SAP Release Manager

About the role & responsibilities:

The SAP Release Manager is responsible for planning, managing, coordinating, and continuously optimizing all SAP-related release activities within a group-wide digitalization and transformation program and productive solutions. The focus is on a heterogeneous SAP landscape comprising more than 10 SAP and SAP S/4HANA systems.

This role ensures that changes, transports, releases, hotfixes, and milestone rollouts are implemented in the production environments in a controlled,transparent, auditable, and low-risk manner. To this end, the position holder works closely with SAP Basis, SAP Solution Manager/ChaRM experts, ChangeManagement, Release Management, Test Management, Program Management, and the respective system and product owners.

Planning, execution, and monitoring of release cycles across multiple SAP and S/4HANA systems (including end-to-end management of releases, rollouts,and hotfixes)

Responsibilities:

• Regular coordination, creation, and maintenance of an integrated release roadmap (including transport planning)
• Collaboration in cutover-, test-, deployment- and go-live phases
• Monitoring release readiness based on defined quality and approval criteria
• Technical management and responsibility for compliance with SAP change and release processes
• Management and monitoring of transport landscapes (sequences, dependencies, resolution of transport conflicts)
• Preparing SAP topics and providing technical support to the Change Advisory Board (CAB)
• Supporting program and management committees in release decisions
• Escalation management for risks, schedule deviations, or quality issues
• Transparent communication with various program and service roles (including management communication, status reports, and decision-makingdocumentation)
• Optimizing existing SAP change and release processes (including the relevant toolchains, such as Jira and Solman)
• Supporting the further development of the future ALM strategy

Expertise:

• Several years of experience in SAP Release Management or SAP Change Management
• Good knowledge of SAP Solution Manager "ChaRM"
• Good knowledge of SAP S/4HANA landscapes
• Basic knowledge of SAP Transport Management (CTS/STMS)
• Experience operating complex multi-system landscapes
• Experience with CAB, approval, and governance processes
• Good knowledge of ITIL Change and Release Management

Soft skills:

• Strong communication skills, as well as the ability to assert oneself and facilitate discussions
• Conflict and escalation management
• A structured and analytical approach to work
• Ability to handle pressure during critical go-live and cutover phases
• Confident demeanor at the management level
• Experience working with internationally distributed teams

Nice to have:

• Experience working on large-scale transformation or implementation programs
• Knowledge of SAP Cloud ALM
• Knowledge of Jira and Confluence
• Experience in manufacturing companies
• Knowledge of SAP Basis processes

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