diff --git a/.github/workflows/cd.yaml b/.github/workflows/cd.yaml
index 0cf45693..022a50c7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cd.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cd.yaml
@@ -3,6 +3,12 @@ on:
   push:
     branches:
     - master
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      skip_github_release:
+        description: 'Skip creating a GitHub release'
+        type: boolean
+        default: false
 jobs:
   extract_version:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -24,6 +30,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     needs: extract_version
     name: Create release on GitHub
+    if: ${{ github.event_name == 'push' || inputs.skip_github_release == false }}
     permissions:
       contents: write
     steps:
@@ -38,7 +45,7 @@ jobs:
   publish:
     name: Deploy to maven
     needs:
-      - create_release
+      - extract_version
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Checkout code
@@ -61,9 +68,9 @@ jobs:
         run: gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format LONG
 
       - name: Deploy a new version
-        run: mvn clean deploy -P build-extras,sign --settings deploy/mvnsettings.xml -pl perimeterx-sdk,perimeterx-sdk-jakarta -am
+        run: mvn clean deploy -P build-extras,sign --settings deploy/mvnsettings.xml -pl perimeterx-sdk,perimeterx-sdk-jakarta -am -DskipTests
         env:
           GPG_KEY_NAME: ${{ vars.GPG_KEY_NAME }}
           GPG_PASSPHRASE: ${{ secrets.GPG_PASSPHRASE }}
           OSSRH_JIRA_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.OSSRH_JIRA_USERNAME }}
-          OSSRH_JIRA_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.OSSRH_JIRA_PASSWORD }}
+          OSSRH_JIRA_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.OSSRH_JIRA_PASSWORD }}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cd_dispatcher.yaml b/.github/workflows/cd_dispatcher.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fe6d77f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/cd_dispatcher.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+name: CD Dispatcher (Manual)
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      skip_github_release:
+        description: 'Skip creating a GitHub release tag'
+        type: boolean
+        default: true
+
+jobs:
+  run_cd:
+    name: Run CD pipeline
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/cd.yaml
+    with:
+      skip_github_release: ${{ inputs.skip_github_release }}
+    secrets: inherit
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 8d7cc0dc..4cfcceb1 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -115,6 +115,11 @@
         </profile>
     </profiles>
 
+    <properties>
+        <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
+        <project.reporting.outputEncoding>UTF-8</project.reporting.outputEncoding>
+    </properties>
+
     <dependencies>
 
         <dependency>
@@ -306,7 +311,7 @@
                 <configuration>
                     <forkCount>3</forkCount>
                     <reuseForks>true</reuseForks>
-                    <argLine>-Xmx1024m -XX:MaxPermSize=256m</argLine>
+                    <argLine>-Xmx1024m</argLine>
                 </configuration>
             </plugin>
             <plugin>