Change / Release Manager

Job Description Must Have Technical/Functional Skills The L3 Change Manager is a senior Change Management professional responsible for governing the end-to-end change lifecycle across complex, large-scale, Applications, IT infrastructure environments (Data Center, Cloud, Network, Server, Storage, and Application layers). Acting as the escalation point and process owner for high-risk and critical changes, the L3 Change Manager drives Agile/ITIL-aligned change governance, chairs CAB/eCAB sessions, and partners with L2/L3 technical squads, service towers, and client stakeholders to ensure changes are planned, risk-assessed, approved, implemented, and reviewed with minima l business disruption. This role is central to maintaining service stability while enabling faster, automation-driven change velocity across the account. Roles & Responsibilities Own and govern the end-to-end Change Management process (RFC intake, categorization, risk/impact assessment, approval, scheduling, implementation, and closure) across infrastructure and application changes. Chair and facilitate CAB / eCAB / Agile CAB meetings for Critical and High-risk RFCs; ensure only rule-escalated changes consume CAB time while standard/low-risk changes move through automated, pre-approved pathways. Act as the primary escalation point for L2/L3 technical squads and Service Towers (DC, Cloud, Network, Server, Storage) on change conflicts, scheduling clashes, and implementation risks. Review change requests for completeness – description, documentation, risk/impact analysis, rollback plan, and post-implementation review (PIR) requirements – prior to CAB submission. Perform and validate risk scoring using automated risk calculators (CI/Business Service based impact values) and challenge/override assessments where technical judgment warrants. Maintain and continuously refine the change and release calendar; proactively identify and resolve scheduling conflicts, blackout window violations, and resource contention across parallel workstreams. Coordinate Emergency Change (eCAB) approvals outside of standard cycles, ensuring appropriate senior sign-off and compensating controls are documented. Drive automated PIR creation and completion for Change Owners/Coordinators post go-live; analyze failed/backed-out changes and feed findings back into risk rules, standard change templates, and test automation. Ensure the CMDB / Federated CMDB remains accurate through CI mapping and correlation, supporting reliable risk scoring and impact analysis. Partner with Incident and Problem Management teams to assess the change-related consequences of incidents and drive root-cause and corrective actions back into the change process. Track and report Change Management KPIs – change success rate, emergency change ratio, standard change adoption, CAB cycle time – and present governanc e dashboards to service towers and client leadership. Maintain 100% compliance with client and TCS firm-wide Change Management policies, audit requirements, and ITIL-aligned controls (pre-, during, and post-change). Support the transition from traditional ITIL Change Management to Agile Change Management – promoting standard, pre-approved changes, aligning daily sprints to Business Unit release cycles, and applying “just enough” governance for low/moderate-risk changes. Mentor and provide functional guidance to L1/L2 Change Coordinators; act as backup/delegate approver during CAB absences. Collaborate with Release, Problem, and Configuration Management process owners to ensure integrated ITSM governance (e.g., ServiceNow) across the change lifecycle. Generic Managerial Skills, – Strong stakeholder management and ability to communicate confidently with senior client and TCS leadership. – Sound decision-making and risk-management judgment under time pressure, particularly during CAB and emergency change scenarios. – Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple concurrent change pipelines across towers and geographies. – Demonstrated ownership and accountability; comfortable holding technical teams accountable to process and documentation standards. – Ability to work flexible hours to support 24x7 global delivery and follow-the-sun CAB coverage. Technical Exposure – Working knowledge of ITSM platforms such as ServiceNow for RFC lifecycle, CMDB, and reporting. – Familiarity with monitoring/observability and AIOps toolsets (e.g., Datadog, SolarWinds, Moogsoft, Ignio) as they relate to change risk and post-change validation. – Exposure to DevOps/Agile ceremonies (sprint planning, release reviews) and their mapping to traditional Change Management roles. Requirements 8–12 years of overall IT infrastructure/service delivery experience, including a minimum of 4 years in a dedicated Change Manager / CAB Lead role at L3 level. ITIL v3/v4 Foundation certification required; ITIL Intermediate (Release, Control & Validation) preferred. PMP or Agile/Scrum certification is a plus. Proven experience running CAB/eCAB processes for large, multi-tower infrastructure environments (Data Center, Network, Cloud, Server/Storage). Strong understanding of risk assessment models, CMDB/CI relationships, and standard change templates. Prior experience supporting large managed-services or transformation engagements is preferred; financial services, telecom, or media/publishing account experience is a plus. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to prepare and present governance dashboards to executive stakeholders. Ability to be nimble and flexible – prioritizing workload and reacting proactively to shifting deadlines and change conflicts. Salary Range: $120000 - $140000 a year