Information Systems Specialist, Operations HR

Employee Group:

Job Category:

Employment Type:

Department:

Hiring Range:

Posting Information:

Term - 2 years

Internal posting closes Thursday October 2nd at 11:59 AM

Job Description:

Overview

The Information Systems & Technology (IST) department at the University of Waterloo provides information systems technology and services in support of teaching learning research and administrative needs across campus.Within IST the Enterprise Systems (ES) team provides technical support for several information systems including the Workday human resource management system and the Unit4 financial system.The ES team collaborates with partners across campus to deliver services supporting the academic mission of the University.

Responsibilities

IST is seeking an Information Systems Specialist (Operations) to join the Enterprise Systems (ES) team. The incumbent will collaborate with colleagues in ES and their partners across campus to analyze business and functional requirements to deliver solutions impacting users of the ES suite of applications including Workday. Key competencies will include knowledge of service management practices software development tools and practices documentation and knowledgebase development customer service creative problem solving organization & planning communication and teamwork.

Nature and Scope

The Universitys administrative information systems are purchased and/or built applications that are functionally robust and technically complex. This complexity encompasses all aspects of the technical infrastructure supporting these applications life cycles; network and operating systems layer database layer programming languages and delivery methods (e.g. client/server web) as well as the implementation and support methodologies themselves.

The Information Systems Specialist is directly involved throughout the life cycle of these applications. The Specialist is also involved with other projects and working groups within IST as well as the provision of ongoing application support for information systems in production. The responsibilities and assignments of Information Systems Specialists encompass a wide range of specializations that currently include:

1. application design development and support

• conducting business analysis at the process level
• designing system logic
• programming and testing
• documentation
• may encompass system integration system interfaces system customizations or complete applications
• support of production systems in terms of problem analysis and solution development
• participate in the evaluation and selection of programming languages tools methodologies etc.

2. application administration

• ensure appropriate applications infrastructure exists for development and production work
• participate in the evaluation and selection of programming languages tools methodologies etc.
• coordination of technical components within various projects
• proactive monitoring of technical directions and strategies of existing applications and tools
• provide technical guidance and support for development activities
• strategic technical architecture planning

3. database administration

• ensure appropriate infrastructure exists for development and production databases
• participate in the evaluation and selection of database systems tools methodologies etc.
• proactive monitoring of technical directions and strategies of existing database systems and tools
• provide technical guidance and support for development activities
• strategic technical architecture planning for database system components
• database system administration including installation tuning performance monitoring and upgrading

4. project leadership & management

• conducting business analysis at the department and/or University level
• designing system logic
• project planning communication etc.
• assignment of tasks and supervision of work for technical and functional staff dedicated to the project
• provide mentoring support for junior staff (technically as well as functional knowledge specific to the assignment)
• strategic business information systems planning

An Information Systems Specialist is expected to remain technically current with the tools and the applications that they are supporting as well as with emerging technologies related to these systems.

The nature of these assignments is such that an Information Systems Specialist may be required to work irregular hours on occasion and/or be available on-call to support production applications.

A university degree in a related discipline or equivalent is required.

Statistical Data

Specific Accountabilities

Each level of the Specialist position corresponds to increases in depth and breadth of expertise with information systems technologies applications project management and institutional accountability.

Core Competencies

• Hardware
  • General knowledge of computer hardware including desktop and network servers and how it integrates with information systems and databases. Awareness of capabilities and limitations of various configurations.
• Networking
  • A general knowledge of network connectivity integration and protocols.
• Software Development
  • Knowledge of software development tools theories methodologies and standards.

Computing and Database Systems

• General knowledge of operating systems and understanding of database constructs.

Applications Support

• Knowledge of information systems from functional and technical perspectives. Knowledge of toolsets utilized to build implement and support these information systems. This overall knowledge of the applications development environment may include (but is not limited to) development tools utilities database management systems desktop applications web development systems analysis and design systems development and support methodologies project management.

Problem Solving

• Ability to apply knowledge to the process of assessing and resolving problems.

Communications

• Ability to understand and communicate complex technical concepts in ways that are appropriate to the requirements of the information technology client or group.

Organization Skills

• Ability to effectively plan prioritize and manage multiple concurrent assignments and tasks.

Teamwork and Leadership

• Ability to work successfully in a team-oriented matrix management model where team size and role varies by assignment.

