Release Manager - Citi Resources

Job brief

We are seeking an experienced and highly skilled Release Manager with strong project and program management capabilities to oversee the entire release management lifecycle for multiple applications. The ideal candidate will demonstrate exceptional leadership, communication, and coordination skills, ensuring smooth execution and delivery of software releases on time, within budget, and with high quality. This role requires close collaboration with cross-functional teams including development, product management, operations, and business stakeholders to manage the release processes and ensure best practices are adhered to.

Responsibilities

• Release Planning and Coordination:
• Develop and manage comprehensive release schedules in collaboration with cross-functional teams, considering development milestones, customer needs, and business priorities.
• Facilitate release meetings and ensure all stakeholders are aligned on release goals, scope, and timelines.
• Identify dependencies, manage risks, and resolve issues affecting release scope, schedule, and quality.
• Release Packaging and Deployment:
• Oversee the packaging and deployment of software releases, ensuring adherence to best practices, including documentation and Request for Change (RFC) approvals.
• Act as the primary gatekeeper for code movement to UAT and Production environments, managing CI/CD pipelines and release processes.
• Quality Assurance and Testing:
• Collaborate with testing teams to plan and optimize test pipelines, ensuring all relevant scenarios are covered.
• Ensure testing environments are configured correctly and meet quality standards.
• Change and Risk Management:
• Manage change control processes, ensuring effective communication and collaboration between teams.
• Assess risks associated with each release and develop mitigation strategies to minimize impact.
• Communicate release plans, progress, and risks to stakeholders, including senior management and support teams.
• Post-release Support and Monitoring:
• Monitor software performance in production, ensuring it meets reliability and performance requirements.
• Coordinate with support teams to address and resolve post-release issues in a timely manner.
• Project/Program Management:
• Strong project and program management skills are essential for coordinating release activities across multiple teams and ensuring successful execution of release plans.
• Ability to adapt to shifting priorities and timelines, while maintaining a clear focus on achieving business goals and delivering value.
• Facilitate cross-team collaboration, ensuring alignment between development, operations, and business stakeholders.

Essential Job Functions

• Lead the development and execution of enterprise-wide release schedules, ensuring seamless coordination of deployment plans, validation activities, and production rollouts.
• Manage relationships and coordinate efforts across teams in different locations and time zones, ensuring timely and quality-focused release execution.
• Drive continuous improvement of release management processes, implementing best practices for change control, quality assurance, and communication.

Requirements

• Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in IT project management, with at least 3 to 5 years in release management.
• Proven experience managing large-scale software releases, with a strong understanding of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) and Agile practices.
• Expertise in project management, resource coordination, risk management, and quality assurance.
• Experience with tools such as Jira, Confluence, ServiceNow, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and manage competing priorities.