Manager of Custom Development & Data

Manager of Custom Development & Data

Location: Champaign, IL

Job Type: Full-time

Classification: IT Manager/Administrative Coordinator

Reports to: Senior Manager of Enterprise Applications & Data

This position offers an opportunity to have a meaningful impact on SURS and its members through working with other IT professionals as well as the organization to understand business needs and evaluate how those needs and capabilities fit within the existing application infrastructure or identify gaps where new technology is needed.

What You'll Do

The Manager of Custom Development & Data will be responsible for the integration architecture at SURS, including systems that interact with the pension administration system (PAS). This will also include support for the legacy system as it is being sunset, as well as data integrity and quality assurance. This is expected to be a hands-on manager role.

Main Duties

• Supervise, mentor, and coach team members assigned to the Custom Development & Data team. (approximately 5-7 team members, including developers and quality assurance analysts)
• Determine staffing needs, conduct interviews, hiring process, and discipline.
• Assign tasks to staff, monitor the progress and direction of assigned tasks and make necessary corrections
• Determine training needs and provide training opportunities for staff.
• Identify integration needs between pension administration system (PAS) and other applications and work with vendors and other IT team members to implement.
• Oversee the organization's data architecture, aligning data strategy with business objectives.
• Ensure data integrity across systems and manage the full quality assurance lifecycle.
• Establish, measure and maintain KPIs and SLAs for the Custom Development & Data team.
• Manage vendor relationships, including support tickets, evaluating new releases, and upcoming roadmap capabilities.
• Work with the Helpdesk, Application Support, and PMO teams to manage projects and tasks assigned.
• Be a subject matter expert on existing applications and integration within the technology footprint.
• Work with the business to maximize capabilities of the application ecosystem.
• Evaluate alternative applications and solutions to meet business capabilities and requirements.
• Identify gaps in existing technology based on business capability roadmaps and determine the best way to fill the gap using existing or new applications.
• Provide tier 2/3 support for enterprise integrations, along with escalations when appropriate.
• Work with Product Owner and vendor resources to create statement of works to support requirements as needed.
• Maintain documentations of all technology processes and components supporting the enterprise applications.
• Ensure integrity of data and reports for enterprise.
• Produce cost and resource estimates based on requirements and statements of work.
• Ensure that solutions meet all compliance, legal, internal controls, and accounting standards.
• Participate in special projects or perform other duties as required.

Required Qualifications

1. Any one or any combination totaling 5 years (60 months) from the following categories:

• College coursework which includes Information Technology (IT), IT Management, Programming, IT Systems, or a closely related discipline, as measured by the following conversion table or its proportional equivalent:

• 30 semester hours equals one (1) year (12 months)

• Associate's Degree (60 semester hours) equals eighteen months (18 months)

• 90 semester hours equals two (2) years (24 months)

• Bachelor's Degree (120 semester hours) equals three (3) years (36 months)

• Work experience in IT-related functions such as hardware/software support, programming, network design, network engineering, IT systems integration, or closely related field, which includes supervisory or lead worker capacity.

2. Based on position requirements, additional education, training, and/or work experience in the area of specialization inherent to the position may be required.

• Minimum of 2 years as a supervisor or lead role in IT application development.
• At least 5 years experience with application development processes and associated techniques. Experience may run concurrently with the time used above to meet the minimum qualifications.
• Demonstrated knowledge of programming, integration, and deployment best practices and theories.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong project management experience, including the capacity to handle multiple projects simultaneously.
• Experience in planning, executing, and delivering complex integration projects on time and within budget.
• Strong analytical and diagnostic skills, with the ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and make sound decisions under pressure.
• Familiarity and working knowledge of ticketing software such as Jira, ServiceNow, or Zendesk, and experience improving ticket processes and documentation standards.
• Experience developing robust APIs, integrations, and familiarity with the .NET or C# ecosystem.
• Expertise in SQL development, database administration, performance tuning, and integration with other systems.
• Experience with relevant AWS services and familiarity with cloud architecture, deployment, and management.
• Understanding of IBM i architecture, databases (DB2/400), and programming languages is a plus.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Knowledge of the systems and operations used within the areas and departments of responsibility
• Exceptional communication, interpersonal skills, and the ability to influence and build rapport with stakeholders and direct reports.
• Ability to guide, motivate, and develop integration specialists, fostering a collaborative and high-performing environment.
• Leadership and mentoring abilities with experience in instructing, directing, evaluating employees, and holding individuals and teams accountable for their assignments.

Work Environment & Compensation

• Full-time position based in Champaign, IL
• Fully in-office during initial training; potential hybrid schedule available afterward
• The starting salary range for this position is $123,500 - $137,000. This is a competitive salary, taking into consideration experience and internal equity.
• Standard 37.5-hour work week

Benefits That Matter

• State of Illinois insurance benefits including medical, dental, and vision
• Participation in the SURS retirement plan
• Paid vacation, sick leave, and 10 paid holidays
• 2 floating holidays after 6 months
• Paid parental leave after 6 months
• Flexible, professional work environment
• Free parking
• Find more details regarding the benefits SURS offers at: SURS Employee Benefits - SURS

About SURS

The State Universities Retirement System (SURS) administers retirement, disability, survivor, and death benefits for over 255,000 members across Illinois public higher education institutions. Founded in 1941, SURS manages more than $30 billion in assets and is committed to delivering accurate, timely, and compassionate service to members throughout their careers and lives.