diff --git a/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/JobRegistryBeanPostProcessor.java b/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/JobRegistryBeanPostProcessor.java
index 0670560c94..69ffe907e9 100644
--- a/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/JobRegistryBeanPostProcessor.java
+++ b/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/JobRegistryBeanPostProcessor.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2006-2023 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2006-2024 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -40,6 +40,10 @@
  * {@link JobRegistry}. Include a bean of this type along with your job configuration and
  * use the same {@link JobRegistry} as a {@link JobLocator} when you need to locate a
  * {@link Job} to launch.
+ * <p>
+ * An alternative to this class is {@link JobRegistrySmartInitializingSingleton}, which is
+ * recommended in cases where this class may cause early bean initializations. You must
+ * include at most one of either of them as a bean.
  *
  * @author Dave Syer
  * @author Mahmoud Ben Hassine
diff --git a/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/JobRegistrySmartInitializingSingleton.java b/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/JobRegistrySmartInitializingSingleton.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9e4bbb3a4f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/JobRegistrySmartInitializingSingleton.java
@@ -0,0 +1,174 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2024 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.batch.core.configuration.support;
+
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
+import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
+import org.springframework.batch.core.Job;
+import org.springframework.batch.core.configuration.DuplicateJobException;
+import org.springframework.batch.core.configuration.JobLocator;
+import org.springframework.batch.core.configuration.JobRegistry;
+import org.springframework.beans.BeansException;
+import org.springframework.beans.FatalBeanException;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanFactory;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanFactoryAware;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.DisposableBean;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.InitializingBean;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.ListableBeanFactory;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.SmartInitializingSingleton;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.config.BeanDefinition;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory;
+import org.springframework.util.Assert;
+
+/**
+ * A {@link SmartInitializingSingleton} that registers {@link Job} beans with a
+ * {@link JobRegistry}. Include a bean of this type along with your job configuration and
+ * use the same {@link JobRegistry} as a {@link JobLocator} when you need to locate a
+ * {@link Job} to launch.
+ * <p>
+ * This class is an alternative to {@link JobRegistryBeanPostProcessor} and prevents early
+ * bean initializations. You must include at most one of either of them as a bean.
+ *
+ * @author Henning Pöttker
+ * @since 5.1.1
+ */
+public class JobRegistrySmartInitializingSingleton
+		implements SmartInitializingSingleton, BeanFactoryAware, InitializingBean, DisposableBean {
+
+	private static final Log logger = LogFactory.getLog(JobRegistrySmartInitializingSingleton.class);
+
+	// It doesn't make sense for this to have a default value...
+	private JobRegistry jobRegistry = null;
+
+	private final Collection<String> jobNames = new HashSet<>();
+
+	private String groupName = null;
+
+	private ListableBeanFactory beanFactory;
+
+	/**
+	 * Default constructor.
+	 */
+	public JobRegistrySmartInitializingSingleton() {
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Convenience constructor for setting the {@link JobRegistry}.
+	 * @param jobRegistry the {@link JobRegistry} to register the {@link Job}s with
+	 */
+	public JobRegistrySmartInitializingSingleton(JobRegistry jobRegistry) {
+		this.jobRegistry = jobRegistry;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * The group name for jobs registered by this component. Optional (defaults to null,
+	 * which means that jobs are registered with their bean names). Useful where there is
+	 * a hierarchy of application contexts all contributing to the same
+	 * {@link JobRegistry}: child contexts can then define an instance with a unique group
+	 * name to avoid clashes between job names.
+	 * @param groupName the groupName to set
+	 */
+	public void setGroupName(String groupName) {
+		this.groupName = groupName;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Injection setter for {@link JobRegistry}.
+	 * @param jobRegistry the {@link JobRegistry} to register the {@link Job}s with
+	 */
+	public void setJobRegistry(JobRegistry jobRegistry) {
+		this.jobRegistry = jobRegistry;
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public void setBeanFactory(BeanFactory beanFactory) throws BeansException {
+		if (beanFactory instanceof ListableBeanFactory listableBeanFactory) {
+			this.beanFactory = listableBeanFactory;
+		}
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Make sure the registry is set before use.
+	 */
+	@Override
+	public void afterPropertiesSet() throws Exception {
+		Assert.state(jobRegistry != null, "JobRegistry must not be null");
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Unregister all the {@link Job} instances that were registered by this post
+	 * processor.
