IT Program Delivery Consultant

Our CLIENT is looking for a contract IT Program Delivery resource to work 
closely with the IT Manager to coordinate and keep both operational and project work moving. 

The position represents the Student Systems and Support team in coordination with other district departments, including the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO), executive sponsors, business and academic leaders, business owners, subject matter experts, vendors, external agencies, and union representatives.

Systems supported by the team include a mix of vendor-hosted and internally developed applications.  External platforms include PowerSchool, PowerTeacher/Pro, Schoology, Naviance, Performance Matters, Unified Insights, VersaTrans).  Internal systems include the Student Assignment System (SAS), Transportation Operations Systems (TOPS), Safety and Security Information Reporting System (SSIRS), and the Truancy Management System).

This position reports to the IT Manager on the Student Systems and Support Team and works closely with that role to ensure operational work, project initiatives, and process improvements move forward together.   

Responsibilities/Duties:

Work with the IT Manager to coordinate schedules, resources, scope, and communication with input from the team and business partners. Help shape district, department, and team priorities and work plans based on operational needs and upcoming work.

Communication

1.       Develop communication plans and processes for operational work and system changes.

2.       Coordinate clear and organized communication to service interruptions and system changes within the team and the larger departments.

3.       Provide clear and concise communication to executive sponsors, departmental business owners, and subject matter experts, many who do not have technical backgrounds.

Operational Oversight

1.       Oversee reoccurring operational tasks, including management of incident and requests.

2.       Apply Agile, Kanban, and Scrum practices to manage operational work and adjust priorities across competing workstreams.

3.       Coordinate resources across operational support, project work and adjust priorities across competing workstreams.

4.       Partner with the IT Manager to plan and maintain a 3 – 5 year operational and resource schedule to provide leadership visbi8lity into upcoming work priorities, and resource needs.

5.       Coordinate operational release schedules and activities including the annual operations calendar, bi-weekly releases, hotfixes, tri-annual upgrades, start and close of school, summer school, and end-of-year processes. After-hours work supports tri-annual upgrades, and end-of-year processes.

6.       Coordinate environment preparation, regression testing, bug fixes, user acceptance testing, backlog grooming, security reviews, and implementation activities as required.

7.       Support after-hours work related to system upgrades and end-of-year operational processes.

8.       Conduct daily operational stand-ups using agile scrum and kanban practices.

9.       Schedule and facilitate meetings necessary to move operational work forward.

10.  Work with the IT Manager to coordinate resources and resolve operational and service issues.

11.  Represent the team in departmental change management meetings and provide input on system impacts and upcoming changes.

Process Improvements

1.       Work with IT Manager to identify and prioritize areas for operational improvement.

2.       Support process improvement efforts while coordinating operational and project work.

3.       Partner with IT Manager to review workload distribution and improve resource balance across the team.

4.       Help develop, implement and train ServiceNow Request, Incidents, Projects, CWM Boards and Agile Scrum, and Resource Management functionality. Continue to improve upon the product as reporting needs arise.

5.       Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency, including automation where appropriate. 

6.       Recommend and help define service level agreements and operational standards.

7.       Develop and refine standard operating procedures for application support and maintenance.

8.       Develop Tier 1 support processes and documentation and coordinate with the TechLine Manager and team on issue resolution.

9.       Encourage ongoing operational improvement discussions and brainstorming with the team.

10.  Collaboration with executive sponsors and business owners to support shared operational goals.

Documentation

1.       Develop and maintain operational templates and documentation, including service level agreements, business and technical requirements, and ServiceNow dashboards and workflows for team members, business owners, and executive leadership.

Required Qualifications

1.                      8+ years leading an IT operations team supporting enterprise-grade software systems.

2.                      5+ years managing IT projects

3.                      Systems administration and software applications technical support background.

4.                      Minimum of two years of experience using ServiceNow SPM (Strategic Portfolio Management) and CWM (Collaborative Workspace Management) modules, including creating and managing projects, Agile sprints, releases, and stories.

5.                      Experience using ServiceNow or similar digital workflow platforms for incident, request, demand, resource management, automation, and user support workflows.

6.                      Experience coordinating Agile, Scrum, or Kanban-based operational or project work.

7.                      Experience with User Acceptance Testing (UAT) processes, including testing associated with system upgrades.

8.                      Experience with change management practices and coordinating system changes across multiple stakeholders.

9.                      Experience supporting process improvement and continuous improvement initiatives.

10.                 Understanding of the software development life cycle (SDLC) and operational release processes.

11.                 Experience coordinating work across technical teams, business partners, and external vendors.

12.                 Strong organizational and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work independently and adapt in a fast-paced environment.

13.                 Experience documenting operational processes, procedures, and technical requirements.

14.                 Understanding technical debt management and long-term system sustainability practices.

15.                 Familiarity with cloud-hosted applications and system migration efforts.

16.                 Demonstrated ability to build relationships and collaborate effectively across teams.

17.                 Planning, prioritization, and decision-making skills across competing operational priorities.

18.                 Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience.

Desired Qualifications

1.       Experience supporting Student Information Systems, preferably PowerSchool.

2.       Experience working in K–12 education technology environments or large public sector organizations. 

3.       PMI certification, preferably PMP or PgMP.

4.       Agile certification such as Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) or PMI-ACP.

5.       Experience applying Agile, Scrum, and Kanban practices to operational and project work.

6.       ITIL certification or experience working in an IT service management environment.

7.       ServiceNow certification or experience administering or configuring ServiceNow workflows.

8.       Six Sigma or Lean process improvement certification.

9.       Experience supporting enterprise application architecture or system integration environments.