Application Specialist

About the role

The Application Specialist will lead project management operations, disaster recovery, and business continuity, overseeing and prioritizing active and in-queue initiatives. They will also assist with troubleshooting, downtimes, and user-related IT problems for assigned areas.

Responsibilities

• Shares responsibility to ensure production system applications are accessible, fully functional, and optimally configured.
• Manages upgrades and net-new implementation initiatives.
• Led collaboration within and across Enterprise IS teams.
• Initiates, facilitates, and leads regular meetings with users and decision makers to ensure operational approval for system initiatives.
• Strategizes prioritization and overall operations related to assigned areas and embedded systems.
• Makes recommendations, and escalates requests, and projects requiring greater creativity to peers, Lead resources.
• Assists with the completion of requests for scoping, and business plans related to ancillary applications and core systems of assigned service lines and departments.
• Maintains strong working relationships with end users and department leaders to assist with workflow analysis and business needs requiring IT services, LEAN initiatives, and IT process improvement activities.
• Ensures that both client and IS teams' needs are met as projects evolve, monitors project progress, handles issues that arise, and communicates regularly on project developments to relevant participants in efforts to maintain overall visibility.
• Works independently with client and IS resources to identify and define project requirements, scope, and objectives.
• Edits and educates junior staff related to project management processes through on-the-job instruction and formal training programs.
• Edits and educates junior staff related to workflow processes, system analysis, and project management.
• Edits staff regarding required processes related to the support of applications and systems.
• Manages personal and junior team member queues, issues, or calls from customers and end-users.
• Applies system knowledge to improve operational workflows, streamline processes, and support strategies.
• Consults and advises on advanced features, functions, and proper uses of ancillary applications and core systems.
• Applies in-depth knowledge of operations, expertise from training and/or certifications, to assist with assessment, development and support of workflows for MemorialCare systems and equipment.
• Works to provide systems analysis and task ownership related to the acquisition and support of assigned applications and systems.
• Confers with other Senior resources and leadership on complex matters.
• Acquires assistance from entry level members as needed and develops latitude for independent actions and decisions.
• Participates in any phase of projects, ancillary applications, process improvement efforts, and LEAN initiatives.
• Participates in projects for system selections, implementations, and post go-live support.
• Develops training materials and in-service documents for staff and end-users.
• Develops testing scenarios from a detailed understanding of reliant workflows to utilize for regression testing.
• Participates in operational, system, and customer acceptance planning and testing, supporting full end-to-end deployment of ancillary application and system solutions.
• Participates in investigations of ancillary application and system logs, collecting harvested information and partnering with other senior members to generate reports.

Qualifications/Work Experience

• Minimum 5 years’ experience as a clinical or applications analyst, computer technician in a healthcare setting required.
• Proven ability to lead all types and phases of highly complex projects.
• Proven history of managing oversight of team-based project management operations and methodologies.
• Experienced in leading projects, providing expert consultative guidance and direction on change initiatives, effectively dedicating time across more than one project, and meeting established deadlines.
• Proven familiarity of regression testing as it pertains to ancillary applications and core systems interfaced with an EMR.
• Proven proficiency developing test scenarios and scripts for integrated ancillary applications and core systems.
• Held previously successful role for an ancillary application or system initiative, which required the use of project management tools and methodologies and experience with all project phases.
• Solid understanding of enterprise architecture related to ancillary applications and core systems including business continuity.
• Experienced establishing designing and implementing ancillary application and system support models with a core understanding of IT operations.
• Demonstrated ability to upgrade ancillary applications and core systems, optimize them for improved performance and streamline functionality based on operational workflows.
• Proven progressive project management experience working independently as well as in a team situation meeting aggressive deadlines.
• Proven ability to troubleshoot and remediate routine problems associated with ancillary applications and core systems to ensure high levels of user satisfaction.
• Proven ability to apply an extensive amount of hands-on experience and expert level knowledge of ancillary applications and core systems while leading highly complex projects at the enterprise level.
• Demonstrated comprehensive understanding of all areas of application support including integration using HL7 messaging and administration of system and service life cycles.
• Demonstrated high energy levels and tolerance of tight deadlines, time pressures, and ambiguity.
• Proven ability to prepare and interpret flowcharts, schedules, and step-by-step action plans.
• Proven experience managing personal issue queue as well as that of junior resources, assigning work orders, and providing advice on issues.
• Experienced at managing calls from customers for assistance and skillful at closing the loop with creating and updating pertinent documentation.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor junior team members on operational and system workflows, as well as usage of systems and internal process.
• Experienced at training team members on troubleshooting and remediating issues associated with ancillary applications.
• Demonstrated ability to manage professional relationships with executive leadership and regularly host meetings.
• Proven experience involved in team initiatives including translating end-user needs, meeting deliverables, providing status reports, and managing customer expectations.
• Demonstrated effective communicator for purposes of interpersonal relations to understand and identify project needs and overall objectives.