About the job

Job summary

We’re looking for an exceptional Change and Release Manager to help us make a difference to our planet.

Job description

As our Change and Release Manager, the job may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in the office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and the location advertised will be your contractual place of work.

Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week, based in Exeter HQ.

World changing work

From science to technology, from meteorology to management, and from planning to communication, our expertise helps us stand out as the authority on weather accuracy and climate prediction. We help individuals, industries and government to make better decisions to stay safe and thrive. This is the Met Office. This is who we are.

• We’re a force for good - focusing on our environmental and social impact
• We’re experts by nature - always learning and developing to do things better
• We live and breathe it - putting our purpose at the heart of decision-making
• We’re better together - understanding partnerships and inclusivity make us greater
• We keep evolving - pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers

Your world of expertise

You will be joining the IT Service Management team which sits within the Services Directorate at the Met Office. Working within the Service Management team, you’ll work with teams across the organisation to ensure technical changes to the IT services are adequately assessed for risk and impacts, as our services provide a wide-ranging variety of weather services that are delivered to customers worldwide, meaning that that they can stay safe and thrive.

As the Change Manager, you will ensure that the requirements of the Change Management Policy are adhered to across the Met Office by taking a hands-on approach to drive best practice.  

Your key duties

• Manage and act as delegated owner of the Operational Change policies and processes, to provide assurance our operational services are developed and successfully transitioned to the live environment. 
• Manage and control the Change and Release schedule.  Ensures that technical changes to IT services are adequately assessed for risk, impact, prioritised, scheduled, authorised and implemented. 
• Provides guidance to service owners and process managers to ensure the smooth running of services and compliance with mandatory processes. 
• Chair the Change Advisory Board ensuring that sound planning decisions are made and necessary approvals have been obtained and acting as key decision maker where required.
• Champions the processes and accountable for continual improvements and optimisations to the procedures, processes and documentation. 
• Guide on Change Management toolset changes (ServiceNow) to ensure tools are fit for purpose and investigate benefits and feasibility of future toolset enhancements to inform future decisions. 
• Provides consultancy to multiple areas of the organisation (at all pay grades), suppliers and partners to advise, educate and facilitate positive outcomes. 

Person specification

Essential Criteria, skills and experience:

1. Experience managing IT Change Management processes for an organisation, underpinned by a good understanding of the IT Service Management framework (We're experts by nature).
2. Demonstrate through strong leadership skills excellent customer service focus, particularly with regard to the management of changes and releases (Force for good).
3. Evidence of excellent organisational skills and the ability to personally manage a high workload and conflicting priorities, whilst ensuring the operational risk to our Services is efficiently controlled.
4. Strong working knowledge and experience across the IT Service operations spectrum. 
5. Evidence of developing and maintaining successful cross-functional working relationships that provide benefits to the organisation, with experience leading on Service Management advisory boards and influencing stakeholders at all levels. 
6. Evidence of establishing quality standards in line with customer and user needs and modifying these to make improvements to service delivery. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £33,794, Met Office contributes £9,094 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

If you share our values, we’d love to hear from you! Click apply to begin your application. Please complete your career history and provide evidence against each of the essential criteria in the supporting statement questionnaire. We recommend candidates use the CARL method (Context, Action, Result and Learning) for presenting evidence of experience and skills. 

Closing date 10/07/2024 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 22/07/2024. You will hear from us once the closing date has passed.

How we can help

If you are considering applying and need support to do so, please contact us via careers@metoffice.gov.uk. You can request adjustments either within your application or by contacting us. Should you be offered an interview, please be aware there may be a selection exercise which could include a presentation, written test or a scenario-based activity. You can select in your application to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme. To be invited to interview/assessment under this scheme, your application must meet the essential criteria for the role.

We understand that great minds don’t always think alike and as an equal opportunities employer we welcome applications from those with all protected characteristics. We recruit on merit, fairness, and open competition in line with the Civil Service Code.

We can only accept applications from those eligible to live and work in the UK - please refer to GOV.UK for information. We require Security clearance, for which you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years to be eligible. You will need to achieve full security clearance within your first 6 months with us. 

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

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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.