STEP Release Management Lead

IN04 (FCRS = IN004) Sandoz Private Limited; Turakapally; On-site; INR 4,500,000 - 7,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Sandoz Private Limited seeks a STEP Release Management Lead to govern and improve release management across the Enterprise Transformation Program, focusing on SAP S/4HANA and SAP Cloud ALM. The role ensures changes are planned, tested, and released in a controlled, auditable manner with end-to-end visibility of scope, dependencies, risks, and go-live decisions.

You will drive effective use of SAP Cloud ALM for deployment planning, traceability, and reporting, coordinating across SAP

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; Master’s preferred.
• 10+ years in project delivery and/or application management or IT services.
• Experience with SAP S/4HANA release management and SAP Cloud ALM.

Responsibilities

• Define and operate the end-to-end release management framework across the Enterprise Transformation Program.
• Own and maintain the integrated SAP S/4HANA release plan across increments, waves, testing, and go-live windows.
• Drive SAP Cloud ALM usage for traceability, reporting, and compliance-ready documentation.
• Coordinate cross-functional release readiness across business process, SAP teams, data migration, and external partners.
• Govern change and deployment execution, including transport coordination and controlled production movement.
• Establish release quality criteria and go/no-go checkpoints with complete testing evidence and sign-offs.

Skills

Strategic planning

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Communication

Problem solving

Change management

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/IT/Business

Master's degree preferred

Tools

SAP S/4HANA

SAP Cloud ALM

SAP Activate

ITIL

Prince2

PMI

Job description

Job Description Summary The STEP Release Management Lead is responsible for establishing, governing, and continuously improving release management across the Enterprise Transformation Program, with a primary focus on SAP S/4HANA and SAP Cloud ALM. The incumbent ensures that business, technical, integration, data, and deployment changes are planned, sequenced, approved, tested, and released into production in a controlled, auditable, and business-aligned manner. Working closely with program leadership, process teams, solution architects, SAP functional and technical teams, test management, cutover, operations, quality, and external implementation partners, the role provides end-to-end visibility of release scope, dependencies, risks, readiness, and go-live decisions. The role also drives the effective use of SAP Cloud ALM for deployment planning, feature and requirement traceability, release governance, progress transparency, and compliance-ready reporting.

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, elevate, 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)

Skills Desired

• Budget Management
• Business Acumen
• Performance Management
• Risk Management
• Service Delivery Management
• Stakeholder Management
• Strategic Planning
• Talent Development
• Waterfall Project Management

Our Purpose here at Sandoz is pioneering access for patients. As the global leader in 'off-patent' high quality medicines, we are able to make medicine more affordable and accessible. Our broad global portfolio comprises of approximately 1,300 quality biosimilar and generic medicines, enabling us to provide more than 900 million patient treatments across 100+ countries per year, and while we are proud of this achievement, we have an ambition to do more! Powered by our talented and ambitious colleagues, who, in return for dedication and skills, experience a flexible, collaborative & inclusive culture where diversity of thought is welcomed and where personal growth is nurtured!