IT Release and Deployment Manager

About the role We are seeking an experienced IT Release and Deployment Manager to own, govern, and oversee the end-to-end release management lifecycle for enterprise banking applications and core digital systems. In this role, you will act as the key gatekeeper bridging software development, quality assurance, IT infrastructure, and business stakeholders. You will be responsible for defining release calendars, managing deployment risks, governing change requests (CRs), and ensuring seamless, zero-downtime production rollouts. Key responsibilities Forward-plan the release cycles for enterprise banking platforms, maintaining a centralized release calendar across multiple concurrent project streams Establish and enforce quality gating criteria, ensuring all builds have completed strict QA, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), security scanning, and regulatory compliance checks prior to production deployment Lead release readiness reviews, milestone tracking, and deployment alignment meetings with cross-functional teams (Developers, QA, DevOps, Business Analysts, and 3rd-Party Vendors) Evaluate deployment risks, manage Change Requests (CRs), draft comprehensive rollback strategies, and lead post-deployment verification and completion reporting Coordinate cutover execution activities during scheduled deployment windows, managing real-time issue resolution and executive release communications Standardize deployment documentation, automate release reporting workflows, and refine release pipelines to improve delivery velocity and stability About you Minimum 5 years of progressive experience in IT Project Management, Release Management, Quality Assurance Leadership, or System Delivery Proven track record in an Enterprise Banking, Fintech, Financial Services, or highly regulated IT environment Deep working knowledge of SDLC methodologies (Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Waterfall) and release governance processes Hands-on experience facilitating User Acceptance Testing (UAT) sign-offs, change request management, and production cutover planning Experience managing delivery tracking and environments using JIRA, Microsoft Project, Confluence, GitLab / GitHub, or enterprise ticketing platforms (e.g., ServiceNow, PAC2000) Strong executive communication skills with the ability to manage senior stakeholders, technical vendors, and cross-functional engineering teams ITIL Certification (Foundation or Release, Control & Validation) – nice-to-have Six Sigma Yellow/Green Belt certification – nice-to-have Familiarity with CI/CD pipeline gating, Azure DevOps, or Power Platform/Power Automate tools – nice-to-have Experience with Core Banking Systems, Loan Origination Systems (LOS), or Identity Management frameworks (e.g., Okta) – nice-to-have