:

• Staff Discount on qualifying purchases across Group retail stores and online.
• Discounted Gym membership.
• Personal development opportunities to learn and develop at work.
• Access to Apprenticeships and accredited qualifications.

Interested?

If you are interested in this position, then press the Apply Now button.

Due to the high volumes of applications our opportunities attract, it takes time to review them all. If you don't hear back within two weeks of your application, please consider your application to have been unsuccessful on this occasion.

Applications that meet the skills criteria will be contacted for a 1st stage meeting with the talent team. Shortlisted candidates will then be invited to interview with the hiring manager.

#LI-JR11