Change & Release Manager (Software) - MRO AMS

Role Summary : The Change Manager is accountable for the end-to-end change management process across our BSS managed service. You govern the lifecycle of every change introduced into the production estate — from project-driven releases through to routine operational changes — balancing the pace of business demand against the stability, integrity and contractual SLAs of the service. You sit at the intersection of the project delivery organisation, service operations, the client's IT and commercial stakeholders, and third-party suppliers. The role demands strong ITIL discipline, deep telecom BSS context, and the credibility to chair a Change Advisory Board where commercial, technical and operational tensions need to be resolved on the day. Reporting line : Reports to the BSS Managed Operation Director / Service Delivery Manager. No direct reports, but functional leadership of a virtual CAB community spanning project, run, client and supplier teams. Key Responsibilities : 1) Change governance • Own the change management process for the BSS managed service, aligned to ITIL 4 and the contracted service description. • Chair the weekly Change Advisory Board (CAB); convene Emergency CAB (ECAB) for urgent changes. • Maintain the Forward Schedule of Change (FSC) and publish it to all stakeholders. • Define and enforce change freeze periods (bill cycle close, peak commercial campaigns, regulatory windows, year-end). • Govern the standard change catalogue and ensure pre-approved changes are correctly classified. 2) Risk and impact assessment • Assess every Request for Change (RFC) for technical, commercial, operational and customer experience impact across the BSS domains: CRM, order management, product catalog, charging, billing, revenue management, mediation, dunning/collections and customer self-service. • Challenge change requests lacking adequate test evidence, rollback plans, or business sign-off. • Ensure dependencies on adjacent OSS, network, digital channels and partner systems are surfaced and managed. 3) Project-to-run interface • Act as the single point of contact between the project portfolio and the managed service for the orderly introduction of new functionality into production. • Work with release managers to package, schedule and gate releases. • Ensure operational readiness — runbooks, monitoring, support models, knowledge transfer — is in place before any change is approved. 4) Reporting and continuous improvement • Report against contractual change KPIs: change success rate, emergency change ratio, unauthorised change rate, schedule adherence, and rollback rate. • Lead Post-Implementation Reviews (PIR) for major and failed changes; drive corrective actions to closure. • Continuously evolve the change process — expand the standard change catalogue, automate low risk changes, improve ITSM tooling and workflows. 5) Stakeholder management • Build and maintain trusted relationships with the client's change authority and IT leadership. • Facilitate difficult conversations where commercial urgency conflicts with service risk. • Coordinate with multiple suppliers contributing changes into a shared BSS estate. Job Requirements: • 7+ years in telecom IT, with at least 3 years in a dedicated change manager or change lead role. • Direct experience operating a BSS environment in a managed service, outsourced or AMS model. • Hands-on understanding of at least one major BSS stack — Huawei BES, Amdocs, Ericsson (BSCS / CBiO), Netcracker, Oracle (BRM / Siebel), CSG, Comarch or equivalent. • ITIL 4 Foundation required; Specialist – Create, Deliver & Support, or Change Enablement, strongly preferred. • Proficient with enterprise ITSM tooling (ServiceNow, BMC Remedy or similar), including change workflow configuration and reporting. • Demonstrable ability to chair a CAB attended by senior client stakeholders. • Strong written communication — RFCs, PIRs, exec-ready summaries. • Project management credentials (PMP, PRINCE2 or equivalent). • Exposure to agile / DevOps release models and the challenges of reconciling them with formal change governance. • Experience operating multi-vendor BSS estates and complex supplier ecosystems. • Working knowledge of GDPR and other regulatory constraints affecting BSS data and change windows. • Background in revenue assurance or billing operations, useful when assessing the financial impact of changes. What success looks like in the first 12 months • Zero unauthorised changes; emergency change ratio reduced below the contractual threshold. • A published, agreed FSC operating 8+ weeks ahead, trusted by both client and internal teams. • Standard change catalogue expanded, reducing CAB load on routine items. • Measurable improvement in change success rate and PIR closure timeliness. • Client CSAT for change management at or above target.