IT solutions analyst

Strategic Staffing Solutions is currently looking for an IT Solutions Analyst for a W2 contract opportunity.

IT Solutions Analyst- Service Availability Lead

Location: Denver, CO, Minneapolis, MN
Work Arrangement: Hybrid – 3 days per week onsite (Tuesday–Thursday)
Schedule: 24x7 Operations – Fixed Assigned Shifts
Experience: 5–10 years
Employment Type: Contract
Work Auth: USC/GC holders only
Top Skills:

• 5–10 years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas:
• Change Management
• Risk Management
• Incident Management
• Network Operations
• IT Operations
• Service Operations
• ITIL certification required.
• Strong understanding of network operations and service availability.
• Experience working in a 24x7 operational environment.

Job Summary:We are seeking an experienced Service Availability Leads to support a 24x7 network operations environment. This role is responsible for maintaining network availability and stability by leading change management, risk management, and incident management activities.The Service Availability Lead will serve as a key operational partner to technical teams, engineering, project teams, contractors, and business stakeholders. The position requires a strong understanding of network operations, the ability to assess technical and operational risk, and the confidence to make sound, risk-based decisions.

The role will primarily focus on Change Management and Risk Management (approximately 70%), with Incident Management (approximately 30%).

The ideal candidate is a confident communicator, quick thinker, and decisive problem solver who can remain effective under pressure, lead remediation efforts, and quickly pivot between competing operational priorities.

Key Responsibilities

Change Management

• Review change requests submitted through ServiceNow.
• Validate implementation plans, testing plans, risk assessments, and rollback procedures.
• Ensure change requests contain sufficient technical and operational information before approval.
• Identify gaps, risks, dependencies, and potential impacts to network availability.
• Return incomplete or inaccurate change requests for correction.
• Facilitate Change Advisory Board (CAB) and Technical CAB meetings.
• Review and communicate change tickets during technical calls.
• Coordinate required approvals and ensure compliance with established change management processes.
• Support emergency change requests and operational escalations.
• Understand the technical and business rationale behind each change before providing approval or risk recommendations.

Risk Management

• Evaluate proposed changes and operational activities for technical, business, and service availability risks.
• Identify potential conditions that could negatively impact network stability or availability.
• Recommend appropriate risk mitigation strategies.
• Partner with engineering, network operations, project teams, and contractors to reduce operational risk.
• Lead or support remediation efforts when risks are identified.
• Help identify opportunities to reduce self-inflicted outages and improve operational processes.
• Make informed, risk-based recommendations and confidently communicate the rationale behind decisions.

Incident Management

• Lead response activities for critical incidents and service outages.
• Coordinate technical teams during incident investigation, troubleshooting, and service restoration.
• Facilitate incident bridge calls and technical discussions.
• Communicate service-impact information and expected restoration timelines to appropriate stakeholders.
• Provide timely updates during service disruptions.
• Escalate issues appropriately based on severity, risk, and business impact.
• Support remediation efforts following significant incidents.
• Help ensure the network remains stable and available during service-impacting events.

Service Availability & Network Operations

• Proactively identify and mitigate risks that could result in network outages.
• Monitor and support overall service availability and network stability.
• Participate in technical operational calls and availability discussions.
• Quickly pivot between different operational teams and priorities as incidents, changes, and risks arise.
• Work closely with contractors responsible for implementing and executing technical changes.
• Coordinate through team collaboration channels with technical and operational stakeholders.
• Support a continuous improvement culture focused on network reliability and operational excellence.

Day-to-Day Activities

• Review and evaluate change tickets submitted through ServiceNow.
• Participate in Technical CAP/CAB calls to discuss upcoming changes and associated risks.
• Answer technical and operational questions throughout the day.
• Provide approvals or risk-based recommendations for changes and incident-related activities.
• Coordinate with contractors responsible for implementing approved changes.
• Communicate with multiple technical teams through collaboration channels.
• Respond to incidents and operational escalations as needed.
• Assess risks and determine appropriate mitigation or escalation.
• Pivot between departments and operational priorities within a 24x7 operations environment.
• Lead or participate in remediation efforts following service-impacting events.

Required Qualifications

• 5–10 years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas:
• Change Management
• Risk Management
• Incident Management
• Network Operations
• IT Operations
• Service Operations
• ITIL certification required.
• Strong understanding of network operations and service availability.
• Experience working in a 24x7 operational environment.
• Demonstrated experience evaluating technical and operational risk.
• Ability to review technical change requests and identify gaps in:
• Implementation plans
• Testing plans
• Risk assessments
• Rollback procedures
• Strong understanding of change management processes.
• Ability to lead or facilitate operational meetings and technical discussions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Confident public speaker who can communicate effectively with technical and business stakeholders.
• Strong organizational and multitasking skills.
• Ability to work independently with limited supervision.
• Ability to make informed decisions under pressure.
• Ability to quickly learn new processes and adapt to changing operational requirements.
• Experience with ServiceNow.
• Experience in telecommunications, infrastructure, utilities, or other large-scale operational environments.
• Experience supporting major incidents and service outages.

Key Skills & Competencies

• Change Management
• Risk Management
• Incident Management
• Network Operations
• Service Availability
• ITIL
• ServiceNow
• Technical Risk Assessment
• Incident Response
• Stakeholder Management
• Operational Decision-Making
• Meeting Facilitation
• Problem Solving
• Technical Communication
• Remediation Leadership
• Multitasking
• Adaptability

Work Environment & Schedule

• Hybrid work environment.
• Must be willing and able to work an assigned day or night shift within a 24x7 operational environment.
• Three days onsite per week, Tuesday through Thursday.
• Remaining workdays may be performed remotely, based on operational requirements.
• Position supports a 24x7 operations environment with fixed assigned shifts.
• Candidates must be flexible to support day or night shift requirements.
• Weekly team meetings are conducted in person.
• Training is conducted approximately once per quarter and requires in-person attendance.
• Primarily office- and computer-based work.
• Comfortable working under pressure in a 24x7 operations environment.

“Beware of scams. S3 never asks for money during its onboarding process.”

Expected hours: 40.0 per week

Benefits:

• Health insurance

Application Question(s):

• Are you located in either of the locations? Minneapolis, MN or Denver CO?
• Are you a US Citizen or Greencard holder and willing to work on our W2?

Experience:

• Incident management: 5 years (Required)
• Change management: 5 years (Required)
• Network support: 3 years (Preferred)

License/Certification:

• ITIL Certification (Required)

Shift availability:

• Day Shift (Preferred)
• Night Shift (Preferred)
• Overnight Shift (Preferred)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Minneapolis, MN 55401

Benefits:

Salary : $74,551 - $100,041