Service Transition & Release Manager

Standard Life plc; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private medical cover

38 days annual leave

Excellent pension

12x salary life assurance

Career breaks

Income protection

Volunteer days

Bonus program

Job summary

Standard Life plc seeks a Service Transition and Release Manager to join the IT Service Operations team. The role focuses on managing the transition of new applications and services into live environments, ensuring readiness, risks and impacts are understood.

You will work with development, operations and business units to plan transitions, coordinate releases, and implement process improvements while adhering to ITIL standards.

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of ITIL framework, particularly Service Transition and Release Management processes.
• Good understanding of Non‑Functional requirements (NFRs) and Test Environment Management (TEM).
• Understanding of DevOps and Agile practices.
• Demonstrable experience within a ITSM role with a focus on service transition, release management and service introduction.
• Proficient in tools like JIRA, ServiceNow, or similar.

Responsibilities

• Develop transition plans, risk assessments, and mitigation strategies; oversee end‑to‑end transition of IT services into operational use.
• Manage and/or oversee release cycles, including major, minor, and emergency releases; ensure quality through testing and validation.
• Engage with cross‑functional teams across development, operations and business units.
• Identify and drive continuous improvement in transition and release processes; implement automation where possible.
• Ensure governance and compliance with ITIL/ITSM standards and policies.

Skills

ITIL knowledge

DevOps

Agile practices

Stakeholder engagement

Tools

JIRA

ServiceNow

Job description

Job Description

We have an incredible opportunity to join us here at Phoenix Group as a Service Transition and Release manager to join our Service Architecture, Design & Transition team in Technical Service Operations.

Job Type

Permanent

Location

This role could be based in either our Wythall, Telford, London or Edinburgh offices with time spent working in the office and at home.

Flexible working

All of our roles are open to part‑time, job‑share and other types of flexibility. We will discuss what is important to you and balancing this with business requirements during the recruitment process. You can read more about Phoenix Flex here.

Closing Date

09/09/26

Salary and benefits

• £60,000– £70,000
• 16% bonus up to 32%
• private medical cover
• 38 days annual leave
• excellent pension
• 12x salary life assurance
• career breaks
• income protection
• 3x volunteering days
• and much more

Who are we?

We’re Standard Life, a retirement specialist focused entirely on retirement savings and income. We champion the belief that everyone’s journey to and through retirement can be better, and for more than 200 years, we’ve been helping our customers plan and prepare for their financial futures.

Life today is increasingly complicated, uncertain and unpredictable. People move through different careers, face unexpected moments and navigate important choices. We offer our colleagues flexibility, trust and benefits that work for whatever life brings. In return we expect curiosity, connection, accountability and high standards. We make room for what matters – so you can bring your best, every day.

The role

The Service Transition and Release Manager plays a critical role in IT Service Management (ITSM), ensuring smooth transitions of IT services and successful releases into live environments. The primary focus of the role will be managing the transition of new applications and services into the live environment, ensuring impacts, risks and readiness, are fully understood.

• Service Transition Management: Develop transition plans, risk assessments, and mitigation strategies. Oversee and manage the end‑to‑end transition of new or changed IT services into operational use. Work closely with Service Design and Architecture to ensure only quality designs are ready for transition, and feedback from lessons learned activities are shared.
• Release Management: Manage and/or oversee release cycles, including major, minor, and emergency releases. Ensure releases meet business requirements and quality standards through testing and validation.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Work closely with cross‑functional teams, including development, operations, and business units. Attend and contribute in relevant Change, Release and Project Community of Practices (CoP).
• Process Improvement: Identify and drive continuous improvement in transition and release processes. Implement automation tools and frameworks to streamline release cycles.
• Governance and Compliance: Ensure compliance with ITIL/ITSM standards and organisational policies.

What are we looking for?

• Strong knowledge of ITIL framework, particularly Service Transition and Release Management processes.
• Good understanding of Non‑Functional requirements (NFRs) and Test Environment Management (TEM).
• Understanding of DevOps and Agile practices.
• Demonstrable experience within a ITSM role with a focus on service transition, release management and service introduction.
• Proficient in tools like JIRA, ServiceNow, or similar.

We Want To Hire The Whole Version Of You.

We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels accepted and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If your experience looks different from what we’ve advertised and you believe that you can bring value to the role, we’d love to hear from you.

If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can help you to be at your best.

Find out more about

Guide for Candidates: thephoenixgroup.pagetiger.com/guideforcandidates

Find or get answers from our colleagues: www.thephoenixgroup.com/careers/talk-to-us