STEP Release Management Lead

Sandoz India; Telangana; On-site; INR 3,000,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Sandoz India is seeking a senior Release Management Lead to define and operate the end-to-end release management for the Enterprise Transformation Program, including SAP S/4HANA and Cloud ALM, across multiple increments, testing cycles, and go-live windows.

You will coordinate cross-functional teams, manage dependencies and risks, and ensure compliance with GxP and company SOPs while driving continuous improvement in release processes within a global, multinational environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in project delivery and/or application management in a multinational organization.

Responsibilities

• Define and operate end-to-end release management framework for Enterprise Transformation.
• Own and maintain SAP S/4HANA release plan across increments, waves, and go-live windows.
• Drive use of SAP Cloud ALM for traceability across requirements, tests, deployments, and releases.
• Coordinate cross-functional release readiness with business processes, SAP teams, integration and data migration.
• Govern change and deployment execution including transport coordination and SDLC controls.
• Establish release quality criteria and go/no-go checkpoints with sign-offs and compliance docs.
• Identify and manage release risks, cross-dependencies, testing bottlenecks, and readiness gaps.
• Champion continuous improvement of release processes, automation, metrics, and reporting.
• Ensure activities comply with GxP regulations, SOPs, and data integrity requirements.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Strategic planning

Communication

Data analysis

Problem solving

ITIL experience

SAP S/4HANA release management

SAP Cloud ALM

Agile/DevOps

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/IT/Business Administration

Master's degree preferred

Tools

SAP S/4HANA

SAP Cloud ALM

SAP Activate

ITIL

Project management tools

Job description

Major Accountabilities

• Define and operate the end-to-end release management framework for the Enterprise Transformation Program, covering release strategy, release calendar, governance model, release gates, roles and responsibilities, and decision forums.


• Own and maintain the integrated SAP S/4HANA release plan, ensuring alignment across program increments, deployment waves, testing cycles, cutover activities, business readiness, and production go-live windows.


• Drive effective use of SAP Cloud ALM for requirement, feature, test, defect, deployment, and release traceability, ensuring transparent reporting of release scope, status, dependencies, risks, and decisions.


• Coordinate cross-functional release readiness across business process teams, SAP functional and technical teams, integration, data migration, security, testing, change management, cutover, operations, and external delivery partners.


• Govern change and deployment execution, including transport coordination, release bundling, dependency management, impact assessment, approvals, segregation of duties, and controlled movement of changes through non-production and production environments.


• Establish release quality criteria and go/no-go checkpoints, ensuring that testing evidence, defect status, business sign-offs, technical readiness, operational readiness, and compliance documentation are complete before production deployment.


• Identify, escape, and actively manage release risks, conflicts, environment constraints, transport dependencies, testing bottlenecks, and readiness gaps that could impact deployment timelines or business continuity.


• Champion continuous improvement of release processes, automation, metrics, and reporting to increase delivery predictability, reduce deployment risk, and support a scalable SAP S/4HANA operating model.


• Responsible for performing all assigned activities in compliance with GxP regulations, company SOPs, and data integrity requirements.

Minimum Requirements

Experience and Skills

• 10+ years of experience in project delivery and/or application management or IT services within a multinational organization. Key skills include strategic planning, financial acumen, and team leadership.


• Excellent leadership, communication, and collaboration skills.


• Effective communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences.


• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate business needs into data and system requirements.


• Strong leadership and team-building skills, with a focus on developing talent and fostering a collaborative team culture.


• Proven ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and drive change and innovation.


• Experience in managing global projects and working in diverse cultural environments.


• Proficiency in using advanced software tools and platforms relevant to the job.


• Experience with ITIL frameworks and other service management methodologies.


• Expert knowledge and practical experience in SAP S/4HANA release management, SAP Cloud ALM, SAP Activate delivery methods, and large-scale ERP transformation programs.


• Certification in project management methods (Agile, ITIL, Prince 2, PMI) is a plus.


• Certification or formal training in SAP S/4HANA, SAP Cloud ALM, SAP Activate, project management, Agile, ITIL, Prince2, or PMI is a plus.


• Experience with Agile/DevOps methodologies; Certification is a plus

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology Business Administration, or related field; (Master’s degree is preferred)

Languages

• Fluent English required (oral and written)