Change and Release Manager

by | Mar 21, 2022 | |

People Change & Release Manager – Outside IR35

Purpose of Role
Reporting to the People Platform Manager, the role is accountable for delivering world class IT Service Management for all the Global HR solutions implemented throughout the organisation, specifically by ensuring that ALL changes are delivered according to the organisations Change and Release standards.
Ensures that all participants in the change and release processes across HR platforms understand the importance of following processes and deliver high quality changes into production systems ensuring the stability and functionality that the business needs to deliver results.

The role will be Accountable for: 

  • Delivering of all changes in compliance with the Change and Release standards.
  • Minimising the risk of change to the HR applications
  • Manage the CAB for the HR applications in line with the standard change process and schedules
  • Manage and control emergency changes as required
  • Delivering the release calendar for all applications under their control
  • Resolve scheduling conflicts at all levels ensuring the best outcome by working with stakeholders representing the business, projects and IT
  • Plan ALL releases including the technical releases from the SAAS providers
  • Driving continuous improvements to the change and release processes working in conjunction with the global process owner.
  • Build good working relationships with the Design CoE and be seen to apply standards with a degree of rigour
  • Build good working relationships with the SI teams delivering Changes and be seen to apply standards with a degree of rigour
  • Manage senior governance forums to approve release schedules and major releases prior to production delivery
  • Ensure that all changes are compliant with documentation and other requirements in order to pass quality checks and audits prior to release

Responsibilities

  • Applying all agreed standards and policies related to the delivery of changes to HR production systems
  • Ensure that all changes are subjected to the appropriate Change Management treatment depending on complexity, risk and cost
  • Facilitate and Manage CAB’s related to supply HR applications, utilising Service desk tools to deliver agendas and details of all changes prior to meetings
  • Facilitate and Manage Release Management meetings for HR applications, utilising Service desk tools to deliver agendas and details of release content prior to meetings
  • Facilitate PIR meetings where required and support any MICAR investigations if a change causes a significant issue in a production system
  • Deliver and manage release calendar for all HR  applications ensuring that it is utilised and followed
  • Ensure that all changes are compliant with process definitions and will pass audit and compliance assessments, this includes managing the evidence repository for all change and release activities
  • Act as a subject matter expert working with the global Change and Release process owner to improve processes and policies
  • To manage the budget for change where built into support contracts
  • To work with the service desk team to effectively publish change information including scheduled downtimes

Experience

  • Experience: 5 Years+ IT Service / Application Change/Delivery experience with recent experience in a large international organisation dealing with Global scale suppliers
  • Strong understanding of Change and Release management disciplines
  • Some experience of corporate IT Application systems including cloud and SaaS services
  • Some experience with managing multiple major service providers across an integrated environment
  • Ability to engage, build relationships with and influence business stakeholders.
  • Possesses good communication skills, with the ability to engage audiences at all levels..
  • An understanding of IT General Controls and how these apply across the IT landscape and the processes in use to support the backoffice applications

 Expert

  • Change Management
  • Release Management
  • IT Risks and Compliance
  • CAB structures and IT Governance
  • Communication skills – both written and verbal covering a wide range of stakeholder groups from management level to operational level
  • Highly Resilient
  • Strong self motivation, ability to work independently when required
  • Attention to detail and capable of documenting decisions
  • Bias for action

Advanced

  • Facilitation skills
  • Networking (across multiple functions, business units, external stakeholders)
  • Ability to positively resolve conflicts
  • Experience in development or change of applications
  • Relevant industry understanding / experience in Supply Chain management
  • Understanding of IT methodologies
  • Ideally experience with Workday and Integration to Payroll Applications

Potential travel to the US