ENVIRONMENT:
A private higher education institution accredited by the DHET and CHE, specializes in distance education and offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate business qualifications. They are seeking to hire an Enterprise Application Support Manager, who will be responsible for supervising the maintenance and support of vital software applications within the organization. Your primary duties will center on ensuring the continuous availability, stability, and peak performance of these applications to meet the business’s requirements. DUTIES: Application Support Management: The manager is responsible for leading a team of support analysts and engineers who provide technical assistance to end-users and resolve application-related issues. They establish support processes, manage service level agreements (SLAs), and ensure incidents are resolved within agreed-upon timelines. Incident Management: The manager oversees the handling of application-related incidents and problems. They prioritize issues based on their impact on business operations and work with the team to perform root cause analysis and implement preventive measures. Change Management: The Enterprise Application Support Manager is involved in managing changes and updates to the applications. They coordinate with development teams, testing teams, and stakeholders to ensure smooth deployments and minimize disruptions to business operations. Performance Monitoring and Optimization: Monitoring the performance of applications is crucial to proactively identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement. The manager collaborates with infrastructure teams to ensure the underlying systems are optimized to support the application’s performance requirements. Vendor Management: Many organizations use third-party applications, and the manager liaises with application vendors to address issues, receive updates, and negotiate support contracts. They ensure that vendor commitments are met and maintain positive vendor relationships. Capacity Planning: The manager assesses the application’s resource usage and forecasts future capacity requirements. This involves understanding application usage trends and projecting infrastructure needs to support growth. Security and Compliance: Ensuring the security of applications and compliance with relevant regulations falls under the manager’s purview. They work with security teams to implement security measures, conduct security audits, and address vulnerabilities. Reporting and Communication: Regularly reporting on application performance, incident trends, and support metrics is essential for keeping stakeholders informed. The manager communicates with business leaders, IT management, and other teams to provide updates and discuss improvement opportunities. Training and Knowledge Sharing: The Enterprise Application Support Manager fosters a culture of learning and continuous improvement within the support team. They organize training sessions, share knowledge, and develop skill sets to enhance the team’s capabilities. Continuous Improvement: The manager identifies areas for process optimization and efficiency gains within the support function. They promote a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging their team to suggest and implement improvements in support processes. REQUIREMENTS:Minimum requirements Qualification Postgraduate degree or diploma in computer science, project management, or similar Certification with recognised project management professional body Experience Minimum of 5 years of experience in a management role and/or leading an established project management office Education in Higher Education is advantageous Job Related Knowledge and Skills Application Architecture: Understanding the architecture of the supported applications is essential to identify potential issues, optimize performance, and make informed decisions about upgrades and changes. Technology Stack: Familiarity with the technology stack used in the applications, such as programming languages, databases, operating systems, web servers, and middleware, is necessary for effective troubleshooting and communication with the development team. IT Service Management: Knowledge of IT service management frameworks like ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is crucial for managing incident, problem, and change management processes effectively. Incident and Problem Management: In-depth knowledge of incident and problem management methodologies and best practices helps in efficiently handling and resolving issues, as well as performing root cause analysis. Change Management: Understanding change management processes ensures that updates and modifications to applications are implemented in a controlled and coordinated manner to minimize risks and disruptions. Performance Monitoring and Optimization: Knowledge of performance monitoring tools and techniques enables the manager to identify and address performance bottlenecks proactively. Security Best Practices: Awareness of security principles and best practices is crucial for safeguarding applications and protecting sensitive data from potential threats. Vendor Management: Knowledge of vendor management practices helps in effectively collaborating with application vendors, negotiating contracts, and ensuring service level agreements are met. IT Infrastructure: Understanding the underlying IT infrastructure, including networks, servers, and storage systems, helps in diagnosing application issues that may be influenced by infrastructure components. Compliance and Regulatory Requirements: Awareness of relevant industry-specific regulations and compliance standards ensures that the supported applications meet the necessary requirements. Business Processes and Workflows: Familiarity with the organization’s business processes and workflows is vital for understanding how applications support business operations and aligning support efforts accordingly. Data Management: Knowledge of data management principles assists in ensuring the integrity, availability, and security of application data. Communication and Collaboration: Strong communication and collaboration skills are necessary to interact effectively with various stakeholders, including end-users, developers, management, and other support teams. Team Management: Understanding team dynamics, leadership principles, and best practices in team management helps in building and leading a cohesive and high-performing support team. Continuous Learning: Staying updated with the latest trends and developments in enterprise applications, technology, and support practices is essential for continuous improvement and growth. Competencies and Skills: Technical Proficiency: In-depth knowledge of the technology stack and architecture of the supported applications, including programming languages, databases, operating systems, web servers, and middleware. Customer Focus: A customer-centric mindset to understand end-users’ needs, deliver exceptional support, and ensure a positive user experience. Team Leadership: Strong leadership abilities to motivate and guide the support team, set clear goals, and foster a collaborative and productive work environment. Adaptability: Ability to adapt to changing technologies, business requirements, and priorities in a dynamic environment. Business Acumen: Familiarity with the organization’s business processes and workflows to align application support efforts with business goals. Emotional Intelligence: The ability to empathize, build rapport, and handle challenging situations with grace and professionalism. Time Management: Effective time management skills to prioritize tasks, manage workloads, and meet deadlines. Team Building: Experience in recruiting, training, and developing a high-performing support team. Conflict Resolution: Proficiency in handling conflicts and resolving issues within the team or between different stakeholders. ATTRIBUTES: Problem-Solving: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to identify and resolve complex application-related issues efficiently. Decision-Making: Sound decision-making skills to evaluate options, weigh risks, and make well-informed choices for application support and improvements.
