Functional Analyst

11476BR

Functional Analyst

Job Posting

Halifax Regional Municipality is inviting applications for the permanent, full-time position of Field Support Analyst in Information Technology.

Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) is committed to reflecting the community it serves and recognizing Diversity and Inclusion as one of the Municipality’s core values. We have an Employment Equity Policy, and we welcome applications from African Nova Scotians and Other Racially Visible Persons, Women in occupations or positions where they are underrepresented in the workforce, Indigenous/Aboriginal People, Persons with Disabilities and 2SLGBTQ+ Persons. Applicants are encouraged to self-identify on their electronic application.

In support of the Integrated Service Delivery Vision, the Functional Analyst ensures that the Versadex system and other technologies are effectively leveraged to support various business processes throughout the Halifax Regional Police. This requires a thorough knowledge of the intricacies of multiple business processes and relationships, including supporting information and data requirements.

This highly motivated professional possesses a hybrid of skills aimed at bridging the gap between the pure business staff and the pure technical staff. As such, this individual must have a solid understanding of technical concepts combined with an appreciation of when and how technology fits as a component of enhancing service delivery. Project management and team leadership skills are also required to allow this professional to fulfill the objectives of the position.

The Functional Analyst is responsible for managing and coordinating business unit use of one or more of the Versadex System modules, and develops processes and standards to ensure the highest level of process efficiency and integrity. The incumbent must work closely with the Data/ Business Information Management Division to ensure corporate data management policies, standards and practices are adhered to, and the Information Technology Division to ensure coordination in enterprise system solutions. The incumbent must also act as a liaison with business units and external agencies to address a variety of needs. The incumbent must have a good working knowledge of various complex technologies and their inter-relationships.

In consultation with business unit system users, the Functional Analyst is responsible for initiating and implementing functionality changes and enhancements within the Versadex System and for support of the solutions after implementation. The Functional Analyst deals with a variety of diverse and complex issues with minimal supervision. The incumbent must have strong project management and decision making skills as well as independence of action.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Project Leadership

• Responsible for leading implementation teams through all phases of the product implementation life cycle using the HRM standard project management methodology.
• Responsible for developing the implementation plan, coordinating the efforts and monitoring progress of all project team members.
• Implementations & Enhancements
• Responsible for working with system users to identify opportunities for leveraging additional value and service improvements from the enterprise solution.
• Works with system users to ascertain and document business unit operational and strategic requirements and business unit current-state business processes as input into the solution design process.
• Responsible for undertaking and/or supervising the design of software and process enhancements to meet the requirements as defined with the system users. This includes the creation of software development specifications that define to the Information Technology staff how to build reports, system interfaces, data entry and inquiry screens, and conversion utilities.
• Responsible for developing/building work flows within the system that provide the business process functionality.
• Responsible for the creation and/or directing the creation, maintenance and execution of acceptance test plans and testing scripts that will be used to guide the system users in their testing of the system solutions.
• Responsible for ensuring validation, testing, and system user unit acceptance of functionality modifications, enhancements, and new implementations; ie: Coordinate and document user testing of solutions and ensuring user sign-off
• Responsible for undertaking and / or overseeing the creation of solution training material
• Responsible for coordinating and /or delivering end user training in the new features and business processes.
• Responsible for liaising with all stakeholders, including internal support providers, to ensure that they have made all necessary preparations required for transition to the new processes and new system functionality;
• Responsible for coordinating the technical implementation of any enhancements, modifications, or new features into the production system and for maintaining accurate documentation of these changes.

Quality Practices

• The Functional Analyst works with a team of peers to ensure high quality, co-ordinated practices and consistent use of the enterprise system. Related responsibilities are:
• Definition of standard approaches that the team will use to ensure consistency across all implementations;
• Development of strategies to ensure that the highest possible level of modular integration and use of the enterprise technology is achieved;
• Assist with and reinforce adherence to established corporate data management standards, policies and practices;
• Escalating issues and recommendations to the appropriate levels for resolution and or formal decision.
• Conducting peer review of the team=s work to promote consistency and quality;
• Sharing of Ahow-to@ information within the group;
• Assessing the impact of any system functionality change requests that are being considered for implementation;
• Researching and assessing the business impact of any enterprise system upgrades;
• Coordinating plans and schedules for implementations and system functionality enhancements;
• Developing and executing a communication plan for keeping stakeholders and users updated on enhanced system functionality as well as system outages and;
• Ongoing Support to Business Units
• Responsible for providing on-going technical and business process support for those using the system;
• Responsible for on-going knowledge transfer with key Business Unit staff ensuring that they fully understand their current implementation as well as the potential for future growth and service improvement;
• Responsible for undertaking conversion and extraction of system data for use and analysis by other technical and non-technical users;
• Responsible for ensuring that training materials for the solutions are kept current for on-going training purposes;

QUALIFICATIONS:
Education and Experience:

• University Degree in a related field.
• An understanding of Halifax Regional Police's priorities, responsibilities, business processes and technology requirements.
• Experience with at least one large software implementation on a core team or extended team level.
• Experience in VERSADEX or a similar application will be considered an asset
• Training and/or certification in the field of Business Analysis will be considered an asset.

A suitable combination of formal education and experience will be considered.

Technical / Job Specific Knowledge and Abilities:

• Solid understanding of project planning, tracking , and management concepts;
• Considerable understanding of motivation, team building, conflict resolution concepts;
• Must be comfortable working in an interdepartmental and interdisciplinary team setting;
• Knowledge of practices related to the implementation of business solutions;
• Strong business analysis skills.
• Demonstrated knowledge of process mapping and process redesign;
• Knowledge of Software Development Life cycle concepts;
• Ability to translate business problems and requirements into technical and data related solutions and data;
• Good understanding of the complex relationships between various technologies;
• Strong data management skills;
• Thorough knowledge of corporate databases and data quality issues;
• Good knowledge of the services provided by the Municipality;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Strong decision making skills and independence of action;
• Proficiency in the use of HRM desktop software; and
• Knowledge of database management concepts and relational databases would be an asset;

Additional Assets:

• Knowledge in Microsoft Project and Visio; and
• Knowledge of the HRM Project Management MethodologySecurity Clearance Requirements: This position will require the successful applicants to pass a security clearance check.