Job Specification

Purpose of Position :

To provide technical expertise and project leadership for the analysis, design, development, testing, enhancement, customization and/or maintenance of large, complex and/or diverse I&IT applications to support clients' diverse business needs efficiently and effectively.

Duties / Responsibilities :

The job requires:

1. Working collaboratively with client managers and staff stakeholders to ensure that client business needs are understood and addressed. Providing technical systems development expertise by co-ordinating analysis of client I&IT needs in relation to program/service delivery requirements and both short/long term business goals and objectives; conducting technical feasibility studies and cost/benefit analyses on complex business/systems initiatives; recommending technical systems development solutions which meet client needs and promote overall OPS and Cluster I&IT strategies and objectives; providing technical expertise in complex systems analysis and design; coding, fixing and enhancing complex programming modules based on the technical specification, and in compliance with corporate I&IT development standards; co-ordinating and contributing to the development of all systems documentation (e.g. design specification, system documentation, user documentation, etc.); and developing and overseeing testing and implementation of systems and applications. Co-ordinating and preparing the Request for Change (RFC) related documents and providing clarifications to Cluster ITSM and ITS.

2. Planning, co-ordinating and leading the technical design, development, implementation and/or maintenance of complex and/or diverse technical solutions and core applications, including overseeing all phases of projects from concept to implementation. Preparing project plans, developing estimates of costs/resources/staffing required and recommending budget/resource requirements to management. Providing technical leadership to assigned project staff throughout the systems development life cycle (SDLC), and co-ordinating assigned activities. Monitoring project progress and preparing project status reports. Investigating and resolving issues and problems throughout the project. Troubleshooting by anticipating, identifying, diagnosing and resolving very serious incidents/problems. Performing systems analysis, capacity planning and disaster planning. Ensuring technical security requirements are provided for. Providing systems improvement services for core Cluster applications to ensure continued performance and enhancement in support of cost-effectiveness and efficiency.

3. Providing consultation, training, and technical advice to less experienced developers, analysts and users to facilitate implementation, changes and issue resolution.

4. Leading and/or participating on project teams engaged in a wide variety of I&IT development projects, including the development of technology performance standards, evaluating or developing new technologies and techniques, and providing practical technological input to innovative applications design and development approaches. Leading or contributing technical expertise to client/Cluster I&IT committees.

5. Providing advisory services for the acquisition and administration of external resources (e.g. hardware, software, technology, etc.) in meeting specific client business needs. Providing advice to clients on OPS and Cluster I&IT policies and procedures, and on appropriate use and efficient application of I&IT. Discussing and determining I&IT priorities with clients, determining project technical requirements, and developing cost estimates. Preparing or contributing to RFPs; co-ordinating tenders; participating in the review and selection of contractor submissions. Analyzing and evaluating projects completed by external resources for compliance with contractual agreements and Cluster/client standards.

6. Providing leadership in conducting research to establish technology direction/strategy/standards and best practices working with colleagues across the Cluster and corporate/enterprise.

Management has the right to assign other duties

Staffing and Licencing :

N/A

Knowledge :

Job requires thorough knowledge of and skills in:

Development and support of large and complex multi-tier Web based applications and reporting technologies, system technologies, I&IT architectures, programming languages and concepts, database management systems, Internet, web services, and emerging technologies for business applications, in order to assess client business requirements; lead technical projects to devise and assess options, recommend and develop solutions, ensure integration; and provide expert technical support, guidance and direction.

The SDLC, theory and principles of systems analysis and design, development, and related methods and techniques, practices and standards, to provide technical leadership in the design, development, testing implementation, enhancement and/or maintenance of large, complex and/or diverse business applications and systems solutions to meet client requirements.

Computer system technologies, including operating systems, web, networks, Internet and emerging technologies; current J2EE / IBM Websphere Application Server environment, Relational database technology and query languages.

Internet, intranet and web-related rules, requirements, accepted conventions and OPS/Cluster/client policies and standards (e.g. re access, security, privacy, content subject matter, approvals, etc.) to ensure applications and processes are in compliance.

