Job Description

Job Title: Release Analyst

About SLC
Student Loans Company is a non-profit making Government-owned organisation set up in 1989 to provide loans and grants to students in universities and colleges in the UK.We are responsiblefor student support delivery in the UK.
Company Mission
We enable our customers to invest in their futures by delivering secure, accurate and efficient assessment, payment and repayment services.
Company Vision
Our vision is to be valued as a digital, customer-focused, centre of excellence.
Job Details
Overview of department:
This role resides in ITS Change & release management function within ITS Operations. This department is responsible for maintaining & providing continual service improvement to the current IT infrastructure/applications as well as transitioning new services into Live.

Grade:G3

Reporting to:Release Team Leader

Budget Responsibility: N/A

Line Management Responsibility: None

Job Purpose:
To manage, coordinate, control and document all Application releases throughout the development lifecycle ensuring current policy, processes and best practice standards are followed.
Key responsibilities:
  • Facilitate across different business areas to coordinate software change, configuration and release functions
  • Coordinate releases to ensure that the integrity of the live environment is protected and that the correct components are released.
  • Monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of the Release management process across the organisation, and make recommendations for improvement.
  • Ensuring that all IT teams follow the release management process for all releases and escalates any repeated non-conformity.
  • Maintain quality checks on releases and record those that directly or indirectly cause support Incidents.
  • Manage the delivery of releases through the full lifecycle to ensure that there are no clashes with resource, environment availability or with other releases by managing the Forward Release Schedule & ensuring its availability to relevant stakeholders
  • Coordinate the build and test environments and release teams to ensure all aspects integrate, when necessary
  • Develop and sustain strong working relationships both internally and externally to ensure timely delivery of key projects
  • Manage the overall production of reports and statistics for Release Management to ensure all stakeholders are kept properly informed
  • Influence and contribute to the continual evaluation, development and improvement of the release process so as to support and meet user requirements

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

  • ITIL qualified
  • Working knowledge of the following;
  • Linux skills & Scripting
  • Version controls such as PVCS, SVN, GIT
  • Continuous Integration tools such as Jenkins, Go CD
  • Key database technologies such as Oracle, MySQL, MongoDB
  • Virtualisation technologies such as VMware, OpenStack
  • Software configuration management knowledge and experience
  • Knowledge of multiple deployment and testing methodologies
  • Excellent understanding of systems development lifecycle
  • Ability to work in shared hybrid release environments; internal and vendor development
  • Extensive experience with creating and reviewing release plans, implementation and back out plans
  • Knowledge and experience of following change management processes
  • Good attention to detail, tracking and reporting skills
  • Good communication skills (will represent the team at, and chair, meetings)
  • Ability to work under pressure

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