Product - Release Manager
Likely
Sponsorship likelihood
This employer has issued visas recently
Not disclosed
Salary
Not disclosed by employer
£58,200
Going rate
Skilled Worker going rate
This role likely qualifies for a Skilled Worker visa
SOC 2131 (83% match) is an eligible occupation, with a going rate of £58,200, and Whitbread is a licensed sponsor. That is our reading of the rules. Whether they issue a Certificate of Sponsorship is still their call.
We pick the code from the advert's text, so it is our best guess, not the employer's. Each code it could be has its own likelihood:
- Likely 2131 (IT project managers) · 83% match
- Likely 2132 (IT managers) · 5% match
New graduate or PhD holder? Pick one of the lower rates.
What each route needs for this job
| Occupation code | New entrant 70% of going rate | STEM PhD 80% of going rate | Relevant PhD 90% of going rate | Standard rate 100% of going rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2131 IT project managers Most likely code | £40,700 | £46,600 | £52,400 | £58,200 |
2132 IT managers Also possible | £38,500 | £44,000 | £49,500 | £55,000 |
We use the lowest threshold across the plausible codes. Likelihood is Possible at most when the pay clears only a lower rate, or only under a less likely code. How the Home Office picks the code
About the role
We’re looking for an experienced Release Manager to coordinate the controlled delivery of vendor-led product releases, patches and technology changes across Dayforce and other supported services.
Working across Technology, People teams, suppliers and operational stakeholders, you’ll provide end-to-end coordination of the release lifecycle. You’ll ensure impacts, dependencies, testing, assurance, approvals, communications, deployment readiness and post-release activities are effectively planned, evidenced and governed.
This is an opportunity to play a central role in delivering stable, reliable releases that support evolving business needs, minimise disruption and continuously improve how technology change is delivered.
Role: Release Manager
Contract Type: Full time, Permanent
Location: Whitbread Court, Dunstable (Hybrid, 3 days per week)
Why You’ll Love It Here
- Healthcare: Family BUPA healthcare
- 10% matched pension
- Discounts: Up to 60% discount on Premier Inn stays and 25% discount on our Restaurant brand
- Annual Incentive of up to 20% Bonus
What You’ll Be Doing
You’ll own and maintain integrated release schedules covering vendor releases, patches and internally initiated changes, identifying key milestones, dependencies, deployment windows, testing periods and stakeholder decision points. You’ll coordinate releases across vendors, operational teams and the wider business, ensuring they are delivered in a timely, controlled and high-quality way.
You’ll establish and maintain effective release policies, standards and governance, while overseeing deployment and rollback strategies designed to minimise service disruption. You’ll manage defects identified during release testing through to resolution and work closely with QA, development, security, infrastructure, support and operations teams to maintain high software-quality standards.
You’ll also manage change-control processes, ensuring appropriate risk assessments, approvals and stakeholder communications are in place. Following each release, you’ll analyse issues, track root causes and use the findings to strengthen future delivery. You’ll translate complex vendor-release information into clear updates for senior stakeholders and business teams, while maintaining release documentation, deployment guides and rollback plans.
What You’ll Need
- Experience planning, coordinating and executing technology releases with minimal downtime and service disruption.
- Experience managing releases across development, test, staging and production environments.
- Must have experience working with multi-regional HR and payroll solutions.
- Hands-on knowledge of ITIL-based change management, including Change Advisory Board processes.
- Experience owning and managing major incidents, including stakeholder communications and the restoration of critical services.
Through collaboration, passion and hiring the smartest minds, our Technology team builds products and services that are used by 38,000 of us at Whitbread and millions of guests. Everything from an eCommerce website that handles £2 billion in transactions per year, applications that are scalable across our 1,200 hotel and restaurants, devices that enable our teams and guests to have a seamless experience, all whilst keeping data secure. Together we’re building the hotel of the future.
We believe that everyone is unique and there should be no barriers to entry and no limits to ambition. We are committed to being an inclusive organisation that values diversity and welcomes your application whatever your background or situation.
Under-represented groups such as women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities & members of the LGBTQIA+ community (those who identify as lesbian, gay, bi, trans and non-binary or those who use a different LGBTQIA+ term), are strongly encouraged to build a career with us. Speak to us about workplace adjustments, part-time and flexible working. Where possible we will support this.
Job ref: 211278-4492
Advertised: 14 Sep 2026
This description is the source posting as it read when we added it. We are not affiliated with Whitbread, so check their own site for the current details.
Where this offer sits in the market
IT project managers (SOC 2131) · UK · ONS ASHE 2025 · basic pay · ~34k in sample- Middle half £42,744–73,268
- Median £57,824
- Going rate £58,200
- Threshold £41,700
- New entrant £40,700–52,400
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Browse more sponsored jobs at WhitbreadAbout sponsorship for this role
Does this job guarantee visa sponsorship?
Not necessarily. Whitbread holds a sponsor licence, but sponsorship for a specific hire is always the employer's decision. Be upfront in your application that you'll require it.
What salary is needed for this role to be eligible?
The offer must clear both the general threshold and the SOC 2131 going rate of £58,200. New-entrant and shortage discounts can lower it.