Reporting technologies and platforms (e.g. Active Reports, Cognos BI, Crystal Reports, BOE, Oracle Reports, Oracle BI or similar technologies) to provide design, development and implementation of embedded and ad-hoc reports for various application systems.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications (e.g. SAP, Siebel or similar technologies) to provide design, configuration and implementation expertise.

Clients' business operations and legislative and program requirements to assess needs, develop options and make recommendations.

Security and quality assurance techniques, practices and standards and related performance metrics, to ensure outputs and activities meet corporate compliance requirements and accepted industry standards.

Project management techniques and methodology, including chartering, planning, estimating, budgeting, scheduling, measuring, monitoring and controlling, to manage large and complex applications projects and concurrent project components effectively.

Accepted application quality assurance process, methodology and tools, quality assurance testing and implementation methods and practices to design testing procedures; co-ordinate acceptance testing and consolidation with clients.

Government of Ontario IT Standards (GO-ITS) to ensure compliance.

System and services monitoring tools (e.g. HP Openview, Tivoli, netiq, WUG), to ensure solutions deliver to required standards.

Corporate Enterprise Change Management (ECM) to ensure process compliance.

IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) processes, terms and definitions, in order to ensure compliance in own work and that of assigned teams.

Available problem tracking processes and technologies (e.g. Remedy) to ensure accurate and timely tracking and resolution.

Corporate, cluster and client policies, procedures and practices concerning business case development, project management, procurement, tendering, contract administration, to administer projects and ensure compliance.

Skills :

The job requires: Analytical and problem-solving skills to: analyze and define clients' application needs; lead the development of I&IT solutions to improve client program/service delivery; conduct large, complex and/or very diverse systems analysis and design, and resolve system design and administration issues and technical problems surrounding web applications; provide technical guidance to project teams in the integration of systems.

Analytical skills to: analyze and evaluate design alternatives and consider business needs; consolidate work of team on various aspects of feasibility studies, and guide development of recommendations on systems and technology approach, efficiency/flexibility standards, costs, time constraints and future development considerations.

Evaluating skills, to: conceptualize approaches to monitor and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of applications managed by the branch; and design enhancements to meet legislative and business needs and priorities; and provide systems improvement service to ensure that business applications continue to evolve and perform effectively and efficiently.

Oral communication, presentation and negotiating skills, to: discuss systems development options, modifications and technical processes with clients and project team members; clearly convey technical analyses, limitations and considerations in non-technical terms to non-technical users and decision-makers; and communicate advantages and disadvantages of options and the anticipated impacts on client's program/service delivery.
Written communication skills, to explain analyses/recommendations, prepare business cases, develop detailed technical documentation of clients' diverse and complex application requirements, and prepare systems documentation and manuals.

Interpersonal skills, to work collaboratively and foster effective relationships with client organizations, service suppliers and other stakeholders; present/explain/illustrate alternate applications and solutions; and develop client support for recommended approaches.

Negotiation skills to negotiate arrangements/contracts with service providers within delegated parameters.

Organizational skills, to work effectively within a deadline driven environment and deal with multiple teams representing various areas in the delivery of projects.

Freedom of Action :

The job requires: Working within the framework of established Cluster, enterprise and client I&IT policies, standards, procedures, guidelines, goals, strategic directions.

Working within established practices and procedures for large, complex and/or very diverse solutions analysis and design, programming concepts and languages, specialized technologies and systems.

Acting as an expert with respect to applications development and maintenance for diverse/broad-scope requirements.

Defining technical requirements, options and opportunities; developing detailed system, module, application and programming specifications and designs; implementing and/or maintaining solutions to meet business objectives; leading performance monitoring and fine-tuning in conjunction with unit colleagues.

Working with a considerable degree of independence on large, complex and/or diverse I&IT applications projects; and providing expertise to support and maintain clients' projects and applications. Work is reviewed at critical stages by the Project Manager and/or Manager for compliance with work objectives, quality, and organizational policy and standards. Unusually complex technical problems are referred to the Project Manager with recommendations