Platform Reliability and Release Manager

About Jisc:
At Jisc, we're driven by a simple ambition: to use technology to transform education, research and innovation.
For more than 30 years, we've been the digital partner for the UK's education and research sectors, providing world-class networks, innovative digital services and expert guidance that help universities, colleges and research institutions thrive.
 
Our work supports millions of learners, educators and researchers every day, enabling everything from groundbreaking discoveries and life-changing research to exceptional digital learning experiences. While many people may not realise it, the technology and services we provide help power some of the UK's most important educational and research achievements.
 
Join Jisc and you'll be part of a purpose-driven organisation where your ideas can have a real impact. Together, we're shaping the future of learning, research and innovation for the benefit of society.
 
Shape the stability, scalability and future of Jisc's Digital Experience Platform
At Jisc, we're on a mission to empower education, research and innovation through world-class digital services. Behind every seamless customer experience is a reliable, secure and high-performing platform. We're looking for a Platform Reliability & Release Manager to take ownership of that mission and play a pivotal role in ensuring our Digital Experience Platform operates at its very best.
This is an exciting opportunity for someone who thrives at the intersection of platform engineering, release management and operational excellence. You'll lead the strategy, processes and technologies that keep our critical platforms running smoothly while enabling the safe and rapid delivery of new features and improvements.
 
Why this role matters
As our Platform Reliability & Release Manager, you'll be responsible for the resilience, availability and continuous evolution of Jisc's Digital Experience Platform (DXP), built primarily on Salesforce, MuleSoft and Copado.
 
You'll be the driving force behind reliable platform operations, high-quality releases and continuous improvement. Whether it's preventing service disruption, automating operational processes, improving release pipelines or leading platform upgrades, you'll help ensure that thousands of users benefit from secure, stable and scalable digital services.
 
This is more than a technical leadership role. It's an opportunity to influence how Jisc delivers change, manages risk and improves the experience of our members, customers and colleagues.
 
What you'll be doing
Own platform reliability and performance

Lead the day-to-day operational integrity of the Digital Experience Platform.
Drive platform stability, resilience, scalability and service availability.
Champion a proactive approach to monitoring, incident prevention and continuous improvement.
Identify opportunities to improve performance, reduce risk and optimise costs.

Lead enterprise release management

Define and own the release and environment management strategy across Salesforce, MuleSoft and related technologies.
Oversee the full release lifecycle, ensuring high-quality, low-risk deployments.
Coordinate complex releases across multiple environments and stakeholder groups.
Establish release readiness criteria, manage dependencies and minimise deployment risks.

Accelerate automation and DevOps practices

Leverage software engineering principles to automate operational activities and improve platform efficiency.
Enhance CI/CD capabilities and deployment processes.
Drive the adoption of DevOps and DevSecOps best practices across the platform landscape.

Manage environments and platform tooling

Lead platform upgrades, maintenance activities and security patching.
Oversee sandbox management, environment synchronisation and data refresh strategies.
Manage associated tooling including Copado and related release management technologies.
Ensure teams are equipped with the processes, tooling and guidance required for successful delivery.

Collaborate and influence

Partner closely with development teams, security specialists, architects and operational stakeholders.
Lead release communications and change governance activities, including CAB engagement.
Act as a trusted technical leader, influencing platform strategy and championing best practice.

What we’re looking for
You’ll be someone who enjoys solving complex operational challenges and creating structure in fast-moving technology environments. You’ll combine technical expertise with leadership, communication and planning skills to deliver reliable outcomes.
 
You'll bring experience in:

Platform operations, reliability engineering or release management.
Managing multiple environments across development, testing and production.
Salesforce, MuleSoft, Copado or similar enterprise platforms.
Release management, CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices.
Automation and process improvement initiatives that drive tangible business value.
Incident management, troubleshooting and root cause analysis.
Change management and governance processes.
Working across technical and non-technical stakeholder groups.
Leading initiatives, mentoring others and driving continuous improvement.
Experience with technologies and tools such as Git, GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Confluence, Power Platform, Power Automate, Tableau, Power BI and cloud-based platforms would be highly beneficial.