+	 */
+	@Override
+	public void destroy() throws Exception {
+		for (String name : jobNames) {
+			if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) {
+				logger.debug("Unregistering job: " + name);
+			}
+			jobRegistry.unregister(name);
+		}
+		jobNames.clear();
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public void afterSingletonsInstantiated() {
+		if (beanFactory == null) {
+			return;
+		}
+		Map<String, Job> jobs = beanFactory.getBeansOfType(Job.class, false, false);
+		for (var entry : jobs.entrySet()) {
+			postProcessAfterInitialization(entry.getValue(), entry.getKey());
+		}
+	}
+
+	private void postProcessAfterInitialization(Job job, String beanName) {
+		try {
+			String groupName = this.groupName;
+			if (beanFactory instanceof DefaultListableBeanFactory defaultListableBeanFactory
+					&& beanFactory.containsBean(beanName)) {
+				groupName = getGroupName(defaultListableBeanFactory.getBeanDefinition(beanName), job);
+			}
+			job = groupName == null ? job : new GroupAwareJob(groupName, job);
+			ReferenceJobFactory jobFactory = new ReferenceJobFactory(job);
+			String name = jobFactory.getJobName();
+			if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) {
+				logger.debug("Registering job: " + name);
+			}
+			jobRegistry.register(jobFactory);
+			jobNames.add(name);
+		}
+		catch (DuplicateJobException e) {
+			throw new FatalBeanException("Cannot register job configuration", e);
+		}
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Determine a group name for the job to be registered. The default implementation
+	 * returns the {@link #setGroupName(String) groupName} configured. Provides an
+	 * extension point for specialised subclasses.
+	 * @param beanDefinition the bean definition for the job
+	 * @param job the job
+	 * @return a group name for the job (or null if not needed)
+	 */
+	protected String getGroupName(BeanDefinition beanDefinition, Job job) {
+		return groupName;
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/spring-batch-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/JobRegistrySmartInitializingSingletonTests.java b/spring-batch-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/JobRegistrySmartInitializingSingletonTests.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7738ee2d4f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-batch-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/JobRegistrySmartInitializingSingletonTests.java
@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2024 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.batch.core.configuration.support;
+
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.springframework.batch.core.Job;
+import org.springframework.batch.core.configuration.DuplicateJobException;
+import org.springframework.batch.core.configuration.JobRegistry;
+import org.springframework.batch.core.job.JobSupport;
+import org.springframework.beans.FatalBeanException;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.ListableBeanFactory;
+import org.springframework.context.support.ClassPathXmlApplicationContext;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNotNull;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertThrows;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.lenient;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+
+/**
+ * @author Henning Pöttker
+ */
+class JobRegistrySmartInitializingSingletonTests {
+
+	private final JobRegistry jobRegistry = new MapJobRegistry();
+
+	private final JobRegistrySmartInitializingSingleton singleton = new JobRegistrySmartInitializingSingleton(
+			jobRegistry);
+
+	private final ListableBeanFactory beanFactory = mock(ListableBeanFactory.class);
+
+	@BeforeEach
+	void setUp() {
+		var job = new JobSupport();
+		job.setName("foo");
+		lenient().when(beanFactory.getBeansOfType(Job.class, false, false)).thenReturn(Map.of("bar", job));
+		singleton.setBeanFactory(beanFactory);
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void testInitializationFails() {
+		singleton.setJobRegistry(null);
+		var exception = assertThrows(IllegalStateException.class, singleton::afterPropertiesSet);
+		assertTrue(exception.getMessage().contains("JobRegistry"));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void testAfterSingletonsInstantiated() {
+		singleton.afterSingletonsInstantiated();
+		assertEquals("[foo]", jobRegistry.getJobNames().toString());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void testAfterSingletonsInstantiatedWithGroupName() {
+		singleton.setGroupName("jobs");
+		singleton.afterSingletonsInstantiated();
+		assertEquals("[jobs.foo]", jobRegistry.getJobNames().toString());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void testAfterSingletonsInstantiatedWithDuplicate() {
+		singleton.afterSingletonsInstantiated();
+		var exception = assertThrows(FatalBeanException.class, singleton::afterSingletonsInstantiated);
+		assertTrue(exception.getCause() instanceof DuplicateJobException);
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void testUnregisterOnDestroy() throws Exception {
+		singleton.afterSingletonsInstantiated();
+		singleton.destroy();
+		assertEquals("[]", jobRegistry.getJobNames().toString());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void testExecutionWithApplicationContext() throws Exception {
+		var context = new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("test-context-with-smart-initializing-singleton.xml",
+				getClass());
+		var registry = context.getBean("registry", JobRegistry.class);
+		Collection<String> jobNames = registry.getJobNames();
+		String[] names = context.getBeanNamesForType(JobSupport.class);
+		int count = names.length;
+		// Each concrete bean of type JobConfiguration is registered...
