IT BUDGET & CONTRACTS SPECIALIST II

New York City, NY • Brooklyn, NY

123d

About The Position

The Department of Social Services (DSS) is comprised of the administrative units of the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS). HRA is dedicated to fighting poverty and income inequality by providing New Yorkers in need with essential benefits such as Food Assistance and Emergency Rental Assistance. DHS is committed to preventing and addressing homelessness in New York City by employing a variety of innovative strategies to help families and individuals successfully exit shelter and return to self-sufficiency as quickly as possible. Information Technology Services (ITS) is DSS's technology services organization. ITS mission is to support the daily, emergent, and long-term needs of both agencies. ITS creates and enhances the technology infrastructure and computer applications that support HRA and DHS and develops applications, including a variety of client eligibility and recertification systems, case management systems, housing systems, employment/work engagement services, revenue producing computer matches, claiming systems, and personnel systems. The Resource and Asset Services division, within Information Technology Services (ITS), works with the Business Relationship Managers within each Business Solutions technology portfolio, Infrastructure Solutions, Office of Budget Administration (OBA), Office of Contracts and the Project Management Office (PMO) to ensure that the Resource, Hardware, Software and other service needs required for the DSS/HRA/DHS projects and functions are delivered adequately across the Agency to avoid service disruptions and maintain business continuity. This division conducts extensive research, analysis and reporting to develop project budgets that assist in developing advanced technology solutions, and provides solutions throughout the entire lifecycle of product-reliant systems, from acquisition through sustainment. Under general direction from the Division Director, with high degree of latitude for independent action, judgment and decision making, the IT Budget & Contracts Specialist is responsible for the assessment of financial needs and implementation of complex information technology initiatives focusing on IT project management and reporting as well as vendor management. This position performs complex information technology project work with expertise around the entire IT project lifecycle utilizing various IT Project/Application development methodologies such as Agile, Waterfall, Iterative etc. that delivers usable systems and technology solutions for business needs.

Requirements

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college in computer science, engineering, human computer interaction, interactive media, digital and graphics design, data visualization, communication or a related field, and four years of satisfactory full-time experience related to the area(s) required by the particular position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
• An associate degree from an accredited college in computer science, engineering, human computer interaction, interactive media, digital and graphics design, data visualization, communication or a related field, and six years of satisfactory full-time experience related to the area(s) required by the particular position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college, and eight years of satisfactory full-time experience related to the area(s) required by the particular position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
• Education and/or experience which is equivalent to '1', '2', or '3' above.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in highly complex environments integrating with enterprise-wide services, working with Analytical software such as MS Office/SQL and PPM tools such as JIRA performing implementation and delivery of various application development projects by carrying out integrations between parallel applications and system components throughout the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and overseeing the deliverable requirements gathered from various stakeholders.
• Advanced understanding of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) with displayed experience overseeing the deployment of software applications and identifying integration points with infrastructure solutions.
• IT project funding need assessment methods and eligibility criteria to create funding request proposals that are crucial to effectively ascertain the funding needs for various IT Project initiatives.
• Displayed experience in creation of human centered interface designs, user research, wireframes creation and software prototyping.
• Excellent leadership skills including the ability to develop and communicate a vision that inspires and motivates staff as well as aligns with the overall IT and business strategies.
• Ability to build partnerships with the business, application development teams and demonstrate the business value of IT Infrastructure teams.
• Strong business acumen, including industry and domain-specific knowledge of the enterprise and its business units with the ability to explain technical concepts and technologies to business leaders and business concepts to the IT workforce and to effectively negotiate contracts.
• Understanding of current and emerging application development and infrastructure solution technologies and practices and how other organizations are employing them and the ability to identify and act on opportunities for continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Oversee and manage complex projects from initiation to completion, including defining project scope, assessing project resource needs, determining the financial needs and budget implications in relation to various resources required for the project by developing project budgets, creation of funding request proposals, creating/updating project plans and work breakdown structures, scheduling project deliverables, goals and milestones, identifying and managing IT project risks, obtaining signoff on project deliverables, etc. using Microsoft Office Suite.
• Utilize advanced experience related to each phase in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) as well as deployment of software and infrastructure solutions, provide day-to-day oversight and leadership of various project teams including teams working on Cloud Solution Implementation, Data Center Migration Planning & Implementation, various Site Relocation projects as well as other application development projects related to Paperless Office System (POS), CURAM architecture etc., and consultants.
• Review and coordinate around reports on project tasks such as tracking of IT Project spending for a portfolio of projects pertaining to areas of software application development, web development, mobile applications, data integrity and database management, infrastructure solutions etc., track total cost of ownership, undertake project schedule and budget maintenance, creating status reports and documentation, conducting market research to identify external vendor integration points, managing resource/equipment need and disseminating progress to management, stakeholders and relevant teams to ensure strategic alignment with the organizational needs.
• Utilize advanced experience related to delivery of applications by carrying out integrations between various system components as well as the knowledge of each phase of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), along with applied knowledge of analytical software such as MS Office/SQL and PPM tools such as JIRA, leads teams in various projects related to application development and infrastructure operations, site relocations etc. by advising on identification of new project needs and ensuring pro-active, close tracking and monitoring of contracts as well as facilitate acquiring adequate funds needed for the continuation or formulation of relevant contracts to ensure adequate service delivery and business continuity with no disruptions.
• Drive improvement initiatives related to services and contracts required for application development, maintenance and operations, server management, software subscriptions, telecommunications, cloud infrastructure etc.) utilizing techniques and tools such as creation of interaction models, product and market research, reporting variance analysis, cost benefit analysis, use cases, business scenarios, workflow diagrams, etc.
• Lead and oversee the research and identification of emerging technologies such as cloud computing and storage solutions, business rule engines, Tableau reporting tools, database management etc. impacting Agency operations and business needs to ensure that the products obtained related to Software licenses/subscriptions, Storage, Networking, Telecommunications etc. and the software/web applications as well as infrastructure solutions implemented adequately meet the functional (usability) and technical (performance) requirements to enhance overall Agency performance and efficiency.
• Liaise with business leaders, IT technical teams and vendors, as necessary in fulfilling the department goals and objectives.
• Lead the end user business requirement analysis, User Acceptance Testing, maintenance, and documentation of IT contract / budgeting applications such as Human Resources Management System (HRMS) and provide feedback to development staff on the application and user acceptance standards.

Benefits

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Industry: Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees