The Application Support Manager’s role is central in the delivery of a quality service to our internal and external customers.
This position will form an integral part of the Application Ops team, responsible for Vendor Management, technical ownership of incidents and problem resolution, support and optimisation of the relevant platforms including key integrated systems.
The role includes managing operational relationships and performance of our key Technology Support Partners while managing expectations of key internal stakeholders to deliver results in line with business goals.
Reports to: Functional Application Support Manager – Application Operations

Key Requirements:

The Application Support Manager will have a technical background with a good understanding of the underlying Retail and Store business processes. They must have a vendor management background in order to drive the support teams to deliver the desired results. They will have end-to-end responsibility for the technical solutions and their integrated systems.
Working closely with and supporting the Service Manager they will be responsible for delivering support in accordance with agreed SLAs. They will work with the relevant support and development teams to identify, design, and deliver related IT strategies and solutions whilst controlling costs. As an Application Support Manager, they will provide technical assistance and direction to the teams, ensuring that all technologies work effectively together. They will maintain the end-to-end architecture for their function constantly looking at ways to improve or optimise.
Specifically, the Application Support Manager will be responsible for the following:

Governance

• Govern the delivery of services from a technical perspective including vendor management
• Define technical standards to which the delivery teams need to adhere
• QA delivery of services against defined technical standards
• Impact assess changes to the solution along with the subject matter experts
• Provide input into the Service Management reports
• Attend governance meetings
• Responsible for driving technical changes through the change management process
• Ensuring quality/support measures are included in all aspects of the service and new solutions both from a design and implementation perspective.
• Provide input into the business continuity planning for the solutions in their area and drive regular Disaster Recovery testing with their vendors
• Understand fully the commercial and contractual commitments and manage the budget for their area
• Input and support of the Acceptance into Service process
• Assure licence management pertinent to the area on behalf of Primark

Technical Leadership

• Provide guidance and mentorship to the support teams to improve the overall effectiveness of the services we deliver including active knowledge sharing.
• Provide technical leadership and input into the resolution of all priority incidents and problems.
• Manage communication in a pro-active manner with stakeholders who require the technical knowledge.
• Provide technical ownership of the DR process and testing.
• Identify innovative solutions that enable optimisation of business process, cost and/or time.
• Reviews all RFCs and changes pertinent to their area as part of Primark’s Change Control process.
• Support/drive technical teams during Incident and Problem management activities
• Conduct regular assessments and analysis of Incident and Problem trends and agree and implement an action plan to address.
• Manage risk identification and risk mitigation strategies associated with the architecture.

• Good understanding of the end-to-end Retail/Store business processes
• Familiarity with technologies/vendors such as Store replenishment systems, Ostara Facilities Management, Store reporting, IP Cameras, