BEST Program Technical Environment Manager

Location: Boston, MA
Duration: 6 Months

Position Summary

The BEST Technical Environment Manager will work with the BEST Deputy Program Manager and Solution Technical Lead to support the adoption and implementation of the future-state Human Resource and Payroll system.

The role will collaborate with the BEST PMO, BEST Program Operations Lead, BEST Phase 2 Technical Lead, BEST Phase 2 Risk and Compliance Lead, product vendor, Systems Integrator (SI), Office of the Comptroller, Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS), and other stakeholders to deploy technical configurations and manage the status of data and environments throughout the project lifecycle.

Each environment will have specific data, end-user security, integration, configuration, testing, and operational requirements.

The Technical Environment Manager will be part of the BEST Technical Implementation Team and will work closely with functional, technical, operations, and risk/compliance teams to develop and implement a comprehensive environment management solution, particularly for the SaaS solution supporting the program.

Key Responsibilities

Environment Management & Configuration

• Define standards, protocols, procedures, tools, and resources required to manage technical environments throughout the project.
• Prepare technical environments for ongoing operations of the new Human Resource and Payroll solution.
• Manage and support the overall configuration of each environment in coordination with the SI and product vendor.
• Monitor and manage:
  • User access status
  • Data status
  • High-level solution functional configuration
  • Integration solution status
  • Vendor and SI operational protocols
  • Infrastructure performance
  • SLA metrics
• Manage the timing and procedures for software upgrades and configuration updates.
• Monitor and mitigate identified environment and operational issues.
• Manage detailed configuration of each environment based on business, testing, and technical requirements.
• Support configuration tasks, including:
  • Function-specific configuration and versions
  • Batch jobs
  • End-user security
  • Ongoing and new configuration requirements
• Manage and oversee data refreshes across various environments.
• Support configuration management processes and environment consistency.

Cross-System Monitoring & Integrations

• Design and implement cross-system monitoring solutions covering:
  • Cloud SaaS vendor environments
  • Legacy on-premises vendor solutions
  • EOTSS-managed services
  • Other components supporting the end-state business solution
• Work with Commonwealth and BEST teams to implement and monitor connected systems and integration touchpoints appropriate for each environment.
• Monitor operational status and performance of integrated touchpoints, including:
  • CIW / Data Warehouse
  • Single Sign-On (SSO)
  • Mobius / Reporting
  • Time Reporting Systems
  • PrintShop
  • MOVEit file-sharing solution
• Align operational support activities across integrated systems.
• Support monitoring of data backups, application performance, network performance, and related operational processes.

SaaS Operations & Vendor Management

• Coordinate with the SI and product vendor on system upgrades and routine maintenance.
• Monitor vendor operational performance and SLA compliance.
• Oversee SaaS operations and support/maintenance SLA metrics.
• Recommend procedures and tools for ensuring the solution consistently meets SLA requirements.
• Recommend operational metrics that improve business and IT support functions.
• Develop procedures for troubleshooting software issues, applying patches, handling exceptions, and escalating SLA-related issues.
• Recommend procedures for managing future upgrades.
• Align vendor, SI, Commonwealth, and internal responsibilities for ongoing maintenance activities, defect fixes, upgrades, and SLA reporting.
• Monitor vendor operational and data-security protocols in coordination with the Risk and Compliance Lead.

Testing & Implementation Support

• Support all phases and cycles of testing, including:
  • Unit testing
  • System testing
  • Integration testing
  • End-to-end testing
  • Parallel testing
  • User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
  • Payroll parallel testing
  • Pre-go-live operational testing
  • Post-go-live operations
• Support execution of tabletop operational reviews for end-to-end go-live processes.
• Ensure environments are appropriately configured and available for testing and implementation activities.
• Support go-live preparation, conversion, and transition to ongoing operations.
• Participate in large-scale implementation and migration activities.

Operational Readiness & Transition

• Participate in the BEST Program Maintenance and Operations Workstream.
• Support transition of existing roles and responsibilities to the future-state operational delivery model.
• Provide recommendations regarding operational processes for business and IT teams.
• Identify gaps in future-state ongoing operations.
• Define regular and monthly maintenance activities.
• Align Commonwealth-managed components with the Workday solution.
• Recommend best practices, procedures, and organizational structures for day-to-day operation of the new HR and Payroll solution.
• Participate in defining ongoing operational roles and responsibilities.
• Develop procedures for ongoing maintenance, upgrades, defect fixes, and operational support.
• Support technical workstreams including:
  • Data conversion
  • Integration
  • Security
  • Data oversight
  • Other technical initiatives identified by BEST leadership

Documentation & Reporting

• Provide regular written communications regarding environment status.
• Prepare status reports covering:
  • Environment condition
  • Future environment plans
  • Coordination issues
  • Integrated touchpoints
  • SI and vendor issues
  • Agency-related issues
• Ensure operational documentation is accurate, complete, and effective.
• Participate in development of detailed operational procedures and processes across multiple delivery partners and teams.
• Support creation and maintenance of:
  • Operational procedures
  • Operational processes
  • Third-party operational oversight procedures
  • Support/ticketing processes
  • Data-flow diagrams
  • Sequence diagrams
  • Network diagrams
  • Security diagrams

Security, Compliance & Business Continuity

• Support security policies, processes, and standards related to end-user roles and application data access.
• Support appropriate access to production and non-production environments.
• Work with the Risk and Compliance Lead to recommend procedures for monitoring vendor data-security protocols.
• Work with the Risk and Compliance Lead to recommend end-user security provisioning procedures.
• Ensure applicable compliance requirements are incorporated into operational processes.
• Coordinate with CTR, BEST, and EOTSS on disaster recovery testing and documentation.
• Support assessment of SaaS vendor disaster recovery and business continuity procedures.
• Recommend risk mitigation activities to support business continuity and data security.
• Support implementation of security controls across environments.

Training & Operational Support

• Oversee ongoing systems training for system administrators and operational support personnel.
• Define protocols and tools for troubleshooting the solution while maintaining operational integrity and security.
• Provide operational support to BEST teams, product vendors, and users throughout the project.
• Demonstrate strong customer service and stakeholder-support capabilities.

Required Skills & Experience

• Experience with technical configurations, technologies, and processing environments on projects of similar size and complexity.
• Experience with system administration and monitoring across various application platforms, particularly SaaS delivery models.
• Demonstrated experience leading Root Cause Analysis (RCA) documentation and working with administrators and integration developers to drive issue resolution.
• Experience across all phases of large-scale system implementation, including:
  • Requirements definition
  • Unit testing
  • System testing
  • Integration testing
  • Parallel testing
  • User Acceptance Testing
  • Go-live conversion
  • Post-go-live operations
• Experience with LAN/WAN/VPN and remote network technologies and protocols, including:
  • TCP/IP
  • HTTP
  • FTP
  • Ethernet
  • Routers
  • Hubs
  • Servers
• Ability to quickly learn new technologies and vendor solutions and assess their complexity and potential risks.
• Excellent customer service orientation.
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Experience working in Agile-based operations.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate across multiple operational delivery partners.
• Ability to ensure quality, compliance, and operational readiness across a complex business solution.
• Experience working in a 24x7 operational environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing and implementing Human Resource and Payroll applications.
• Experience implementing end-user security protocols within a large public- or private-sector organization.
• Experience with Workday Human Resource and Payroll solutions, preferably within a government environment.
• Experience with Workday Prism data and reporting solutions.
• Experience with Workday user security management as part of a business/non-IT team.
• Experience transitioning legacy on-premises applications to SaaS/cloud delivery models.
• Experience implementing technical configurations and processing environments for large-scale programs.
• Experience with audit, compliance, and governance activities.
• Experience generating operational materials, including:
  • Operational procedures
  • Operational processes
  • Third-party operational oversight
  • Support/ticketing processes
  • Data-flow diagrams
  • Sequence diagrams
  • Network diagrams
  • Security diagrams
• Experience managing multiple environments within a large government IT implementation.
• Experience with configuration management concepts and tools.
• Experience with Microsoft security tools and functions.
• Experience with Snowflake solutions and security.

Minimum Entrance Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Systems Analysis, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 7 years of overall IT experience.
• Minimum experience with one large application migration project.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in an operations architecture or operations definition role.