IT Release Management Lead
- Summary
King County Information Technology (KCIT) is seeking a highly motivated IT Release Management Lead with 5 years leadership experience managing Release Management to join our team and support our county government departments and agencies. The IT Release Management Lead is a multifaceted role working in the IT Service Management Product Line, under the ITIL Methods Product Team to support both the successful implementation and ongoing delivery of the Release Management process across KCIT. The successful candidate will be responsible for leading a matrixed team of analysts through the implementation, maintenance and delivery of the Release Management process. The successful candidate will report to the IT Service Management Owner.
The IT Release Management Lead's role is to oversee and manage product change implementation, timing, and sequencing across the production environment. This includes the monitoring of release progress through the entire pipeline, or agile release train, assuring quality standards are consistently met at each stage gate and coordinating releases and teams at the portfolio, program, and team levels. The IT Release Management Lead will also oversee the adherence to deployment windows and release processes by delivery teams, facilitate the appropriate communication channels among delivery roles and with stakeholders, and continuously improve release management practices.
King County Department of Information Technology (KCIT)
KCIT uses the power of technology to digitally transform King County. Building vibrant communities through digital equity and social justice, KCIT offers innovative solutions that engage, empower, and serve our residents, businesses, communities and interested stakeholders. As the first-place recipient of the 15th annual National Association of Counties (NACo) Digital Counties Survey, KCIT is recognized for its vision, strategy, innovation, and collaboration. KCIT has a focus of delivering smart technology solutions that support customers, building stronger communities through innovation.
KCIT is providing the building blocks for many of the region's most critical services. As the business solutions partner, we collaborate with the 18 County departments to develop products and services that better serve the needs of our customers and our community. To learn more about KCIT, please visit: http://kingcounty.gov/depts/it.aspx
Teleworking Requirement
The work associated with this position will be performed through a combination of teleworking complemented with onsite work and meetings as needed. Employees will have access to shared workspaces at various King County facilities. Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.
Employees will be provided with a County issued laptop and must maintain a workspace with an internet connection (access may be supplemented in some situations) where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours. Please note that when an employee conducts work that is likely to bring them in contact with another individual, safety precautions are required, including the wearing of masks in some situations. King County is doing its part to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and remains committed to reducing our carbon footprint.
King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely. The individual selected for this opportunity will be joining an innovative and progressive team that is redefining how we work as we transition to the department's hybrid environment.
Benefits
King County offers a robust benefits package to support you and your family in a variety of ways. To learn more about the benefits offered here, please click on the Benefits tab or click here: http://www.kingcounty.gov/employees/.
Work Schedule
The normal workweek for this position is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Alternative work schedules may be considered. This position is not eligible for overtime pay.
Questions
If you have questions regarding this recruitment, please contact Shannon Hoeper, shoeper@kingcounty.gov or 206-263-6957.- Job Duties
Strategy & Planning
- Create and maintain a Release Management plan, processes and procedures that reflect ITIL best practices.
- Collaborate with business and IT stakeholders to ensure smooth and reliable delivery of products and systems to fulfill business objectives, support business processes, and ensure business continuity.
- Work with executive team members, decision makers, and customer stakeholders to define business requirements and systems goals that can be achieved with release management enhancements.
- Train, coach, and mentor teams in release management process practices.
- Standup the Release Management module and any needed interfaces within the Cherwell service management toolset
- Design and deploy releases to new or existing products, applications, software, hardware and operating systems.
- Perform cost-benefit and return on investment analyses for proposed releases to aid management in making release and deployment decisions.
- Conduct research on leading release management practices, and the tools and technologies landscape to justify recommendations and to support purchasing or optimization efforts.
- Design digital Release Management dashboards for sharing internally and with customer stakeholders
- Measure performance through Key Performance Indicators
- Build the IT Release Calendar and work closely with Customer Success Managers and other roles within IT to create a common centralized view of all releases.
- Lead the effort of defining the IT strategic direction for release management tools that may be required.
- Working with the PMO, assist in managing projects and interdependencies to ensure milestone adherence and that the integrity of releases can be measured.
- Assist the Program/Project/Product Managers and their team members in planning each release.
- Ensure that detailed deployment plans are documented along with back-out plans.
- Validate that the change has been correctly prepared before deployment and ensure that all release controls have been satisfied.
- Manage risks and issues that may affect release scope and schedule.
- Assist with measuring and monitoring progress to ensure releases are delivered according to plans.
- Conduct release readiness reviews, milestone reviews, and business go/no-go reviews.
- Ensure that the organization's release controls are documented and well understood by product and support teams.
- Work with Release Train Engineers to understand impacts of branches and merges.
- Assist with go-live activities including the execution of the deployment plans and checklists where needed.
- Participate in meetings to discuss release scope and/or roadblocks.
- Release the pre-planned communications about the product to all stakeholders.
- Create and submit Knowledge Base articles on Release Management best practices
- Operate and maintain the Release Management module and associated interfaces within the Cherwell service management toolset
- Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills
- Experience in overseeing the design, testing, and deployment of releases on various IT initiatives
- Experience with release management, environment management, and portfolio and program management best practices
- Working knowledge of current release and deployment standards
- Software troubleshooting experience
- Excellent Management and communication skills, leadership of Release Management
- Experience with creating and maintaining process documentation
- Strong analytical/diagnostic skills and attention to detail
- Understanding of Application and Infrastructure in Azure and AWS cloud environments
- Experience working with cloud SaaS service providers
- Overall high-level knowledge of IT as a whole to include network, servers, endpoint, cyber, and cloud technologies
- Highly organized presentation, negotiation and customer service skills
- Experience with customer service management, expectation management and service level compliance
- At least 3 years of demonstrated experience using recent Microsoft Operating Systems, Office Suites and common applications (E.g. Windows 10/11, Microsoft Teams, Office, OneDrive, SharePoint, etc)
- Experience working with an IT service management tool
- Ability to deal tactfully with vendors, suppliers, and contractors who provide a broad spectrum of products and services
- Experience at working both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative environment is essential
- Ability to prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment
- Ability to comprehend, interpret, and comply with county policies and procedures.
