IT Application Manager

Colorado Springs Utilities' Information Technology currently has an exciting opportunity available for a seasoned Applications Manager on our Information Technology team. Information Technology Managers are an integral part of Colorado Springs Utilities providing value to internal partners and our own employees. 

The IT Applications Manager is responsible for management and support of a portfolio of applications and technology solutions. The IT Applications Manager has overall responsibility for the support, maintenance, deployment, and enhancement of commercial software applications; this role specifically focuses on ERP/CMMS/CIS applications. Additionally, you would be responsible for planning and overseeing technical development being executed by both internal and vendor led teams – while working collaboratively with business units delivering technical solutions that meet goals and objectives. The Application Manager will be the primary point of contact for internal business and vendor partners, and is responsible for appropriate staffing, staff management, performance management, and continuous service improvement.

Key Areas of Focus:

• Managing an application portfolio and associated projects
• Provide leadership and manage the work activities of direct reports in application development for Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications this includes new solutions and enhancement of existing systems
• Develop relevant metrics, measures, and publish the performance of the services provided and enables continuous improvement activities in collaboration with peer groups
• Identify opportunities for application optimization, redesign, or process improvement - focused on enterprise systems and internal tools
• Assist with the preparation of budget for IT systems and services related interfaces and applications under team’s purview
• Partner with business stakeholders, vendors, and IT management to provide a strategic vision for new and supported applications and create system roadmaps and business processes
• Address the various needs, concerns, expectations of stakeholder groups in planning and executing projects, meeting project requirements, and creating project deliverables
• Balance competing project constraints including but not limited to scope, quality, schedule, budget, resources, and risks in order to accommodate the needs of each user/customer
• Partner with leaders of other disciplines to ensure proposed solutions align with information, technology, infrastructure, business and security architectures
• Build a strong technical culture around our business systems that emphasizes technical excellence, rapid iteration, strong security, and frictionless user experiences
• Accountable for availability and performance of applications portfolio, including ownership of incidents and release management
• A passion for all things tech and a drive to experiment with new technologies to see where they can benefit the business
• Manage application software contract agreements; Implement and monitor standards around scope management, financial management, service level agreements (SLA), ensure compliance to mitigate risk, increase service/business Impact & reduce costs
• Develop and implement strategies for disaster recovery and business continuity to ensure robust and resilient applications infrastructure

Leadership and Team Development:

• Cultivate leadership within the IT department, encouraging staff to lead projects with autonomy
• Develop professional growth plans for team members to stay current with industry standards
• Mentor and coach team members, providing feedback to foster career growth
• Organize team-building activities to enhance collaboration and morale
• Identify and nurture future leaders through strategic succession planning
• Demonstrate change leadership to inspire the team to adopt new challenges

Essential requirements:

• BA/BS degree preferred, and 5 years of experience in an applications manager or similar role preferably supporting enterprise level applications
• Experience with COTS (Commercial-off-the-shelf) and SAAS (Software as a service) ideal
• 2 years of Vendor management 
• 10 years of IT experience is highly preferred
• Deep hands-on experience with application implementations, enhancements, and integrations specifically focused on ERP/CMMS/CIS strongly preferred
• Proven functional experience with business units including Employee Communications, Engineering, IT
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to clearly explain system changes and functionality to all levels of the company
• Experience setting up ongoing procedures for collection and review of project statuses and goals
• Highly self-motivated, directed, and change oriented

Who you are:  A highly qualified candidate will have: A bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance or Information Technology or a closely related field and five years of supervisory / leadership experience; highly qualified candidates will have a master's degree in Business, Finance or Information Technology or a closely related field and significant IT experience /leadership experience. Additionally, those candidates that will be highly preferred will be those with hands-on experience with C2M, Infor, Maximo, or similar systems. Utility and/or Energy related experience would be valuable.

What does this opportunity offer? As an IT Manager, you will have the opportunity to create a technology vision, establish strategic direction and execute enterprise technology initiatives. Additionally, you will be leading and delivering cost-effective technology solutions to water, wastewater, gas, electric and other services. Your expertise will provide insight, business knowledge, ideas and problem-solving abilities to a variety of situations. 
Relocation assistance is available for this position.

This position is eligible for relocation assistance

Who We Are…Colorado Springs Utilities offers a 100-year reputation for providing electric, natural gas, water, and wastewater services to the Pikes Peak Region. As a municipal utility, our mission is to provide safe, reliable, and competitively priced utilities to our customers. Our organizational values of Safety, People, Trust, Responsibility, Collaboration, and Continuous Improvement, serve as our guiding principles and are the foundation of our culture.

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