Production Support Manager

The California State Payroll System (CSPS) project will deliver a modern solution for Human Capital Management (HCM) including core HR functionality (position control, personnel administration, benefits administration, time management, and travel and expense management) and Payroll with employee self-service and streamlined business processes using innovative technology solutions.

Under general direction provided by an Information Technology Manager II, the Information Technology Manager I (ITM I), serves as the CSPS Application Production Support Manager, providing strategic leadership, direction, and oversight for the production operation, application support services, third-party vendor management, operational readiness, and continuous service improvement initiatives of the CSPS payroll and Human Resources (HR) system.

Duties performed:
(Candidates must perform the following functions with or without reasonable accommodations.)

• Plan, organize, direct, and manage statewide production operations supporting CSPS, ensuring the availability, reliability, performance, and continuous improvement of enterprise HR and payroll services.

• Provide leadership for production support activities by coordinating the work of State staff, third-party vendors, manages service providers, and cross-functional technical and functional teams to maintain stable and secure production environments.

• Direct daily production operations including application support, incident management, problem management, release and deployment coordination, production scheduling, operational readiness, change management, system monitoring, and service restoration activities.

• Oversee workload distribution, production priorities, resource utilization, issue resolution, operational metrics, and service level performance to ensure timely and reliable delivery of statewide HCM services.

• Develop, implement, and maintain production operations standards, operational procedures, support models, knowledge management practices, and governance processes to ensure compliance with State policies, enterprise architecture standards, security requirements, audit controls, and industry best practices.

• Establish and maintain operational standards for secure file transfer services, production interfaces, batch processing, system integrations, and other production support technologies that meet business and operational requirements.

• Lead and direct subordinate supervisors and staff by planning, organizing, assigning, and evaluating workload, establishing priorities, monitoring performance, coaching employees, and promoting professional development to ensure effective production support coverage and continuous operational excellence.

• Oversee production readiness activities for system enhancements, releases, patches, interfaces, data conversions, and department onboarding by collaborating with project teams, business stakeholders, infrastructure teams, and SI to ensure successful implementation into the production environment with minimal operational risk.

• Direct the planning, execution, validation, and maintenance of production validation processes, operational readiness testing, automated regression testing, post-implementation verification, disaster recovery testing, and production support documentation to ensure system stability following releases and production changes.

• Participate in Design, Development, Configuration, and Implementation (DDCI) activities to establish production support requirements, operational processes, monitoring capabilities, support documentation, knowledge transfer, and transition-to-operations deliverables.

• Acquire and maintain expert knowledge of the CSPS solution and supporting technologies to effectively lead long-term production operations.

• Coordinate production support activities with SI, cloud service providers, managed service vendors, infrastructure teams, cybersecurity staff, business partners, and external stakeholders.

• Monitor vendor performance against contractual obligations and service level agreements (SLAs), resolve operational issues, and provides executive leadership with production status reports, operational metrics, risk assessments, and recommendations for continuous service improvement.

• Ensure compliance of CSPS solution development, delivery, production and operation support with State Administrative Manual (SAM), Statewide Information Management Manual (SIMM), security policies, audit requirements, privacy regulations, accessibility standards, and State Controller's Office operational governance practices.

• INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGER I

• Job Application Package Checklist
• Duty Statement

• Current version of the State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 (when not applying electronically), or the Electronic State Employment Application through your Applicant Account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov. All Experience and Education relating to the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification should be included to demonstrate how you meet the Minimum Qualifications for the position.
• Resume is required and must be included.
• Statement of Qualifications - The Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) should be written in narrative format, be no longer than one page in length, using size 12 font and respond to the prompt provided below:
  • Describe your relevant work experience and activities that align with the CSPS Production Support Manager position, demonstrating you have the required knowledge, skills and abilities to be successful in this role.
  Resumes and cover letters cannot be substituted for the SOQs. Applications submitted without the SOQ will not be considered for the position. Applications submitted without a SOQ in a narrative format will automatically be excluded from the recruitment process.
  

• Ability to uphold SCO's T.R.U.S.T.E.D values.
• Ability to communicate effectively while using tact and good judgment.
• Ability to work under pressure with changing priorities and/or deadlines.
• Ability to work well with others at all levels.
• Ability to formulate and recommend policies and procedures.
• Ability to analyze and resolve complex business problems.
• Ability to make critical and timely decisions.
• Ability to develop and foster collaborative working relationships.
• Ability to develop new and innovative approaches and recommend changes.
• Ability to guide staff in navigating sensitive situations.
• Ability to guide staff in the completion of project artifacts from various sources to facilitate software design, development, testing and implementation.
• Experience with IBM Doors, JIRA, and SharePoint.
• Experience with application development concepts, methodologies, best practices and tools.
• Experience with Vendor Management.
• Experience with reviewing and approving contract deliverables.
• Experience planning, directing, mentoring, and coaching project teams.
• Excellent attendance, dependability, initiative and independence.
• Knowledge of emerging technologies and their application to business processes.
• Knowledge of and experience with the Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC) principles and practices.
• Knowledge of the California Project Management Framework.