01Overview
Context & Role Purpose
strategic program to deploy Workday as the global HR platform, replacing legacy systems across multiple countries and business units through a phased, wave-based rollout.
The Release Manager is a dedicated, full time function within CHORUS, accountable for end-to-end release planning, governance, and execution across two simultaneous and interdependent workstreams:
Workday product releases (biannual R1/R2 cycles) evaluation, impact analysis, regression, and adoption decisions
CHORUS wave deployments (country go-lives) sequencing, setting alignment, cutover, and stabilisation
What distinguishes this role from a standard Release or Programme Manager is the dual accountability across a live SaaS platform release cycle and a multi-year, multi-country enterprise deployment. The role holder must manage these two tracks in parallel, preventing conflicts between Workday's update calendar and CHORUS go-live windows, while maintaining a single, stable global system version across all tenants.
Key Responsibilities
2.1 Release Strategy & Planning
Define and maintain the integrated release calendar spanning Workday biannual releases (R1/R2) and CHORUS rollout waves
Plan feature adoption cycles accounting for payroll calendars, SIT/UAT windows, and country go-live readiness
Establish and communicate entry/exit criteria for each release gate
Make timely decisions on feature adoption vs deferral, with documented rationale
2.2 Workday Release Management (Core Workday-Specific Accountability)
Manage the full Workday release lifecycle for each biannual update:
Review release notes and recent feature content during the Workday preview window (56 weeks before production update)
Coordinate functional leads (HCM, Payroll, Talent, Absence) to assess relevance and applicability of each feature
Drive formal opt-in / opt-out decisions with documented business justification
Manage Workday Feature Adoption Tracker across all functional do .
