IT Applications Support Manager

Job Title: IT Applications Support Manager
Salary: £45-50K + bonus (10%) & other benefits
TR Ref: DB/BBBH13073
Location: Hatfield, Hertfordshire

Our client operates over 80 prestigious health and fitness clubs across the UK and Europe, employing 6,000 staff who serve almost half a million members.

Reporting to the Head of IT this broad ranging appointment will be responsible for designing effective processes for adopting new applications and managing upgrades as well as supporting their existing applications to manage risk and ensure a reliable, scalable, application production environment. You will also work with managers to ensure the application environment is understood, deliver projects and with your small team of 3 (Digital and Applications Analysts) provide effective second line support (inc on-call support) as required.

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES:
Design:
• An effective process for taking applications into BAU support
• An application review process to ensure a clear plan for each application to deliver standard upgrades and feature enhancements
• Work with infrastructure providers to establish appropriate monitoring of all applications and processes to drive up time
Data
• Ensure all applications have an understood data schema and plan for delivering data to the data warehouse in conjunction with the reporting manager.
Projects
• Work with Project Managers and suppliers to ensure their application environment is understood and that each project has a clear plan to be brought into support
• For SaaS software, identify the correct support processes and check/balances to ensure these applications are supported as well as those delivered ‘on premise’
Support
• Supporting the Head of Infrastructure, Applications & IT operations to ensure that systems are fully supported, 24/7.
• Participate in planning and maintaining Business Continuity for internal systems.
• Establish and execute a proactive support schedule to ensure all critical application processes are run on schedule
• Provide 2nd line support to the Service Desk to resolve issues assigned
• Work with the broader support team to identify and resolve ongoing support issues identified
• Managing vendor relationships, including planning for and organising release updates, new installs and other software requests.
Change
• Provide coverage for change management of both internally developed and vendor provided systems. This includes ensuring that QA and testing of systems and subsystems are accomplished prior to change implementation

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE NEEDED:
• Able to document and explain a future vision of our Client’s application environment
• Advanced experience in application support and management
• People management / team leading skills
• Proven Customer service skills
• Broad knowledge of web based systems architecture, service-based architecture, enterprise application architecture and client server computing
• A general awareness of SQL (although detailed development or DBA skills are not necessary)
• Experienced in performance monitoring and support processes
• Good knowledge and understanding of Web Service API’s for integration purposes and ideally with experience of developing projects requiring the use of API’s
• Experience of .NET or web / agile development would be an advantage
• Strong analytical business problem solving skills
• Knowledge of quality standards, legislation and best practice

This role is based from their impressive Head Office in Hatfield, but with the flexibility to work from home or any of their clubs as required. Benefits include full health club membership for you and your direct family and a 10% bonus.

Technology Resourcing is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.