Director of Public Health Applications - Full-time / Part-time

Job Description:
Director III
The Information Technology (IT) Director of Public Health Applications reports to the Director of IT Applications. This position leads the IT organization supporting the than 60 programs at the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), including Vital Statistics, Infectious Disease Surveillance & Outbreak Response, Office of Border Affairs, and the Texas Center for Infectious Disease (TCID). The scope of this IT team includes the full range of software development lifecycle activities, project management and execution, contract management, and budget management. The team is comprised of about 75 staff supporting several dozen applications. This position performs management activities including providing direction and guidance to the Public Health Applications team members (including Director level positions), establishing priorities, and driving the execution of strategic and tactical roadmaps established by IT and program leadership. This position also oversees the day to day operations of staff to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of IT systems and services. The successful candidate should be able to work with minimal supervision. This position has significant opportunity for initiative and independent judgment. This position plans, assigns, and supervises the work of others.

Essential Job Functions:
Attends work on a regular and predictable schedule in accordance with agency leave policy and performs other duties as assigned.
Oversees support of critical agency software applications. Plans, creates, implements, and monitors IT operational policies, procedures and guidelines to ensure consistency and compliance with relevant software development and security standards as well as legislative mandates. Establishes service level agreements for key systems and services provided by the Public Health Applications team. Defines and implements key process indicators (KPI's) to measure the effectiveness of team processes, systems, and service levels. Benchmarks best practices for capabilities, processes, and systems both internally and with other agencies/entities. Incorporates benchmarking knowledge gained in roadmaps and continuous improvement action plans. Plans, directs, and oversees the daily tasks and activities of staff. Ensures staff have defined training and development plans. Provides employee guidance and mentoring. Communicates job requirements and manages employee performance. 25% Ensures systems remain up. Drives the tracking of application downtime for Public Health applications. Defines and drives application availability improvement action plans partnering with other teams and/or organizations including but not limited to the Department of Information Resources (DIR) and vendors. Goal is a year over year improvement in critical application availability and a reduction of Application Development team hours spent in major incident management (MIM) related work. 10% Works with IT Governance and the Project Management Office (PMO) to ensure Public Health Applications IT projects are systematically managed using defined project management processes and tools. Ensures compliance of team owned projects with all relevant frameworks including but not limited to the Texas Project Delivery Framework. Provides oversight and guidance to team members managing projects to ensure successful project outcomes occur on time and on budget. Ensures projects the team executes have a clearly defined business value and deliverables. 25% Defines and executes actions plans to address any opportunities identified by KPI's with a goal of year over year improvement in cost, quality, and/or IT service provided. Oversees relevant IT contracts and ensures contract terms are met. Drives corrective actions and continuous improvement with vendors with a goal of year over year improvement in vendor service provided, quality, and/or cost. Drives improvements in all phases of the software development lifecycle used by the Public Health Applications team. Works closely with the Director of IT Applications, Director of Data Center Services (DCS), the HHS Chief of Technology Office (CTO) and the Department of Information Resources (DIR) to define strategic roadmaps to more efficiently manage application infrastructure currency and reduce the effort and cost required to support applications. 20% Reviews the Public Health Applications department budget and contracts to identify and drive opportunities for cost avoidance and/or savings. 10% Ensures team is trained on and uses structured problem solving and risk assessing/management tools and techniques such as 8-Disciplines, 5-Whys, and Failure Mode Effects Analysis. Develops a high performance workforce that can accurately and efficiently arrive at root causes and permanent corrective actions where required. 10%

Knowledge Skills Abilities:
Knowledge of management principles. Knowledge of local, state, and federal laws and regulations relevant to program areas and information technology. Knowledge of principles and practices of public administration and management. Knowledge of multiple software development lifecycle methodologies including agile. Knowledge of change management and incident management processes. Knowledge of project management processes and tools. Knowledge of software testing and release processes and tools (including automation). Knowledge of strategic planning, budget management, and human resource management. Knowledge of leadership principles and how to effectively interact with various leadership styles. Skill in establishing plans and setting objectives and goals that support an overall business strategy. Skill in written communication and public speaking. Skill in managing multiple priorities. Skill in structured problem solving techniques (e.g. 5-Why Analysis, Affinity, 8-Disciplines, etc.) Skill in identifying problems, evaluating alternatives, and implementing solutions. Skill in working collaboratively and cooperatively with diverse groups. Ability to think creatively and support creative thinking in others. Ability to establish goals and objectives for an organization. Ability to plan, assign, and evaluate the work of others. Ability to effectively manage and motivate staff. Ability to establish effective working relationships with staff at all levels of an organization, agencies, providers, stakeholders and elected officials. Ability to develop and implement effective customer service systems. Ability to manage contracts and vendor relationships. Ability to develop effective operating procedures and improve processes. Ability to organize and present information effectively verbally and in writing. Ability to lead in an environment of change. Ability to build strong and collaborative teams. Ability to convey complex technical information simply and concisely.

Registration or Licensure Requirements:

Initial Selection Criteria:
Bachelor’s or higher degree from an accredited college or business administration or related study, plus seven (7) years of progressively responsible professional experience. Work experience in the IT field may be substituted year for year for the education requirement. Five (5) years of the required experience must be in managing a large IT function.

Additional Information:
REQ 460666

MOS Code:
There are no direct military occupation(s) that relate to the responsibilities, and registration or licensure requirements for this position. All active duty, reservists, guardsmen, and veterans are encouraged to apply if they meet the qualifications for this position.

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In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), HHS agencies will provide reasonable accommodation during the hiring and selection process for qualified individuals with a disability. If you need assistance completing the on-line application, contact the HHS Employee Service Center at 1-888-894-4747. If you are contacted for an interview and need accommodation to participate in the interview process, please notify the person scheduling the interview.

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