It Application Specialist Ii - Operations And Processes

Position Title: Application Specialist II, IT Operations & Processes

Effective Date: February 2024

Salary Grade/Range: Grade 14 / $63,091 - $74,324

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

EEO Job Category: Professional

General Position Summary:

The Application Specialist II, IT Operations & Processes is responsible for contribution and engagement in developing and refining current and new strong IT Service Management processes, including but not limited to, IT problem management, IT change management, incident trend analysis, and release management. The Application Specialist also supports the testing and quality assurance processes set forth by the Lead, Quality Assurance to carry forward testing initiatives and quality assessment of products, software, and hardware. This position works under the supervision of the IT Lead, Quality Assurance.

(The examples provided do not cover all of the duties which the incumbent of this position may be required to perform.)

IT Problem Management

Partners with the Lead, Quality Assurance to create and establish problem management process including but not limited to identification, team engagement, remediation recommendations and operational procedures;

Support remediation for the Idaho Supreme Court Information Division to provide problem resolution for reactive and proactive problems, following current ITIL standards and practices;

Development and operationalization of proactive problem management including but not limited to process, procedures, communication, and training of applicable IT resources involved in developed procedures;

Development and operationalization of reactive problem management including but not limited to process, procedures, communication, and training of applicable IT resources involved in developed procedures;

Oversees and manages the lifecycle of all problems, documenting the history of the Problem from detection to closure;

Partners with Lead, Quality Assurance in visibility to full life cycle of information gathering and analysis with applicable IT service delivery teams to identify underlying causes of recurring incidents and propose remediation actions for problems;

Proactively uses the Problem Management process to identify and solve Problems and/or provide suitable workarounds before (further) Incidents recur;

Creates, maintains, and visualizes information about known errors and workarounds;

Partners with the Lead, Quality Assurance to ensure trend analysis includes change analysis for retroactive perspective of impact;

Provides support to the Lead, Quality Assurance during critical incident reviews to suggest improvements to quality assurance testing (partnered with change management validation) and/or change management to prevent recurrences of root cause of major issues and problems.

IT Change Management

• Works directly with the Lead, Quality Assurance to ensure processes support coordination of IT changes without impacting business operations;
• Responsible for orchestrating organizational change/IT efforts and empowering both people leaders and employees to embrace and adopt change;
• Tracking the progress of a change initiative and modifying the plan as needed;
• Design and deliver training programs to equip team members with the skills and knowledge necessary to adapt to new changes;
• Captures, monitors, and implements processes for incoming change requests to ensure they are properly reviewed, approved, and managed through implementation;
• Facilitates and leads the Change Approval Board (CAB) process, meetings, and actions;
• Works directly with the Lead, Quality assurance for analysis and impact of proposed infrastructure or application changes;
• Works in partnership with the Lead, Quality Assurance to do initial synthesis and recommends next steps for improvements when changes negatively impact end-users or are not successful, with the goal to prevent future impacts of similar changes;
• Facilitates and oversees the production control process to manage the introduction of significant technology or application changes in the production environment;
• Ensures all production changes occur during scheduled maintenance windows or established timeframes;
• Confirms all production changes are thoroughly tested and documented with specific instructions prior to deployment.

IT Testing

Participates and supports technology and application testing activities and ensures test results are approved prior to delivery acceptance;

Supports design and execution of effective test plans, test cases, user scenarios, test scripts and procedures;

Supports the management of defect management processes to ensure identified defects are prioritized, tested, and remediated;

Works with applicable IT teams and/or vendors to evaluate defects, determine remediation options, and establish timelines for fixes.

IT Release Management

Supports the Lead, Quality Assurance in release management and release tracking processes;

Facilitates and operates the enterprise-wide release calendar;

Supports the release standards process release decision-making.

IT Operations Management

Oversees and facilitates the daily operations of the IT production control activities;

Monitors critical IT services to ensure day-to-day operational activities are carried out in a timely and reliable way;

Performs operations management processes to include job monitoring, data exchange monitoring, report execution and monitoring, table maintenance, financial posting errors, and other critical functions;

Monitors operational audits to ensure the reliability, stability, and performance of critical IT transactions and functions;

Performs other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

The Idaho Courts reserve the right to consider an equivalent combination of education, training, and/or experience necessary to successfully perform the major responsibilities of the position.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Information Systems, a related field or a minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience using information systems and conducting problem management, change management, operations management, and testing experience;
• Certifications such as ITIL, ITSM or similar certifications are preferred;
• Experience conducting testing of applications or other technologies in a complex commercial enterprise or state agency with multi-tier and distributed architectures;
• Experience with IT problem management;
• Experience with IT operations process management;
• Experience with IT change management practices and procedures;
• Experience with structured IT Service Management tools and Processes preferred;
• Must have excellent interpersonal and organizational skills.

Knowledge of integrated applications in a multiple platform environment, including common integration methods and tools;

Knowledge of software application test management principles and Processes;

Knowledge of advanced concepts and basic operating principles related to information systems Software and hardware;

Knowledge of Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) practices;

Knowledge of IT Service Management (ITSM) practices;

Knowledge of software development lifecycles and associated toolsets and Processes preferred;

Knowledge of current trends in information technology;

Knowledge of effective management principles and practices;

Skill in testing applications and technologies to meet defined requirements;

Skill using test management tools and Processes;

Skill in organizing complex activities and coordinating with others to accomplish quality assurance goals;

Skill in coping with potentially stressful situations and making independent decisions;

Skill in working and communicating with others to provide consultation and problem resolution;

Skill in establishing and maintaining an effective, cooperative work environment;

Ability to evaluate, document and translate business requirements and technology specifications into test plans, test cases, and test scripts;

Ability to work with diverse groups and individuals while pursuing common goals;

Ability to analyze problems and make sound decisions in a timely manner;

Ability to organize and manage time effectively;

Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing;

Ability to establish and maintain cooperative professional relationships with co-workers, management, internal, and external customers;

Ability to support initiatives to completion, including initiatives that require coordinating the work of others;

Ability to travel throughout the State of Idaho as required.