- Ability to establish and maintain exceptional customer relationships
- Skill in building consensus and coming to a resolution among a diverse group of individuals with conflicting viewpoints
- Demonstrated positive attitude towards peers and leadership, learns from mistakes, seeks feedback, is open to criticism, and is easily coachable
- Ability to communicate orally or in writing; including the ability to communicate complex technical information to a non-technical audience
- Basic understanding of Scaled Agile Framework for Enterprises (SAFe) methodologies
- Dexterity of hands and fingers to operate a computer keyboard, mouse, power tools, and other computer components
- Sitting for extended periods of time
- May be required to drive to different county locations asset inventory activities, meetings etc.
- Must be able to lift and carry up to 25 pounds with reasonable accommodations
- May be responsible for the physical loading, unloading and/or sorting of equipment and boxes of varying sizes and weights by hand, including lifting, pushing, pulling, carrying, placing, as well as physical bending, twisting, kneeling, stooping, or crawling in a safe and efficient manner
- Physically able to participate in sessions, presentations, and meetings
- A valid Washington State Driver’s License or out of state equivalent is required
- Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Information Systems, or related field
- 8 years of relevant work experience in IT Service Management
- 5 years of relevant work experience in Release Management
- Certifications in the field of Release Management.
- Competence with testing, flowchart and data mapping tools and procedures.
- ITIL v4 Foundation certification
- Familiarity with Six Sigma, Lean principles
- Proficient with the Release Management mApp of the Cherwell service management toolset, PowerBI, and Azure DevOps
- Experience working in a government environment
- Training on Scaled Agile Framework for Enterprises
- Understanding of Equity and Social Justice principles
- Supplemental Information
Forbes recently named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.
Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.
Guided by our "True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles--we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.
COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement
King County Executive Branch employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. If you are the successful candidate for the position you applied for, the County will send you a conditional offer letter.
As a condition of employment, prior to a final offer of employment, you will be required to:- submit proof of vaccination, or
- have an approved request for medical or religious exemption and an approved accommodation. Philosophical, political, scientific, or sociological objections to vaccination will not be considered for an exemption or accommodation.
The Executive Branch includes employees in the Executive branch, the Assessor's Office, Elections, the King County Sheriff's Office, and the Executive Office.
King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer
No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.
To Apply
If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact the recruiter listed on this job announcement.
Application Requirements
A completed King County Application and Resume are required for consideration. Applications submitted without all material will not be considered.
The recruitment for this position is open to all qualified candidates. This recruitment may be used to fill future vacancies.
Union Status: This position is represented by Protec17: Information Technology
(For internal use only: Classification: IT Systems Specialist - Master - 7323400)
King County offers a highly-competitive compensation and benefits package designed to meet the diverse needs of our employees and support our employees' health and well-being. Eligible positions receive the following benefits and have access to the following programs:
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage: King County pays 100% of the premiums for eligible employees and family members
- Life and disability insurance: employees are provided basic coverage and given the opportunity to purchase additional insurance for both the employee and eligible dependents
- Retirement: King County employees are eligible to participate in a pension plan through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems and a 457(b) deferred-compensation plan
- Transportation program and ORCA transit pass
- 10 paid holidays each year (plus 2 personal holidays)
- Generous vacation and paid sick leave
- Paid parental leave, family and medical leaves, and volunteer leave
- Flexible Spending Account
- Wellness programs
- Onsite gyms and activity centers
- Employee giving program
- Employee assistance programs
- Flexible schedules and telecommuting options, depending on position
- Training and career development programs
This is a general description of the benefits offered to eligible King County employees, and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. If any information on this document conflicts with the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the CBA prevails. Also, in the event of any incorrect information in this document, applicable laws, policies, rules, CBAs, or official plan documents will prevail.
NOTE: Benefits for Term Limited Temporary (TLT) or Short Term Temporary (STT) positions, including leave eligibility and/or participation in the pension plan through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems, will vary based upon the terms and details of the position. Short Term Temporary positions are not eligible for an ORCA transit pass.
For inquiries about the specifics of this position, please contact the recruiter identified on this job posting.
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01Are you authorized to work in the United States?
- Yes
- No
02Does your authorization require sponsorship now or in the future from an employer or other source? (This does not preclude you from being considered for this position.)- Yes
- No
03The person hired for this position must successfully pass a background investigation. Are you willing to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to an offer of employment? This will include reference checks with previous employers, and a criminal background check.- Yes
- No
04Are you applying to this position as an eligible current or previous King County Employee Priority Placement Program Participant? Is this position the same or lower percentage of full-time when compared to the position held at the point of the notification of layoff? Do you possess the skills and abilities to qualify for this position?- Yes, I was given a layoff notice from my role at King County and I am within two years of the effective date of my layoff. Additionally, the position I was laid off from was the same or a higher percentage of FT status when compared to this one.
- No.
05If you answered yes to the question above and you are applying for this position as a Priority Placement Participant, to be considered, you must provide the following three pieces of information in the space provided: 1. The title you held when you received your layoff notice 2. The department you worked in 3. The effective date of your layoffRequired Question