Application Support Analyst - Avaloq

Purpose of role

The application support analyst will be responsible for ensuring all live applications within their area of responsibility are fully supported and meet the Service Level Agreement (SLA) requirements of all service areas.

In conjunction with this, the role holder will be responsible for the delivery of application support services to respective Application Support Team managers.

This role will extend to implementing, managing, meeting and exceeding all response and resolution SLA’s, in order to successfully onboard new services into the live environments, ensuring consistent use of processes and enhancement of service.

Core accountabilities

Application support

The role holder will be responsible for the delivery of second level application support functions, incorporating the ownership, analysis and resolution of service incidents and problems.

They will participate in additional activities related to the applications under support, including but not restricted to : change project engagement;

system testing and release coordination; system and business analysis; business continuity testing; and provision of 24x7 support.

The role holder must ensure that all live applications are fully supported and meet the SLA requirements of service area.

• They will also effectively provide service acceptance measurement and sign off for their area of responsibility; manage and deliver second line application support whether direct, sourced internally or hosted by a third party;
• work with the wider Investment Banking and Investment Management (IBIM) Technology group, to ensure adaptation of services meet the changing needs of the business;

and Identification of and implementation of continual improvements to the service through, for example, incident root cause Analysis, trend analysis and procedure reviews.

The role holder will work with application support analysts, application service managers, major incident handling and other internal and external parties, to support and adapt the service offering in order to meet the changing needs of the business.

They will effectively manage and deliver the live service to agreed service levels and will apply ITIL best practice principles across the service area.

Service level agreement (SLA)

The role holder will maintain system availability to SLA; will analyse and resolve application system related Operational issues, via formal communications and procedures;

and will ensure key application functions and scheduled activities are completed in a timely manner and within SLA.

Business as Usual (BAU)

The role holder will maintain all formal controls, documents and records to auditable levels, and in compliance with current technology application support operation procedures and documentation standards.

They will work with Application Service Managers, in order to understand business requirements; will identify service enhancements;

and will help drive service improvement initiatives, in order to deliver programs, as well as provide 24x7 support, as part of shift and on-call rotas.

Supervisory responsibilities

There are no direct supervisory responsibilities to this position, but the role holder manages their own work load and will work with individuals and managers, to ensure maximum performance and knowledge continuity.

Key clients (internal and external)

The role holder’s primary business customer will be internal end users with within the organisation. The role holder will also interface with other business areas, a number of teams across Barclays, as well as third party providers.

Role requirements

Professional / Technical Experience

The candidate will possess relevant experience and a proven track record in an application support role. They will be experienced in supporting applications in a global environment and will be familiar with ITIL concepts and best practices.

It is preferable that they also be experienced in supporting applications in a major investment bank, with a strong knowledge of ITIL-based processes and best practices.

An understanding of ITIL methodologies is required, as well as an ability to investigate, analyse and resolve application issues.

The candidate must be comfortable working alongside second Line Infrastructure teams and third party vendors, as part of the day to day Service Support activities.

The candidate must have strong analytical and investigation skills, with an ability to resolve issues in a high-pressure and time critical environment.

The candidate will also need to have a proven track record of service delivery in a complex IT environment and will have an in-depth understanding of applications supported by Applications Support functions in general.

Exposure and / or practical knowledge and experience on Fine Crime Application or front Office and Back Office applications and procedures would be advantageous, but is not essential.

Technical knowledge :

The role holder experience in the following : Oracle, SQL, PL / SQL, Linux, Shell, Tomcat.

Banking knowledge example : Static Data, Banking transaction, Portfolio, Regulation.

Knowledge in Fine Crime application is a plus but not mandatory.

Academic and Professional Qualifications

The candidate will be ideally educated to degree level, or above, preferably in an IT related discipline.

Language Skills

The right candidate will have an excellent command of the English language, with strong written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to communicate effectively across all levels, as this the primary business language at Barclays.

It would be highly advantageous if the candidate was also fluent in French.

Personal Attributes

The right candidate will be action orientated, with a focus on continuous improvement in all areas of work. They will be known for high energy and productivity and will be able to deliver quality results with a challenging, positive, influential style.

The successful candidate will demonstrate creativity and pragmatism, with an ability to conceptualise and deliver at speed.

A sound commercial approach should be a priority, with a focus on best practice. The candidate will possess excellent organisational and time management skills, will be a team player and will be able to remain customer focused in what can be a highly stressed, high-pressured and demanding environment.

The ability to participate in flexible working hours and support rotas is a key requirement.