Project Release Manager - Fixed Term Contract

Electrum Payments; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 1,004,000 - 1,339,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous Leave: 20 days per year.

Office Perks (Cape Town): Daily lunch.

Social Life: team activities

Job summary

Electrum Payments is seeking an Intermediate Engineering Release Manager to drive the software release process within the Engineering team on a 6-month fixed-term contract. You will coordinate planning, execution and risk management across cross-functional teams, ensure predictable releases, and continually improve release practices and tooling while aligning with business strategy.

This role offers hands-on experience in a leading FinTech environment and exposure to enterprise-grade,

Qualifications

• University Degree is required.
• 4 years experience in a project management role in software development with Agile.
• Experience with release management tools and platforms.
• Experience creating release documentation and reporting.
• Strong ownership of the release lifecycle and cross-functional project management.
• Bias towards process improvement and system optimisation.

Responsibilities

• Release Planning and Coordination: lead weekly planning with Engineering leads and align with business strategy.
• Release Process Management and Execution: manage release lifecycle and track milestones.
• Risk Assessment and Mitigation: identify risks, scope, and quality, and drive mitigation.
• Communication and Reporting: inform stakeholders of progress and risks, provide insights.
• Process Improvement, Tools and Optimisation: propose and implement new flows and tooling.

Skills

Release management

Project management

Scrum Master

Agile methodologies

Cross-functional teams

Stakeholder communication

Education

University Degree

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 is a 6-month fixed-term contract role responsible for coordinating and driving the software release process within the Engineering team, from planning through to go-live. The role ensures predictable, high-quality releases by coordinating cross-functional teams, managing deliverables, and aligning execution with Engineering’s objectives.

This multi-disciplinary role combines elements of Project Management, Program Management and Scrum Master responsibilities, with a strong focus on planning, execution, stakeholder alignment and continuous improvement.

We are looking for someone with an innate aptitude for optimisation, predictability and a big-picture mindset — someone who continually looks for better, more scalable ways of working and understands how effective day-to-day 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