Job Purpose
The position owner will lead the Releases & Changes Management lifecycle which includes scheduling, coordinating and the management of releases across the enterprise for multiple applications across various portfolios.
The releases & changes can be inclusive of application updates, operating system patches, security improvements, employee devices, hardware upgrades, Projects and Programs.
Where necessary you’ll provide tools and services to help Management and Project teams manage and deploy releases into production.
The Release Manager Job function works collaboratively with all participants in projects and operations and is supportive of developers and testers as they set up their build dev/test environments.
The Release Manager will assist in managing projects and inter-dependencies to ensure milestone adherence to ensure the integrity of the release can be measured.
Job Duties and Responsibilities
General duties
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Ensure service quality and security, while respecting operating methods defined within the ITD quality standards.
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Manage operational tools (monitoring and management) to ensure sustainability of release & change management services for the various IFRC business units and at end user level.
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Plan and communicate the release & change windows and cycles across a portfolio. Manage risks and resolves issues that affect release scope, schedule and quality.
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Coordinate and deliver high quality releases of new front end and back end IT systems within IFRC IT environments.
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Develop, maintain, improve, and enforce release & change management standards within ITIL framework across all solutions.
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Measure and monitor progress to ensure releases & changes are delivered on time and within budget, and that they meet or exceed expectations.
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Coordinate release & change content and effort based on the service request backlog, pending service requests, third party applications, or operating system updates.
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Communicate all key project plans, commitments, and changes including requirements, QA plans, schedule, and scope changes.
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Maintain a release & change repository in the service management tool and manages key information such as build and release procedures, dependencies, and notification lists.
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Manage relationships and coordinate work between different teams at different locations. Work with involved team in releases & changes to understand impacts and code branches and code merges.
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Continually work towards making improvements in the release & change management processes.
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Contribute actively to the overall satisfaction level of IFRC en users while develop and promote effective working relationship within the ITD, the wider IFRC and the RCRC movements including ICRC.
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Manage personal knowledge and continuously update your skillset on various systems and applications used at IFRC.
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Adhere to staff regulation of the IFRC Budapest Global Service Center regulations and to the IT security rules at all the times.
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Communicate effectively with the various IFRC stakeholders within the IT sector, share knowledge and be subject matter expert.
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Participate in all activites related to providing adequate and efficient release and change management services to all IFRC stakeholders distributed accross 5 regions.
Specific duties
Operations support
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Facilitate communications, coordination, and correspondence between several staff and executive stakeholders across several department and region.
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Conduct release & change readiness reviews, milestone reviews, and business Go/NoGo reviews. Lead and coordinate the GoLive activities including the execution of the deployment plans and checklists.
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Coordinate production releases and send release status to relevant distribution list. Negotiate, plan and manage all release activities
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Produce deployment timelines, implementation plans and acceptance testing documents.
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Maintain the release schedule for all core services and ensure alignment across key partners and vendors.
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Maintain a master schedule of all front end and back end software releases, including key post-development milestones.
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Participate in CAB meetings to discuss release & change scope and/or roadblocks.
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Communicate release & change details and schedules to the Business as required and produce weekly release & change reporting.
Job Duties & Responsibilities 2
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Develop scripts and automation tools used to build, integrate, and deploy software releases to platforms.
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Leverage expertise in technology testing and quality assurance disciplines as well as integration and release management functions to successfully deliver high quality integrated software applications.
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Communicate during application releases and change implementation and escalate issues to appropriate team(s) for resolution.
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Work closely with development teams to guide front end and back end releases through the Release Management process and map out their overall post-development release schedule.
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Participate in development meetings to understand scope of upcoming releases, identifying timelines for post-development release and tracking risks.
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Create release strategies for each software release, seeking input from cross-functional teams
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Update the overall Release & Change Management process and practices and ensuring all team members are familiar with the process.
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Monitor external system/application updates that could have an impact on IT Services, identifies risk, and coordinates testing or mitigation.
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Accountable for the execution of established delivery processes and methodologies to ensure delivery while meeting or exceeding quality standards and customer expectations.
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Define and educate on Release Management categories and criteria for assignment to each upcoming release
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Warranty established operational level agreements for all Web based application systems, components and running services in alignement with established operational procedures for IFRC worldwide.
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Report on changes and events within the scope of support activities which could have and operational impact on the service availability.
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Provide valuable recommendations to the business application support unit supervisor to enable fast and effective diagnostic, allowing resolution activities prioritization.
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Make proposal for new tools or methods to improve solutions, applications and tasks undertaken by the business application support unit.
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Manage technologies to support information privacy, confidentiality, security, integrity and availability requirements.
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Be proactive in identifiying and implementing opportunities to improve operation outcomes.
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Act as knowledge backup to other areas of expertise within the business applications support unit.
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Ensure a good collaboration with all the IT support team involved in operational support activities and more generally within the ITD.
Reporting and Documentation
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Identify documentation requirements to maintain efficient operational level, anticipate documents needs and regularly update operational documentation.
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Create, maintain and improve the knowledge base and knowledge documentation managed through the Service Management Tool.
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Document releases and changes with relevant information to allow continuous improvement within the support team and the end user satisfaction level.
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Provide periodic reports upon request on Web applications usage, performances, capacity and availability to the direct level of reporting or the IT Service Manager on charge of the support units in Budapest.
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Record and Treat operational information (general and specific) accurately and confidentially.
External Relation
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Maintain regular contact with end users within the Secretariat as required.
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Maintain contacts with other support teams involved during the request resolution process.
Education
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Bachelor’s degree in computer sciences discipline or related filed.
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ITIL certification or equivalent experience and proven track record of ITIL usage in enterprise environment.
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AGILE – SCRUM Software development professional certification (Preferred)
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Project Management professional certification (PMP preferred)
Experience
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Minimum 5 years of previous release&change management or project management experience (Solid understanding of project management principles preferred)
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8 to 10 years of experience in information system operations environment in system analysis or development
Knowledge, Skills and Language
Required
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Strong organizational skills, interpersonal skills and problem solving skills.
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Ability to drive situations when challenged with aggressive timelines.
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Demonstrated ability to coordinate cross-functional teams toward task completion.
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Advanced knowledge of of software devolpment lifecycle.
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Adept at analysis, problem solving, solution and end-user result oriented
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Fluently spoken and written English
Preferred
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Proven interpersonal and able to interfere with and coordinate stakeholders across different teams (internal or external), with or without direct hierarchical relation, for specific maintenance or support activities
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Affinity for team work, collaborative attitude, open-minded and adaptable
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Well organized, able to work under pressure and manage emergencies
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Good analytical skills to interprets problems, identifies solutions and possible side effects.
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Good command of another IFRC official language (French, Spanish or Arabic); Knowledge on Russian and/or Hungarian is an asset.
Competencies and Values
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Accountability
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National Society relations
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Teamwork
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Development
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Integrity
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Strategic Orientation
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Collaborating, influencing
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Managing performance
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Building alliances
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Building trust
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Effective communication
Comments
“This is a national staff position open to Hungarian nationals and others who are legally eligible to work in Hungary. Candidates must be able to provide proof of their eligibility to work in Hungary.”
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