Systems Analyst I

Job Summary

The Systems Analyst I consults with users and analyzes their requirements, and assists in the design, implementation and maintenance of vendor supplied applications.

The Systems Analyst I performs primary operational support, tactical and technical planning, analysis, design, development, installation, documentation and enhancements for the University s enterprise learning applications.

Organizational Status
The Learning Technology (LT) Hub supports the University’s enterprise learning applications, which service faculty and students both locally and around the world.

Reports to Lead, LTIC Incubator in the UBC Learning Technology Innovation Centre. Works under the direction of Solutions Architects, Programmer Analysts, Senior Managers, Managers, and others.

InteractsdirectlywithotherUniversitytechnologyprofessionalsandwhenrequired,withfaculty,staffandstudents.

Work Performed
Specific Duties:

• Develops expert-level functional knowledge of learning applications and provides recommendations on how they can be configured or enhanced to support the University’s vision of transformative student learning.
• Ensures that mission critical learning applications are reliable, stable, and highly-available to support the University’s vision of transformative student learning.
• Resolves technical issues in collaboration with other University technology professionals in a complex and highly-integrated environment of administrative systems, learning technologies, and student information systems.
• Analyzes and monitors the performance of learning applications to ensure service level commitments are fulfilled.
• Plays a role in developing archival/retention procedures, capacity plans, feasibility studies, and disaster recovery plans.
• Generates detailed reports on learning technology adoption and usage.
• Develops quality assurance and performance tests to prevent application or infrastructure changes from negatively impacting service.
• Liaises with the technical support units of vendors.
• Participates in campus learning technology committees and communities, as required, on behalf of the LT Hub.
• Contributes functional and technical expertise to the on-going strategic planning and development of the University’s learning technology ecosystem.
• May be required to provide after-hours support in situations requiring an urgent response.

Core Duties:

• Consults with users to determine their technical needs, and analyses and reviews existing system features and requirements.
• Researches vendor applications, proposes recommendations, and participates in solution design and implementation.
• Reviews application logs and alerts to monitor application stability and identifies opportunities to enhance application performance and operation.
• Performs application data conversations, migrations and upgrades.
• Assists in integrating vendor-supplied applications with existing infrastructure and applications through standard interfaces and protocols.
• Plans and performs application configuration changes or module deployments.
• Develops or modifies software application modules.
• Conducts testing of new or customized application modules to ensure application meets specifications.
• Documents functions and changes to new or modified modules, tests activities/results, error handling and backup/recovery procedures.
• Provides ongoing maintenance and operational support for applications.
• Produces technical documentation, including operations, maintenance, and support procedures.
• Supports application lifecycle and applies and follows appropriate change management methodologies and best practices.
• Contributes to the ongoing planning and analysis of application enhancements in support of current or new services.
• Maintains appropriate professional designations and up-to-date knowledge of current information technology techniques and tools.
• Participates in project planning and implementation.
• Builds and maintains good working relationships and collaborates with others to achieve client objectives.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Consequence of Error/Judgement
The University’s enterprise learning applications are mission critical components of the educational technology infrastructure. The dependencies on the University’s learning environment have made it critical that these applications perform at a very high level with little or no disruption of service.

The decisions and actions taken by the Systems Analyst will have a direct impact on how efficiently and effectively the University’s enterprise learning applications will perform and function. Errors in judgment, poor decisions or advice, failure to act decisively could result in having a detrimental impact on the University s ability to deliver courses in a timely fashion and conduct online testing, which could lead to placing the University in a liable position.

Supervision Received
Works under the general direction of the Lead, LTIC Incubator. Will sometimes work under the direction of a Project Manager, Team Lead or other senior technical resource, as assigned. The Systems Analyst must be able to work independently as well as contribute actively and collaborate openly as a team member.

Supervision Given
None

Minimum Qualifications
Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum of three years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. University degree or technical diploma in an IT-related discipline, preferably in Computer Science. Minimum of three years’ experience or the equivalent combination of education and experience. Demonstrated ongoing career development through active and self-motivated professional development.
• Experience with Learning Management Systems (e.g. Canvas, Moodle, etc.) or similar enterprise systems (e.g. Enterprise Resource Planning) is highly desired. Intermediate proficiency in Unix/Linux system administration (e.g. Red Hat Enterprise Linux).
• Experience building data infrastructure solutions with AWS is highly beneficial (e.g. API Gateway, CloudFormation, DynamoDB, Elastic Beanstalk, Kinesis, Lambda, RDS, Redshift, S3).
• Strong knowledge of web browsers, plugins (e.g. Flash, Java) and cross-browser compatibility issues.
• Familiar with databases (e.g. Oracle, MySQL), database design, and related tools (e.g. Toad, SQL Developer).
• Familiar with programming languages (e.g. Java, JavaScript, Perl, PHP) and related technologies (e.g. JSON, XML).
• Proficient with office productivity tools (e.g. MS Office, SharePoint, Visio).
• Experience in several of the following areas: project management, requirements definition, functional application design, configuration, implementation, testing, data conversion, training and documentation.
• Demonstrated proactive approach to customer service and responsiveness to customer needs.
• Good organizational and planning skills.
• Ability to work on several projects at once and to change priorities quickly as needed.
• Ability to work under pressure in time sensitive, mission critical situations, with a minimum of supervision.
• Familiar with learning technologies including strong familiarity with managing Wordpress environments.
• Familiar with streaming media technology (e.g. Kaltura).
• Experience with virtual infrastructure, load balancers, firewalls, and storage area networks (e.g. VMWare, Cisco Application Content Engine, Cisco Firewall Services Module, NetApp).
• Experience with desktop support (e.g. MacOS X, Windows).

Collaboration - Takes initiative to actively participate in team interactions. Without waiting to be asked, constructively expresses own point of view or concerns, even when it may be unpopular. Ensures that the limited time available for collaboration adds significant customer value and business results.

Communication for Results - Converses with, and writes to, peers in ways that support transactional and administrative activities. Seeks and shares information and opinions. Explains the immediate context of the situation, asks questions with follow-ups, and solicits advice prior to taking action.

Problem Solving - Investigates defined issues with uncertain cause. Solicits input in gathering data that help identify and differentiate the symptoms and root causes of defined problems. Suggests alternative approaches that meet the needs of the organization, the situation, and those involved. Resolves problems and escalates issues with suggestions for further investigation and options for consideration as required.

Accountability - Checks assumptions about mutual expectations and clarifies standards of overall performance. Checks the scope of responsibilities of self and others. Monitors day-to-day performance and takes corrective action when needed to ensure desired performance is achieved.