Release Manager

• Enhance and support critical national infrastructure, essential to the Australian Economy
• Impactful work that helps make a difference to the Australian people
• Key management role at the RBA

About the Business
This is a unique opportunity for you to join the RBA's Payments Settlements (PS) department, which owns and operates RITS, Australia's real-time gross settlement system. This system moves around $300 billion between financial institutions each day and ultimately settles all non-cash payments in Australia. The RBA's role in maintaining safe, secure and reliable settlement systems is integral to the smooth functioning of the Australian economy.

Role Overview
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is seeking an experienced Release Manager to help implement and mature the PS Release Management function. This pivotal role will work closely with the Payments Operations Program and the Enterprise Release Management team to implement and embed release management processes across the Bank. You will also be required to lead and support a small team to deliver on its objectives.

As the Release Manager for critical settlement systems, you will be responsible for governing and coordinating the release management process for infrastructure and application releases across non-production and production environments. You will collaborate with PS and IT delivery teams, as well as other release management functions within the Bank, to develop and maintain a forward-looking release schedule that balances technical dependencies and business priorities. The role also involves managing risks, resolving scheduling conflicts, and ensuring quality and compliance throughout the release lifecycle.

To succeed in this role, you will bring proven experience in leading a Release Management function, strong stakeholder engagement skills, and expertise in establishing or enhancing release management processes for critical systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee the direction of a Release Management team, while leading and developing individuals and the team to achieve goals and deliver departmental outcomes.
• Develop and maintain a forward release schedule that balances technical dependencies, business priorities, and resource availability.
• Plan, coordinate, and manage releases across non-production and production environments, ensuring smooth and timely deployments.
• Identify and manage risks, issues, and interdependencies that may impact release scope, schedule, or quality.
• Conduct release readiness reviews and quality assurance checks to ensure compliance with standards and risk controls.
• Communicate upcoming changes and release plans to stakeholders across the Bank, providing clear and timely updates.
• Collaborate with technical delivery and testing teams to uplift release quality and resolve issues proactively.
• Represent the program in governance forums, negotiating change windows and priorities to minimise conflicts.
• Work closely with leadership and Enterprise Release Management to identify and implement process improvements.
• Coach and support Release Coordinators and stakeholders in applying release management processes and tools effectively.

Technical Capabilities

• Proven experience in establishing or managing a Release Management function for critical, large-scale systems.
• Expertise in developing and maintaining release calendars, including coordinating communications across multiple teams and environments.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build and maintain effective relationships across technical and business areas.
• Familiarity with complex, multi-location environments supporting critical infrastructure and applications.
• Sound understanding of industry best practices and emerging trends in Release Management and related disciplines.
• Experience with modern tools and practices, including DevOps methodologies and platforms such as JIRA or ServiceNow (highly desirable).

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualifications relevant to IT.
• ITIL Foundations Certification.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in Release Management.

Be More
Working for an organisation that truly makes a difference to the people of Australia, we can offer development and career opportunities in a collaborative environment that supports your growth, wellbeing and promotes flexibility. Your individual growth and success drive the RBA forward as an organisation. Be more means you can do more, for yourself and for Australia.

Why RBA?
The RBA makes an important contribution to the Australian economy through the pursuit of national economic policy objectives and associated activities in financial markets and banking. We also issue Australia's banknotes and operate infrastructure critical to the payments system, all of which contribute to the welfare of the Australian people. Made up of specialists across a wide range of fields, our people, values, and culture play a critical role in achieving our objectives. Striving to be Open & Dynamic, we consider and incorporate different perspectives, work across teams and are transparent with each other, whilst delivering quality together effectively and focusing on outcomes by prioritising, testing, learning, and refining as we go. Our people conduct themselves with a high degree of integrity, while striving for excellence in the work they perform and the outcomes they achieve. We encourage intelligent inquiry and we treat one another with respect while promoting the public interest through our efforts. We know it is the growth and success of our people that drives the RBA forward. Come and make a bigger contribution while you build and develop your own skills too, because being more means you can do more, for yourself and for Australia.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion through key initiatives. We welcome and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, culturally and linguistically diverse background, those living with a disability and from the LGBTQ+ community. We are committed to making the recruitment process fair and equitable for all our candidates.