Change Manager

IT Change Management Manager

Contract – Inside IR35

Location: Reading (Hybrid Working Available)

Overview

A leading defence prime is seeking an experienced IT Change Management Manager to join on a contract basis.

This role is responsible for ensuring that all changes to the IT environment are managed in a controlled, coordinated, and risk-aware manner, minimising impact to service availability and quality. You will play a critical role in maintaining service stability, governance, and compliance across a complex IT estate.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the end-to-end IT change management lifecycle, ensuring all changes are logged, assessed, authorised, implemented, and reviewed in line with governance standards
• Conduct risk and impact assessments for proposed changes across services, infrastructure, and business operations
• Organise, facilitate, and chair Change Advisory Board (CAB) meetings with key technical and business stakeholders
• Coordinate change scheduling and ensure effective communication to all impacted parties
• Lead post-implementation reviews to assess outcomes, identify lessons learned, and reduce repeat issues
• Monitor and report on change management KPIs (e.g. success rate, failed changes, emergency changes, change-related incidents)
• Engage with service owners, IT operations teams, and third parties to ensure alignment and smooth execution of changes
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance change processes and reduce service disruption

Key Objectives

• Ensure all IT changes are delivered in a controlled, timely, and risk-managed manner
• Minimise disruption to live services and business operations
• Maintain full transparency and auditability of change activity
• Align change planning with wider operational and business priorities
• Support compliance with internal governance frameworks and external regulatory requirements

Skills & Experience

Essential:

• Proven experience in IT Change Management within complex enterprise environments
• Strong understanding of ITIL frameworks and service management best practices
• Experience managing IT service delivery and performance (5+ years)
• Demonstrable experience defining and managing SLAs and KPIs
• Strong knowledge of ITSM tools such as ServiceNow
• Good understanding of IT infrastructure (servers, networks, and core systems)
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and respond effectively to changing demands

Desirable:

• ITIL v3 or ITIL 4 certification
• PMP or equivalent project management certification
• Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related discipline
• Experience with service monitoring tools and data analytics

Additional Information

This is an opportunity to work within a high-profile environment, contributing to the governance and delivery of critical IT services within the defence sector.