Allied Universal-Applications Administrator

Allied Universal, a leading facility services company and the largest security force in North America with over 150,000 employees, provides unparalleled security services and solutions. With headquarters in Santa Ana, Calif., and Conshohocken, Pa., Allied Universal combines people and technology to deliver evolving, tailored solutions that allow our clients to focus on their core business. An unrelenting focus on clients’ success creates partnerships rooted in quality and value, and is supported by experience gained from being in business for over 50 years. Through our people and leading services, systems and solutions…Allied Universal is there for you.

Job Description:

Allied Universal is currently seeking an IT Applications Administrator that will be responsible for maximizing customer satisfaction and maximizing the up time for the end-user/customer production environment by delivering superior support to end users and IT team members on various types of software programs. This includes troubleshooting applications and being a point of escalation for all internal customers such as operations, development (especially IT Support Desk), and other business units.

This position will also be responsible for serving as the administrator for many applications where he/she will configure, administer and suggest ways to better utilize the applications to help the organization meet its business objectives. Other responsibilities will include partnering with the training department on training materials for new applications, assisting with product roll outs, and participating in application enhancement projects.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Accepts escalated application issues from the IT Support Desk when incidents cannot be resolved timely, accounting for priority of incident and mentoring the Support Desk staff.
• Responsible for application security and configuration functions to meet business needs.
• Tests enhancements to current software or the interoperability of off the shelf software, develops test plans, coordinates User Acceptance Testing, communications and provides feedback to IT Directors and other stakeholders on test results (defects, bugs, errors, successes/failures).
• Participates in projects that are aligned with the applications being supported by the IT Applications Administrator and sued to achieve the business objectives of AlliedBarton.
• Release management: provides documentation and/or work with Training Department to educate the end-user population on new features available in applications.
• Performs incident resolution, problem determination and root cause analysis for applications.
• Assists in the development of other IT Support employees through participation in education, mentoring and training activities.
• Serves as subject matter expert for applications assigned to IT Applications Administrator.
• Reviews and analyzes the effectiveness and efficiency of existing systems and develops strategies for improving or further leveraging these systems.
• Plans, executes, and manages the integration of new or enhanced end user applications.
• Builds relationships with third party software developer and in house development teams to gain an understanding of applications architectures, required functionality and issues in program logic.
• Ensures that testing activities will allow applications to meet business requirements and systems goals, fulfill end user requirements, and identify and resolve systems issues.
• Communicates application problems, test progress, test results, and other relevant information to key stakeholders, including management, development teams, end users and business unit.
• Collaborates with business analysts, developers and system owners in the testing of new software programs.
• Evaluate, plans, designs, and deploys testing plans for new applications, products, and/or enhancements to existing applications throughout their development/product lifecycles to identify appropriate solutions and/or discover and resolve defects, bugs, errors, configuration issues, and interoperability flaws.
• Records, tracks, and documents the problem solving process, including successful and unsuccessful decisions made, and actions taken, through to final decision.
• Analyzes documentation and technical specifications of any new application under deployment or consideration to determine its intended function and if it supports the organization’s business objectives.
• Builds relationships with ABSS’s training department as they will be partnering with the IT Applications Administrator on application deployment.
• Manages outsourced vendors/partners and the projects they may be working on as required.
• Periodically performs data cleansing activities in the applicable databases.
• Develops reports, dashboards, and processes to continuously monitor data quality and integrity.

To perform this job successfully, the individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or experience required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• A minimum of an Associates Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science or related field is required, with 3-5 years of related IT applications support and administration, IT Support Desk or IT production role.
• A Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science or related field is preferred along with previous project management and customer service experience
• Proven experience with troubleshooting principles, methodologies and issue resolution techniques.
• Strong organizational skills and time management skills.
• Able to develop and interpret technical documentation for training and end user procedures.
• Knowledge of trends in technology relating to software applications.
• Outstanding writing and documentation skills.
• Highly self-motivated and directed, with excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to communication ideas in both technical and user-friendly language.
• Able to conduct research into application issues and products.
• Able to prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment.
• Knowledge of applicable data privacy practices and laws.
• Local and distant travel occasionally required. Overtime hours may be required to meet project deadlines.
• Good project management skills and/or some exposure to application roll out/enhancements.
• Strong knowledge of system and software quality assurance best practices and methodologies.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills required with the ability to successfully interact at all levels of the organization while functioning as a team player.