Application Support Manager
Job Description
Service Manager for 24×5 Application Support is responsible for ensuring the smooth and efficient operation of mission-critical applications across a 24/5 support environment. This role involves overseeing the support teams, managing incidents, ensuring service levels are met, and coordinating with various stakeholders to maintain system uptime and reliability. The Service Manager will work proactively to identify potential issues, improve service delivery, and ensure application performance aligns with business objectives.
Key Responsibilities:
Service Delivery Management:
o Oversee the 24×5 support services for all critical business applications, ensuring high availability and timely resolution of incidents and requests.
o Manage and ensure adherence to service level agreements (SLAs) for response times, resolution times, and overall service quality.
o Coordinate with cross-functional teams, including IT operations, infrastructure, and development teams, to ensure seamless application support.
Incident & Problem Management:
o Ensure timely identification and resolution of high-priority incidents to minimize business disruption.
o Lead root cause analysis (RCA) for major incidents and implement corrective actions to prevent future occurrences.
o Oversee the incident management process, ensuring incidents are logged, tracked, and escalated appropriately.
o Ensure a robust problem management process is in place to address recurring application issues and work with teams to implement long-term solutions.
Team Leadership & Support:
o Lead and manage the 24×5 support team, ensuring they are adequately staffed and trained to handle the demands of continuous application support.
o Provide leadership and mentoring to team members, setting performance goals and ensuring team performance aligns with organizational expectations.
o Foster a collaborative and supportive environment, ensuring the team can effectively manage incidents and communicate with stakeholders.
Continuous Service Improvement:
o Proactively identify areas for improvement in application support, implementing enhancements to processes, tools, and technologies.
o Monitor application performance and trends to identify potential issues and ensure service continuity.
o Work closely with other teams to implement proactive measures that reduce incidents and improve service availability.
Stakeholder Communication & Reporting:
o Serve as the primary point of contact for key stakeholders, providing regular updates on application performance, incident resolutions, and service metrics.
o Ensure stakeholders are informed of any major incidents or disruptions to service and provide updates on progress toward resolution.
o Produce regular reports on application support performance, including incident management, downtime, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
Change Management:
o Oversee and coordinate the change management process for application-related changes, ensuring that all changes are documented, tested, and deployed in a controlled manner.
o Ensure proper risk assessments are conducted for each change, with adequate rollback plans in place.
o Collaborate with IT operations and development teams to ensure changes do not negatively impact the support environment.
Risk & Compliance Management:
o Ensure that the application support service complies with relevant regulatory and security standards.
o Monitor and address any security vulnerabilities related to the supported applications, working with security teams to implement timely solutions.
o Ensure proper backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity plans are in place for all supported applications.
Qualifications:
• Experience:
o 6+ years of experience in application support or IT service management, with at least 2-3 years in a leadership or service management role.
o Proven experience managing 24×7 support environments, particularly for mission-critical or enterprise-level applications.
o Strong understanding of ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) processes, including incident, problem, and change management.
o Experience working with monitoring tools, ticketing systems (e.g., ServiceNow, JIRA), and IT service management platforms.
o Familiarity with cloud platforms, infrastructure, and applications (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) is a plus.
• Skills:
o Excellent leadership and team management abilities.
o Strong communication skills, with the ability to effectively communicate with both technical teams and business stakeholders.
o Ability to manage high-pressure situations and ensure swift resolution of incidents.
o Analytical mindset with the ability to identify trends, root causes, and improvement opportunities.
o Strong customer service orientation, with a focus on delivering high-quality support.
Certifications:
o ITIL Foundation certification (preferred).
o PMP or Scrum Master certification is a plus.