Manager, Information Systems

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop and implement release management strategies, best practices, policies, and procedures to ensure efficient and effective software delivery.
• Coordinate and manage all activities related to software release implementation, including planning, scheduling, scope definition, change management, backout planning and deployment.
• Implement and oversee Automated Testing frameworks: lead the integration of automated testing tools and AI-driven solutions to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of software testing processes. Manage the design, implementation, and maintenance of automated test scripts to ensure comprehensive coverage and rapid feedback during release cycles. Continuously evaluate and adopt emerging AI technologies to optimize testing strategies, reduce manual effort, and improve the overall quality of software releases.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including software engineering, infrastructure, QA, business analysts, and product management, to ensure alignment and successful release implementation.
• Identify and mitigate impacts and risks associated with software releases, ensuring minimal downtime and disruption to production environments.
• Maintain a release calendar and communicate release plans and status updates to stakeholders.
• Lead post-release reviews and implement lessons learned to improve future release cycles.
• Manage and mentor a team of project contributors. Provide guidance and support to ensure high performance.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory and security standards in all release activities.
• Continuously improve RIO release management processes and tools to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Stay current with industry trends and best practices in release management and incorporate them into the organization’s processes.

Relationship management:

• Serves as primary contact for I&A to executive stakeholders and manages VP/SVP-level relationships with support from a supervisor
• Manages partnerships with commercial software vendors and in-house I&A engineers
• Coordinates research change requests from across DFCI and DF/HCC
• Delivers high quality customer service for all projects
• Acquires domain expertise for each stakeholder area and broad knowledge of I&A capabilities

Portfolio development, management, delivery:

• Sets clear goals and priorities with stakeholders
• Independently manages and delivers a portfolio of projects, leveraging direct and indirect resources
• Follows a transparent operating model and contributes to improvements
• Provides consistent, high-quality deliverables, data assets, and documentation in alignment with group operating model and I&A principles (e.g., FAIR)
• Proactively anticipates, identifies, manages, and mitigates conflicts, impacts and risk
• Contributes as an expert individual contributor 20-50% time
• Manages cross-functional teams across I&A capabilities. Typically collaborates with other I&A groups to deliver solutions (e.g., Enterprise Data and Analytics, Software Engineering, Architecture, AI Ops, Bioinformatics)
• Obtains signoffs from stakeholders, vendors, integration and infrastructure teams, and management
• Confirms completion of all phases of software testing
• Actively maintains project metrics and reports on project status as requested
• Actively maintains project issues list and bug tracking
• Creates, maintains, and oversees execution of go-live implementation plan

Stewardship:

• Responsible for the stewardship of data assets in partnership with business area representatives and application teams

Platform Sustainability:

• Helps balance individual client needs with I&A goals of building and developing more efficient services and platforms, increasing re-usability and self-service while minimizing customizations
• Focuses on long-term software maintainability and production support
• Actively minimizes unexpected downtime and disruptions to clinical care and research systems

Communication:

• Provides high quality communications to stakeholders and collaborators at regular intervals with occasional review and support from supervisor
• Proactively anticipates and addresses stakeholder concerns
• Escalates issues and decision points in a timely manner to the appropriate managers and stakeholders

Team development:

• Provides teaching, coaching, mentoring for a small group
• Actively listens to and incorporates teams’ feedback into release management practices

Budget:

• Acts as a responsible steward of DFCI and I&A financial resources. Consistently complies with DFCI and I&A spending and accounting policies
• May have budget responsibility up to $1.0M, under the oversight of area leadership
•  Sets clear budget expectations with stakeholders and vendors.
• Tracks and manages spending with transparent communications to stakeholders and vendors.
• Ensures alignment with manager and I&A Operations for all changes to budget

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:

Technical:

• Familiarity with all phases of the software development lifecycle (SDLC)
• Demonstrated knowledge of Agile and CI/CD methodologies in software development and validation
• Familiarity with production support and change management best practices
• Familiarity with complex system integrations across diverse networks and standard communication protocols
• Demonstrated proficiency in automated testing strategies, frameworks and tools (e.g., Selenium, GitLab)
• Demonstrated proficiency in change management tools (e.g., ServiceNow, source control, JIRA)
• Demonstrated proficiency in documentation tools (e.g., Confluence, SharePoint)
• Able to perform at an expert level as an individual contributor.

People Management:

• Proficient in guiding and supporting career development and performance management
• Able to cultivate a respectful, inclusive, congenial team culture where everyone’s input is valued

Client services, collaboration, communication:

• Strong client service orientation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills appropriately aligned with the audience
• Able to lead effective prioritization and re-prioritization discussions with stakeholder groups
• Able to establish new projects and collaborations independently
• Skilled in presenting results persuasively and accurately, verbally or in writing, and in delivering good or badunwelcome news.
• Able to say “no” when required.
• Strong interpersonal skills; able to interact effectively with all levels of staff and external contacts.
• Collaborates effectively and comfortably in a matrix environment
• Curious and eager to learn about others’ work and perspectives and to develop deep knowledge of client areas served
• Able to determine best approaches to client problems within team/group expertise
• Able to create, cultivate, and leverage cross-group (within I&A), cross-departmental (e.g., I.S.), or external (vendor) relationships
• Able to negotiate with disparate parties and resolve conflicts to reach mutual agreement

Project and portfolio management:

• Proficient project and program manager, with excellent analytical, organizational, and time-management skills. - Attends to accuracy, detail, quality, and compliance.
• Able to manage simultaneous projects for multiple clients.
• Able to support occasional implementations outside of business hours (including weekends and holidays)
• Manages capital and FTE budgets effectively, as an effective steward of DFCI resources.

Mindset:

• Demonstrates self-awareness, professionalism, agility and flexibility, a strong work ethic, and the ability to lead through challenging situations
• Thinks and acts consistently with a broader “we” mentality, i.e., what’s best for the group as a whole vs. self and “my team”
• Sees mistakes as an opportunity for improvement
• Leverages synergies between projects

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Directly manages 2-5 FTE or budget equivalent. May supervise up to 10 additional FTE via matrix or vendor partnerships, including outsourced and offshore resources.

MINIMUM JOB QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required, ideally in a STEM field. Advanced degree preferred.  Relevant certification (e.g., ITIL, PMP) a plus. A directly relevant advanced degree may substitute for professional experience (Masters 1 yr, PhD 3 yrs)
• 6+ years of relevant professional experience, with 4+ in a biomedical or healthcare setting preferred
• 3+ years of indirect or direct people management experience. Direct management experience preferred.

At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, we work every day to create an innovative, caring, and inclusive environment where every patient, family, and staff member feels they belong.  As relentless as we are in our mission to reduce the burden of cancer for all, we are equally committed to diversifying our faculty and staff.  Cancer knows no boundaries and when it comes to hiring the most dedicated and diverse professionals, neither do we. If working in this kind of organization inspires you, we encourage you to apply.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is an equal opportunity employer and affirms the right of every qualified applicant to receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability, age, ancestry, military service, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law.

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