Change and Release Practice Manager

Job Overview

This position supports the efficient operation, coordination, oversight, and ongoing enhancement of Change Enablement and Release Management functions across designated services. The role ensures that changes and software releases are properly documented, assessed, authorized, scheduled, communicated, implemented, validated, supported, and formally closed following prescribed procedures. Working under supervision, the incumbent contributes to maintaining service stability, business continuity, quality of releases, audit readiness, and timely delivery within various delivery models including traditional, cloud, Agile, DevOps, and CI/CD environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the daily execution and administration of Change Enablement, Release Management, and associated Deployment Management protocols, templates, workflows, and governance activities.
• Examine Requests for Change (RFCs) and release documentation to confirm completeness, accurate categorization and priority, clear business and technical justification, risk and impact assessment, affected assets, dependencies, test evidence, rollback plans, and approvals.
• Coordinate change processes including standard, normal, emergency, and major changes per approved change frameworks and escalation procedures, raising alerts on incomplete or risky requests.
• Organize Change Advisory Board (CAB), Emergency CAB, release readiness, and go/no-go meetings, including preparing meeting materials, recording decisions, issuing minutes, and tracking actions to completion.
• Maintain and oversee the forward schedule of changes and integrated release calendar considering deployment windows, maintenance times, blackout dates, business events, resource constraints, and dependencies.
• Facilitate release planning and coordination across build, test, deployment, validation, early support, handover, and closure phases.
• Gather and verify readiness evidence such as scope approval, testing results, defect status, security clearances, operational acceptance, and communications.
• Ensure all implementation and contingency plans are documented, approved, and disseminated prior to deployment.
• Track and monitor ongoing changes/releases during implementation, updating statuses, coordinating teams, and escalating issues as necessary.
• Communicate timely and clear status updates to stakeholders regarding the impact and progress of changes and releases.
• Ensure accuracy, traceability, and retention of all change and release artifacts including logs, configuration updates, knowledge base articles, and closure records.
• Support post-implementation reviews and lessons-learned sessions, documenting insights and driving corrective/preventive measures.
• Produce operational reports and dashboards highlighting change success rates, emergencies, adherence to schedules, rollout frequency, rollbacks, and quality exceptions.
• Manage supplier and third-party changes ensuring contractual alignment and compliance with maintenance windows and service levels.
• Support modern delivery practices such as Agile, DevOps, CI/CD, cloud, and automated deployments while enforcing governance controls.
• Maintain and update practice documentation including procedures, checklists, calendars, and templates under control standards.
• Assist with audits, record quality reviews, and compliance verifications, addressing gaps and improvement opportunities.
• Identify recurring process inefficiencies and propose automation or continual improvement actions.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in IT, Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related fields.
• ITIL 4 Foundation certification mandatory; advanced ITIL qualifications preferred.
• Additional certifications/training in DevOps, Agile, cloud platforms, project management, or related disciplines are advantageous.
• Comprehensive understanding of IT service management principles, service delivery lifecycles, operational readiness, risk management, and governance.
• Familiarity with modern delivery mechanisms including cloud, containers, microservices, automated testing, and deployment orchestration.

Skills and Competencies

• Hands-on knowledge of Change Enablement, Release and Deployment Management methodologies and tools.
• Proficiency in reviewing and validating RFCs and release documentation including risk and impact evaluation.
• Experience in CAB facilitation, change scheduling, meeting coordination and action tracking.
• Ability to coordinate release readiness activities such as testing validation, operational acceptance, communication, and rollback planning.
• Knowledge of ITSM platforms such as ServiceNow, BMC, Jira, Azure DevOps, Git, Jenkins, and related systems.
• Basic technical familiarity with software and infrastructure delivery environments including cloud and microservices.
• Understanding of configuration management databases (CMDB) and release traceability concepts.
• Competency in generating operational metrics, reports, and maintaining thorough documentation.

Behavioral Attributes

• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills across diverse teams.
• Effective planning, prioritization, and organizational capabilities in fast-paced settings.
• Analytical mindset with attention to detail for risk identification and evidence assessment.
• Reliability, accountability, calmness under pressure, and commitment to adhering to procedures.
• Proactive learner with openness to coaching and drive for continuous improvement and automation.
• Promotes teamwork, transparency, evidence-based decision-making, and a no-blame culture focused on learning.

Experience Requirements

• A minimum of 4-6 years in IT service management roles involving Change and Release Management or related domains.
• At least 2 years hands-on experience coordinating changes, releases, and deployment activities including CAB administration.
• Experience with enterprise ITSM and delivery tools for managing records, approvals, and schedules.
• Familiarity working with cross-functional technical and business teams in Agile and DevOps environments.
• Exposure to audit processes, compliance activities, and continual improvement initiatives preferred.