+		assertEquals(count, jobNames.size());
+		// N.B. there is a failure / wonky mode where a parent bean is given an
+		// explicit name or beanName (using property setter): in this case then
+		// child beans will have the same name and will be re-registered (and
+		// override, if the registry supports that).
+		assertNotNull(registry.getJob("test-job"));
+		assertEquals(context.getBean("test-job-with-name"), registry.getJob("foo"));
+		assertEquals(context.getBean("test-job-with-bean-name"), registry.getJob("bar"));
+		assertEquals(context.getBean("test-job-with-parent-and-name"), registry.getJob("spam"));
+		assertEquals(context.getBean("test-job-with-parent-and-bean-name"), registry.getJob("bucket"));
+		assertEquals(context.getBean("test-job-with-concrete-parent"), registry.getJob("maps"));
+		assertEquals(context.getBean("test-job-with-concrete-parent-and-name"), registry.getJob("oof"));
+		assertEquals(context.getBean("test-job-with-concrete-parent-and-bean-name"), registry.getJob("rab"));
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/spring-batch-core/src/test/resources/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/test-context-with-smart-initializing-singleton.xml b/spring-batch-core/src/test/resources/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/test-context-with-smart-initializing-singleton.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..64ae6eed68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-batch-core/src/test/resources/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/test-context-with-smart-initializing-singleton.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
+	xmlns:p="http://www.springframework.org/schema/p"
+	xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+	xsi:schemaLocation="
+		http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans https://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans.xsd">
+
+	<bean
+		class="org.springframework.batch.core.configuration.support.JobRegistrySmartInitializingSingleton">
+		<property name="jobRegistry" ref="registry" />
+	</bean>
+
+	<bean id="registry"
+		class="org.springframework.batch.core.configuration.support.MapJobRegistry" />
+
+	<bean id="test-job"
+		class="org.springframework.batch.core.job.JobSupport">
+		<property name="steps">
+			<bean id="step1" class="org.springframework.batch.core.step.factory.SimpleStepFactoryBean">
+				<property name="itemReader" ref="itemReader" />
+				<property name="itemWriter" ref="itemWriter" />
+				<property name="jobRepository" ref="jobRepository" />
+				<property name="transactionManager" ref="transactionManager"/>
+			</bean>
+		</property>
+	</bean>
+
+	<bean id="itemReader"
+		class="org.springframework.batch.item.support.ListItemReader">
+		<constructor-arg value="foo,bar,spam" />
+	</bean>
+
+	<bean id="itemWriter"
+		class="org.springframework.batch.core.launch.EmptyItemWriter" />
+
+	<bean id="jobRepository"
+		class="org.springframework.batch.core.step.JobRepositorySupport" />
+
+	<bean id="transactionManager"
+		class="org.springframework.batch.support.transaction.ResourcelessTransactionManager" />
+
+	<bean id="test-job-with-name"
+		class="org.springframework.batch.core.job.JobSupport">
+		<property name="name" value="foo" />
+	</bean>
+
+	<bean id="test-job-with-bean-name"
+		class="org.springframework.batch.core.job.JobSupport">
+		<property name="beanName" value="bar" />
+	</bean>
+
+	<bean id="abstract-job"
+		class="org.springframework.batch.core.job.JobSupport"
+		abstract="true" />
+
+	<bean id="test-job-with-parent" parent="abstract-job" />
+
+	<bean id="test-job-with-parent-and-name" parent="abstract-job"
+		p:name="spam" />
+
+	<bean id="test-job-with-parent-and-bean-name" parent="abstract-job"
+		p:name="bucket" />
+
+	<bean id="parent-job"
+		class="org.springframework.batch.core.job.JobSupport" />
+
+	<bean id="test-job-with-concrete-parent" parent="parent-job"
+		p:name="maps" />
+
+	<bean id="test-job-with-concrete-parent-and-name"
+		parent="parent-job" p:name="oof" />
+
+	<bean id="test-job-with-concrete-parent-and-bean-name"
+		parent="parent-job" p:beanName="rab" />
+
+</beans>