Career Path for an Information Systems Specialist

The following descriptions make reference to levels of expertise: foundation proficiency in-depth and expert. The definitions for these levels can be found in the IST Career Paths Competencies Table.

The foundation level position (USG9) and proficient level position (USG10) expect staff to develop general understandings of information systems concepts University departments and information systems and proficiency in specific technical areas.

In most cases with the approval of a director Information Systems Specialists (USG11-USG14) will be required to focus their technical skill development in one of the following directions: applications development applications administration database administration project management.

Information Systems Specialists are generally expected to develop their skills to at least the level of a USG11. Advancements to higher levels are in recognition of ability skills that demonstrate expert level knowledge in a range of technical and/or functional areas as well as increased levels of experience and responsibility.

USG9

An entry level position staff are generally responsible for their own work and work independently on assigned responsibilities within specific application areas or project assignments. Staff are expected to develop and demonstrate foundation and proficiency level knowledge and skills in the following:

• foundation level knowledge of supported desktop computing environments and standard desktop applications
• foundation level knowledge of software development encompassing systems analysis and design concepts development
• foundation level knowledge of applications support with an understanding of at least one university supported development environment development tools and application area
• foundation level of accountability
• proficient level of problem solving skills
• proficient level of communication skills

USG10

As experienced competent professionals staff are generally responsible for their own work and work independently on assigned responsibilities within specific application areas or project assignments with only general direction addition to a foundation level of Accountability staff are expected to develop and demonstrate foundation proficiency and in-depth level knowledge and skills in the following:

• foundation level knowledge of organization and planning skills
• foundation level of leadership skills
• proficient level knowledge of supported desktop computing environments and standard desktop applications
• proficient level knowledge of software development encompassing systems analysis and design concepts development
• proficient level knowledge of applications support with an understanding of at least one university supported development environment development tools and application area
• in-depth level of problem solving skills
• in-depth level of communication skills

USG11

This senior working level position has a demonstrated track record of successes and an in-depth knowledge in one of the following areas: Software Development Project Leadership Applications Administration Database Administration. Depending upon the assignment they may also have direct responsibility for assigning tasks and monitoring progress of more junior staff. Staff at this level are expected to develop and demonstrate proficiency level of Accountability and knowledge and skills in at least one of the following:

• proficient level of leadership skills
• proficient level knowledge of project management skills or
• proficient level knowledge of applications administration or
• proficient level knowledge of database administration or
• proficient level knowledge of software development technologies (development tools programming languages decision-support web etc.)

As well as in-depth level knowledge and skills in the following:

• in-depth knowledge of those aspects of software development that include systems analysis and design concepts development methodologies
• in-depth organization and planning skills
• in-depth knowledge of at least one university supported development environment development toolset and application area

Qualifications

• University degree required or equivalent education and experience
• Systems analysis skills as well as experience implementing and supporting complex information systems.
• Understandingof the general software development principles and Systems Development Lifecycle.
• Experience investigating and diagnosing system issues with emphasis on root cause analysis approaches.
• IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and or IT Service Management (ITSM) knowledge and experience would be an asset.
• Experience with service desk and ticketing tools (Jira Service Management).
• Experience with agile development approaches and tools (Scrum Jira).
• Experiencewith wiki and/orknowledgebase tools (Confluence SharePoint).
• Must have excellentinterpersonal customer service communication organizational research and analytical skills with proven ability to interact with co-workers clients and third-party vendors with tact and diplomacy
• Ability to build and maintainpositive relationships with colleagues stakeholders and clients
• Must work as part of a team within a busy and dynamic environment with experience managing multiple tasks at once
• Proven track record of taking initiative and delivering consistent outstanding results on projects and other work assignments
• Occasional work outside regular business hours

Equity Statement

The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research learning teaching and community building and is coordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.

The University values the diverse and intersectional identities of its students faculty and staff. The University regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. The University of Waterloo seeks applicants who embrace our values of equity anti-racism and inclusion. As such we encourage applications from candidates who have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized including applicants who identify as First Nations Métis and/or Inuk (Inuit) Black racialized a person with a disability women and/or 2SLGBTQ.

Positions are open to qualified candidates who are legally entitled to work in Canada.

The University of Waterloo is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. If you have any application interview or workplace accommodation requests please contact Human Resources or ext. 45935.