Release Manager

Description

The role will act as a senior member of the team reporting to the Director of the Operate & Optimise team within IT Enterprise Services. The role is accountable and responsible for defining, implementing and managing a release management and governance process for Core Applications in IT Enterprise, which work in harmony with the existing Salesforce and Mulesoft applications and processes.

Overview:

You will be responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing the release of software applications across different environments and platforms. You will work closely with the development, testing, and BAU support teams to ensure that the release process is smooth, efficient, and compliant with the quality standards and best practices. You will also monitor and report on the release performance and outcomes and provide feedback and recommendations for improvement.

• Develop a schedule of releases for Core applications that include vendor managed automatic patches and upgrades as well as Finastra scheduled sprint updates. These need to be inline with connected applications such as Salesforce and Mulesoft.
• Manage the releases using appropriate tooling such as release planning software like AHA! or Jira or Kanban Boards.
• Define and implement a cadence of review with all impacted teams who schedule and produce releases. The purpose of which is to review content, dates of release, alignment of release content and release dates. Audit trails of review and sign off should be kept. Post release reviews should be conducted to work to a continuous cycle of lessons learned and improvements.
• Define and implement a roadmap of releases/features that is externally publishable in advance to stakeholders via the team intranet page(s) and communicate via Insights when achieved denoting benefits and savings, or the “so what”.
• Define and implement the playbook for release management and governance ensuring quality/fiscal compliance standards are adhered to

Release Management Responsibilities

• Define and maintain the release strategy, roadmap, and schedule for the software applications in scope.
• Collaborate with the stakeholders and project managers to align the release deliverables and dependencies with the business objectives and priorities.
• Manage the release lifecycle, from planning and preparation to deployment and validation, across different environments and platforms.
• Coordinate the release activities and resources, such as code merges, builds, tests, deployments, configurations, and approvals, using appropriate tools and methodologies.
• Ensure that the release quality and compliance requirements are met, such as code reviews, testing coverage, security checks, documentation, and audits.
• Communicate the release status, progress, issues, and risks to the relevant parties, and escalate any problems or conflicts that may affect the release scope, schedule, or quality.
• Analyze the release metrics and feedback and identify and implement the lessons learned and best practices for continuous improvement.
• Provide support and guidance to the release team and other stakeholders and foster a culture of collaboration and excellence.

Experience Required

• People/Team management across local and global geographies/timezones
• Basic project / program management skills
• Business or functional knowledge from stakeholder communities
• Service Desk, Ticket management applications
• Software release management and governance methodologies
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.
• Experience working with clients in a consulting or professional services environment is a plus.

Behavior Characteristics

• Strong attention to detail for data hygiene and analysis purposes. Reviews & interprets data to inform
• Strong interpersonal skills to support effective team-work and drive results.
• Self-starter capable of working on their own initiative or as part of a larger team with minimal line management
• Plays a central and influential role in the overall team and represents a trusted advisor to Director Operate & Enhance
• Excellent people management skills to manage direct reports but also to coach and influence external stakeholders

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