Service Manager (Release Management) (5424)

Job summary

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.

Job description

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.

Person specification

Success Profiles
We use an assessment framework called ‘Success Profiles’ which lists the elements we test and provides detailed descriptions of each. Find out more about the framework here.

For this post, the following Success Profile elements will be assessed:

Experience

1. Demonstrable experience leading a service, function, programme or portfolio, setting strategic direction, establishing priorities, and ensuring delivery of organisational objectives and outcomes.
   
2. Experience establishing and overseeing governance, assurance and risk management arrangements for complex change and operational environments, ensuring safe, controlled and effective delivery.
   
3. Experience leading the implementation of significant organisational change or service improvements, using evidence and insight to drive continuous improvement while balancing operational performance and business needs.

Behaviours

• Making Effective Decisions (Level 4)

You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours here.

Technical / Professional Skills
This role is aligned to Service Owner within the Government Digital and Data Profession.

These skills will be tested during the Technical Assessment if you are successful at sift stage. They will not be assessed at application stage. Please review the following to understand the skill expectations: Service owner - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework

Benefits

Annual Leave - You will receive 25 days annual leave on joining us. This will increase to 30 days after two full years of service. You will also have 11.5 public and privilege days of leave every year. We also offer Flexi-time. Any extra hours you've worked can be taken as leave when suitable.

A Civil Service Pension - This job comes with a Civil Service pension. New joiners to the Civil Service will join a career average pension scheme as standard. Read more here - www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk.

Healthy work life balance - We can offer the possibility of full-time, part-time, term-time, and job shares. We also encourage flexible working.

Discounts - You can enjoy a vast range of retail, travel and lifestyle discounts through our benefit scheme.

Personal support for you - Our Employee Assistance Programme gives you confidential, independent information and guidance 24/7.

Volunteering special leave - Up to six days paid special leave a year for volunteering. We support our staff to help causes important to them.

Great locations - Our bright and modern offices in the heart of Dundee and Glasgow have been designed with staff in mind. Both locations are ideal for public transport.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

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

To apply please submit an application form by clicking on the ‘Apply at Advertisers Site’ button.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

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)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Resourcing Team
• Email : recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot
• Telephone : 08001577194

Recruitment team

• Email : Recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot

Further information

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/working-with-us/help-with-your-application