Service Manager (Release Management) (5424)

Join Social Security Scotland at a pivotal time as we continue to deliver services that make a meaningful difference to the lives of people across Scotland.

As part of the Strategic Portfolio and Delivery Assurance team, you'll play a key role in ensuring projects, programmes and products are delivered safely, effectively and in line with organisational priorities. This governance and assurance function provides oversight for 3 distinct areas of Portfolio Management, Testing and Release Management, helping to ensure the right change is delivered at the right time, with assured quality and minimal disruption.

As Service Manager, you will be accountable for the quality, performance, outcomes and continuous improvement of the Change and Release service. Providing strategic leadership and end-to-end ownership, you will ensure releases are planned, governed and delivered safely and securely while protecting live services. Working across multidisciplinary teams and senior stakeholders, you will set direction, manage risk, build consensus and ensure change delivers the intended benefits, supporting Social Security Scotland's commitment to delivering trusted, user-centred public services.

A Service Manager is accountable for the quality, performance, benefits and outcomes of a service, providing end-to-end direction, prioritisation, risk management and decision-making aligned to organisational, policy and user needs. They define success and quality measures, drive continuous improvement, influence stakeholders to build consensus, and ensure change delivers the intended service outcomes and benefits.

Responsibilities

• Build positive, effective relationships with multiple suppliers and stakeholders to create mutually beneficial outcomes.
• Lead and coach teams in Agile and Lean practices, selecting and tailoring the most appropriate approaches to deliver successful outcomes.
• Develop innovative ways of working, build stakeholder consensus, and champion best practice while continuously driving improvements in team performance, processes, and delivery.
• Apply advanced knowledge of design, technology, data, and assisted digital solutions to shape and improve services.
• Understand digital, data and technology (DDaT) roles and capabilities, working effectively with specialists to support service delivery.
• Develop, own, and iterate Agile business cases throughout the product lifecycle, collaborating across portfolios to define, realise, and track benefits.
• Maintain a strong understanding of financial management, including sprint-level costs, value delivered, and investment decisions.
• Draw on experience across all stages of the product lifecycle, making informed decisions on when to progress, pause, or stop initiatives.
• Identify the right deliverables, stakeholders, and governance requirements, planning engagement and collaborating across Agile delivery functions throughout the lifecycle.
• Promote industry best practice, improve operational efficiency, and act as an escalation point for significant operational issues while championing operational excellence across the community.
• Build strong relationships with operational delivery leaders across digital, data, and technology functions.
• Anticipate and mitigate risks, understand problems in their wider context, clearly articulate issues, and develop problem-solving capability in others.
• Demonstrate expertise in product delivery tools, methods, and frameworks, adapting them to different phases of delivery while setting long-term vision and strategic objectives.
• Maintain a disciplined focus on priorities, providing clear direction on the most effective tools, methods, and approaches to achieve outcomes.
• Develop capability in others through coaching, mentoring, and knowledge sharing.
• Champion user-centred delivery, drawing on experience across multiple channels and applying insight into evolving user needs to shape services.
• Apply strategic thinking to ensure services deliver the best possible outcomes and experiences for end users.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Expected Timeline (subject to change)

Sift – week commencing 23rd November 2026

Interview – week commencing 14th December 2026

Location – In Person in either Dundee or Glasgow

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Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.