Project Release Manager

Electrum Payments; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous leave: 20 days per year

Office perks: Cape Town, daily catered

Team activities: hikes and dinners

Job summary

Electrum Payments seeks an Intermediate Engineering Release Manager to drive release planning and alignment across engineering teams. You will oversee weekly planning, risk vetting, and coordination to ensure predictable software deliveries.

The role emphasizes ownership of the release lifecycle, cross-functional collaboration, and continuous process improvement, with a focus on leveraging release management tools and maintaining strong stakeholder communications.

Qualifications

• :University degree is required.
• 4 years experience in a project management role with a software development team using Agile methodologies.
• Experience in cross-functional communication across teams.
• Analytical role closely involved in delivering technical projects and reporting.
• Experience owning the release lifecycle and cross-functional project management.
• Experience with release management tools and platforms.

Responsibilities

• Release planning and coordination with weekly planning sessions and risk vetting.
• Manage release process and lifecycle across projects.
• Identify and mitigate risks, scope changes, and quality issues.
• Own stakeholder communication and progress reporting on releases.
• Propose and implement process improvements and new tools.

Skills

Agile methodologies

Cross-functional collaboration

Release management

Project coordination

Data analysis

Communication

Release documentation

Process improvement

Education

University degree

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

Release management tools

Job description

Electrum is a next-generation payment software technology company.

Since 2012, we've delivered trusted, enterprise-grade, cloud-native software to optimise financial transaction processing. Our deep expertise has established us as a respected partner in high-volume, low-value payment schemes, enabling clients to deliver services to millions of South Africans daily.

At Electrum, we are grounded in impact – designing solutions that matter, acting with urgency, and continuously learning as we scale. We believe in creating together – working side by side with our clients and teams to build meaningful, lasting solutions. We prioritise making it safe – encouraging open communication, smart risk-taking, and trust so that creativity and alignment thrive. And we back empowered strong teams – hiring brilliant people, collaborating hard, and holding each other to high standards while leading with empathy and kindness.

When you join the Electrum team, you’ll get to:

• Be part of the entire journey — from the spark of an idea to the final product launch.
• Grow your skills through world-class training and hands-on learning every day.
• Receive mentorship and guidance from industry leaders who are invested in your success.
• Work in a dynamic, innovative workplace where collaboration and creativity thrive.
• Tackle real-world customer challenges and see the impact of your work firsthand.
• Explore plenty of opportunities to grow your career and expand your expertise.
• Gain valuable experience in a leading FinTech environment, contributing to meaningful, high-impact projects.

The Opportunity

The Intermediate Engineering Release Manager manages and drives the core functions that enable predictable, high-quality software releases, with the release management function being responsible for coordinating deliveries through the software development process within the Engineering group, from planning to go-live, ensuring the delivery of quality releases to stakeholders.

It is a multi-disciplined role that performs the roles of a Project Manager, Program Manager and Scrum master. A primary focus is on the creation, planning and execution of deliverables, with an emphasis on leading cross-functional alignment to meet Engineering’s goals.

We are looking for someone with an innate aptitude for optimisation, predictability, and a 'big picture' mindset - that which constantly seeks better, more scalable ways of working and understands how their daily execution contributes to the strategic growth of both Engineering and Electrum.

The Role

Release Planning and Coordination

Ensuring efficient and productive work planning at a weekly cadence. Making the Engineering group more predictable by:

• Leading weekly planning sessions with Engineering team leads
• Vetting plans for risks and proactively flagging potential issues
• Effectively compiling and assessing scenario plans for the delivery roadmap
• Running prioritisation in collaboration with key cross-departmental stakeholders to ensure Engineering work is planned in alignment with business strategy

Release Process Management and Execution

• Implementing and monitoring systems to track project execution and Engineering’s predictability toward committed milestones.
• Managing Engineering project execution and the release lifecycle.

Risk Assessment and Mitigation

• Proactively identifying and managing risk, scope, and quality for projects, releases, and release management systems.
• Forming and driving risk mitigation plans.
• Driving compliance adoption across the Engineering organisation.

Communication and Reporting

• Owning and improving communication to stakeholders outside of Engineering.
• Keeping both Engineering and Electrum stakeholders informed on the progress and risk status of releases.
• Data analysis and reporting, providing insights and suggestions for improvement.

Process Improvement, Tools and Optimisation

• Improving project management and release practices within the Engineering organisation by proactively identifying process inefficiencies and friction areas.
• Proposing and implementing process improvements, facilitating feedback sessions, and achieving stakeholder buy-in.
• Innovating new flows or systems, and designing and implementing them in existing or new tools.

• A University Degree.
• 4 years experience in a project management role specifically
• work with a software development team to deliver software projects using Agile methodologies;
• in a role requiring communication in cross-functional teams;
• in an analytical role closely involved in the delivery of technical projects;
• creating release documentation and reporting.
• demonstrating experience in proactive ownership of the release lifecycle and cross-functional project management
• demonstrating a strong affinity for improving processes and systems to make things better
• Experience with release management tools and platforms.

Beneficial Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field
• Previous experience working in the Fintech industry.
• Certified in Agile / Scrum methodologies.

Why Join Electrum?

• We believe in a People First approach, ensuring a culture where you can thrive and make a real difference
  

Your Career & Culture

• Career Growth: Delivering world-class financial software is challenging, but your effort will earn you hands-on experience with products used by millions, accelerating your career.
• Strong Teams: We keep teams small, focused, and collaborative to maximize impact.
• Transparency: We openly discuss strategy, finances, and salaries. Mistakes are viewed as learning opportunities that we actively discuss.
• Autonomy: We trust you. You're expected to seek out the data needed for informed decisions and manage your own time—knowing when to focus and when to recharge.
• Shared Vision: You'll have the power to shape the vision of how we build the future of financial services.

Practical Perks

1. Here's how we support our culture:

• Generous Leave: Starting at 20 days per year.
• Office Perks (Cape Town): Fully-stocked kitchen and daily catered lunch.
• Social Life: Regular team activities like hikes, getaways, and dinners