What success looks like
In this role you'll:

Improve platform reliability and service uptime
Deliver smooth, predictable and successful releases
Increase automation and operational efficiency
Reduce platform risk and technical debt
Help teams deliver change faster and more confidently
Create a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence

Professional development
We're looking for professionals who are committed to continual learning and growth.
 
Relevant certifications include:

Salesforce Certified Administrator
Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I
Copado Certified Fundamentals I & II - Metadata Pipeline

If you're passionate about building reliable platforms, delivering change at scale and helping shape the future of digital services, we'd love to hear from you.
 
Don’t meet every single requirement?
We know that sometimes people can be put off applying for a job if they think they can’t tick every box, so we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet 100% of the requirements, but if you feel this role is perfect for you. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles!
 
Hybrid working:
Specific patterns for working in the office are not mandated, and the frequency of time worked in the office is agreed with your manager. Meeting in person is something we value, so you may need to travel on occasion to any of our hub offices.
 
Why work for us?
At Jisc, every role is meaningful, and every individual is valued. We foster a culture of continuous learning and personal growth, offering opportunities to develop new skills and make a real impact in education and research. With a strong focus on work-life balance, we embrace flexible working that prioritises outcomes over hours, empowering you to create a rhythm that energises both your professional and personal life.
 
Our Guiding Principles:
Jisc’s culture is powered by our four guiding principles: putting customers first, driving innovation, creating impact, and championing inclusive collaboration to deliver sustainable outcomes and shape a better future.
 
Discover the amazing benefits we provide! Here’s what you can look forward to:

Flexible work pattern, which can adapt to suit your schedules and personal commitments
31 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) that includes three closure days over Christmas
Buy up to an additional 5 days leave during the flexible benefits window
Generous flexible pension schemes
A range of wellbeing lifestyle benefits including company paid health care cash plan, mental health first aiders and support
A company culture of continuous learning with access to thousands of LinkedIn Learning courses, and lots of resources and opportunities to support your development
Allocated allowance of up to £250 to equip your home office
Financial well-being support including access to preferential loan and savings plans, mortgage advice, will writing tools and support and resources to help you make the most of your money
A wide range of discounts and cashback from retailers and big-name high-street stores
Family friendly policies including enhanced parental, maternity and paternity and co-parental leave as well as opportunity for career breaks
Support your volunteering with up to 3 days volunteer leave

Equity, diversity and inclusion:
Jisc believe our people make all the difference in cultivating an inclusive culture that welcomes ideas, encourages innovation, and values belonging.
 
We work hard to create an equitable experience for our candidates and workforce which embraces all aspects of their identity including race and ethnicity, religion and belief, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, trans identities, age, class, disability, neurodivergence, or veteran status.
 
Application process:
Please let us know how we can best accommodate you throughout the recruitment process. We’re committed to making our process accessible and comfortable for everyone - just tell us what works best for you.
 
Interested? Don’t leave it too late to apply. We may close the vacancy early once we’ve received enough applications.  Just so you know, we review CVs as soon as we can and aim to provide an update on your application within 4 weeks of receiving it.  However, you may hear from us a lot sooner, so please keep an eye out for our emails or calls! 
 
We’re really looking forward to getting to know the real you. While we encourage the use of AI tools to help you get started on your CV or cover letter, we encourage you to review your application before submitting. Make sure it truly reflects your own voice, experiences, and personality.
 
If you are currently a Jisc employee, please apply through your Dayforce Employee profile.
 
We have a thorough background screening process that verifies the details you share with us in your CV and your application. Any inaccurate information supplied during the application stages can lead to a job offer being withdrawn. 
 
Sponsorship:
Jisc has an active sponsor licence to recruit on a Skilled worker visa basis. Candidates wishing to apply who require sponsorship should determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for the role by assessing their circumstances against the relevant Home Office criteria. Jisc does not offer any financial re-imbursement towards the applicant costs, such as re-location, skilled worker visa and dependant costs or the immigration health charge.
 
No agencies please