CITY OF LOWELL

Job Posting

Management Info Services (MIS)

Application Specialist

Job Title: Application Specialist (2700-73, 3354)

Department: Management Information Systems (MIS)

Reports To: Chief Information Officer, other designated employees of the MIS dept.

Union: AFSCME, Local 2532

Salary: $69,986.80 (min) to $75,298.08 (max) annual (40 hours per week)

FLSA: Non exempt

SUMMARY – The Application Specialist oversees the development of principal standards and methods to support City applications, interfaces and business processes. This position performs a full range of analysis and programming work to plan and develop, or modify and implement, individual programs or modules to support City application(s) including software, hardware, and required interfaces to other systems in support of business requirements. This position also coordinates and provides City-wide support relative to storage, retrieval and analysis of relevant data contained within the City’s applications. The successful candidate will have good business analysis, project management, application implementation, and report writing skills.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES – Essential Duties and Responsibilities are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills; they are intended to be accurate summaries of what the job involves and what is required to perform it. Employees are responsible for all other duties as assigned to them. In order to perform this job successfully, the employee must be able to perform each essential duty and responsibility satisfactorily.

• Serve as a “Tier II” escalation point for MIS Help Desk service and support requests, providing maintenance, troubleshooting, and support as necessary; provide “Tier I” support as needed.
• Conduct needs analysis, and recommend solutions to complex issues affecting City applications, software, and business needs.
• Develop and program, or otherwise oversee the development, programming and integration of, City applications, databases, interfaces, websites, programs, and business processes, according to the City’s business needs.
• Conduct, or otherwise oversee, quality assurance of programming, development and design, and adherence to coding and documentation standards.
• Work with other MIS team members and other City staff to develop plans and schedules, estimate resources requirements, define milestones and deliverables, monitor activities, and evaluate and report on accomplishments.
• Actively seek ways to utilize current City applications to meet business needs prior to purchasing or developing new applications; strive to reduce the number of applications supported by City staff by retiring or consolidating business application functionality.
• Oversee the development of integration points between City applications to enable the sharing of data between various applications.
• Administer and manage the operation of applications within the City including acquisition and maintenance of software, databases and servers, analysis, and programming, as needed.
• Evaluate system capacity and requirements including database performance.
• Perform complex technical work involving municipal systems, development and design, coordinating with external vendors as appropriate.
• Work closely with contractors; establish priorities and coordinate all activities for program/system development.
• Design and deliver or otherwise coordinate training of City applications and systems to City employees either individually or in groups.
• Deliver 99% uptime of all systems.
• Complete projects under minimal supervision.
• Assist with identifying sources and trends of technical problems to prevent future occurrences.
• Assist with the review, testing, and assessment of new technologies and tools as assigned.
• Provide courteous and quality email, telephone, on-site and web-based technical support to City staff.
• Strive to solve technical issues directly, or diagnose them and deploy technical staff or 3rd parties as appropriate.
• Use help desk software to accurately enter, maintain, track, and close communications involving support requests in a timely manner.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers, other City employees, and outside agencies; exhibit professional conduct in assignments and administrative duties.
• Ensure City computing policies are adhered to; coordinate/maintain resources and inventories as appropriate.
• Maintain technical competence through training, reading appropriate technical journals/periodicals, and through attendance at appropriate forums and presentations.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES Either minimal or not applicable.

QUALIFICATIONS
The requirements listed below are representative of the education, knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Skills, Experience & Competencies:

• 8+ Years of similar technology-related, application development and business analysis experience in a municipal environment or similar fast-paced environment.
• Practical and comprehensive experience in applications management, systems analysis and design, and municipal information systems.
• Demonstrable understanding and experience in the full spectrum of standard web-based tasks. This includes MS and Linux operating system installations/upgrades, administration; networking concepts, account and security management; understanding of all relevant network protocols including IP, TCP, UDP, HTTP, HTTPS, ICP, FTP, SMTP, and SSH.
• Demonstrable understanding and experience in the full spectrum of business analysis, project management, and reporting tools. This includes MS Project, Crystal Reports, and Business Objects Enterprise.
• Working knowledge of IT operations, responsibilities, work flow processes, best practices and procedures.
• Firm understanding of network system configurations, their applications, and networking principals.
• Ability to comprehend and problem-solve complex database systems and software issues.
• Ability to formulate and administer operational policies.
• Ability to effectively express, document, interact with and communicate technical concepts, ideas, instructions and information to management, peers, and a non-technical audience.
• Ability to work well in a team environment, and maintain a professional demeanor during stressful situations.
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as application manuals, knowledge bases, and other technical and procedural materials/manuals geared to all levels and furnished in written, verbal, diagram, or schedule form.
• Ability to multitask, solve practical problems and deal with a variety of situations with limited information; good analytical and problem solving skills; able to interpret, assess, and diagnose symptoms; able to use the Internet for research and problem resolution.
• Ability to perform a wide variety of duties and responsibilities with accuracy and speed under the pressure of time-sensitive deadlines.
• Ability to exhibit a positive customer service attitude and demonstrate integrity, ingenuity, and inventiveness in the performance of assigned tasks.
• Ability to portray an image of knowledge, confidence, professionalism, fairness, and caring to City employees.
• Ability to work under limited supervision.
• Ability to formulate training plans, and assist employees with varying levels of computer expertise in the operation of City applications and systems.
• Knowledge and working familiarity with the following software and utilities:
• MS Windows XP/7 MS Office Suite & Tools (e.g., Visio)
• MS Windows Server 20xx MS Active Directory & LDAP
• DNS, DHCP, FTP, SSH, SMTP Internet Explorer, Mozilla FireFox
• Routing IP Networking
• MS SQL Server 20xx MS Project
• MS SharePoint Intuit TrackIt!
• Debian Linux MUNIS
• Plone Zope Enterprise Objects (ZEO)
• DocStar Python
• Apache httpd Squid
• C / C++, PHP Perl
• MDM MySQL
• shell scripting tools (e.g. tcsh, Documentation tools (e.g., Crystal bash) Reports)
• eGov iCompel
• Agenda.NET
• Knowledge and working familiarity with the following hardware and tools:
• Broadband technologies IP and Subnetting
• Basic hardware tools Network equipment (switches, etc)
• Cabling Standards

Education & Certifications:

• Associates Degree in Technology or Accounting field.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, or related field, or a combination of an Associate’s Degree and experience/training which provides the knowledge and abilities necessary to perform the work.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met in order to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Stand, walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle or feel, reach with hands and arms, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl, and taste or smell.
• The employee may frequently lift, carry or position objects weighing up to twenty-five pounds and occasionally with assistance may lift, carry and position heavy objects up to seventy-five pounds utilizing proper body mechanics and techniques.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that may be encountered while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Occasional exposure to outside weather conditions.
• Risk of electrical shock while working with equipment.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to high.

The City of Lowell is a smoke and drug free employer, and requires a physical with drug screen and CORI post offer.

Qualified individuals should apply by the deadline by submitting application/resume with cover letter using the City of Lowell job opportunities online portal: https://ess.lowellma.gov/employmentopportunities

The City is committed to encouraging diversity and inclusion through equitable opportunities for all community members. The aim is for our workforce, including contractors, to be truly representative of all sections of society and our community, and for each team member to feel respected while fostering belonging.

EOE/AA/504 Employer

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $69,986.80 - $75,298.08 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Retirement plan

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Work Location: One location

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