Release Manager at Discovery Limited

Job Description

Key Purpose of the role

• Policy Development
• Manages master version control
• Release Pipeline Alignment
• Align product roadmap with Development pipeline, release pipeline
• Align market demand with release planning
• Align release planning with Ops readiness.
• Deployment management and delivery
• Owns, maintains and enhances deployment mechanisms (devops pipeline)
• Manages assembly and deployment pipeline for continuous delivery
• Is a Single Point of contact for all releases across Customer and Partners
• Owns and manages the Release Management Function at Vitality Group Systems
• Integrates the Vitality Systems Release process with Customers, Partners and vendor organizations and optimizes the process
• Maintains plans for all releases, and actively manages the relationship with business involved in particular releases
• Reporting on all planned and completed releases, and making wide-ranging recommendations for improvements to the process
• Manages risks of releases

Areas of responsibility may include but not limited to

• Release Function Management Artefacts:
• To establish, manage and improve the Release Process in Discovery Partner Markets Systems, including the management of the governance functions that support the process.
• To define yearly plan and schedules for releases and manage release as per the plan.
• Plan each Go Live. Coordinate, monitor and control Go Lives.
• To review Release Notes.
• Manage relationship with Systems Team and resolve any conflicts arising related to release.
• Be the link between Release Function and other support functions (Configuration Management, Incident Management, Service Desk, and Service Level Management); resolve issues with version controlling.
• Maintain good relationship with Customers and Partners.
• Collect feedback from Customers and Partners and define action plan based on the feedback. Manage the implementation of identified action plan.
• Manage risks for every release. Assess risks of off cycle/Emergency Releases and make recommendations."
• Communication and Reports:
• "Responsible for the consolidated reporting to business on relevant Release metrics and project measures.
• Ensures that business is aware of operational and risk measures relevant to their specific applications releases.
• Review and consolidates Release information gathered by Release Analysts."
• Release Automation
• Code repository management
• Release and Deployment Automation
• Experience in GIT, Maven, Jenkins and associated technologies

People Management Artefacts:

• "Ensures that human capacity exists in the team being managed, create and maintain Work Force Plan for the Release Management Function.
• Delegation of tasks, review of execution, and providing feedback to team members.
• Coaching of team members for performance.
• Recruitment, staff training, conflict management and creating a welcoming working environment.
• Performance management (objective setting, feedback, appraisals, incentives and bonuses, addressing poor performance).
• Managing the skills profile of the Release Management team. Assessing skills requirements, driving the implementation of personal development plans through training needs sent to PSM. "

Discovery Partner Markets Systems Methodology, Templates and standards:

• To own, standardize and optimize all aspects of the Release Management Function, including automation of procedures and reporting To ensure that the Discovery Partner Markets Systems
• Release process is integrated with Customers, Partners and vendor's internal processes
• Ensures that the Release Function processes are aligned to accepted best practice and industry standards
• Owner of all Deployment Standards, ensure its improvement and implementation
• Continuously refines the standards based on feedback from the user community, results of audit, finding and feedback from forums
• Ensures the usability and availability of the templates through automated means if possible
• Participates in the Support Services Working Group

Technical Competencies

• Expertise with build automation tools – Jenkin, CFEngine
• Experience with: Systems level configuration management tools and creating automating infrastructure/ code deployment and management,
• Build-time dependency management ( Maven), Unit testing and code-coverage tools ( JUnit, Sonar,), and Functional test automation techniques and tools
• Knowledge of source code control management systems and configuration management (Git and code branching/merging strategies i.e. Bitbucket)
• Experience with SQL and relational databases administration ( i.e. Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL,EnterpriseDB)
• Experience with Linux
• Good understanding of Quality Control Automated deployment scripting
• Automated build scripting
• Source code management - branching, merging...
• Automated system test harness and script development

Education

• BSc Computer Science / BSc Engineering - Essential

Experience

•  At least 5 years’ experience in a java source code development using maven
•  At least 5 years experience in a continuous delivery environment
•  Experience with multi-instance product releases beneficial.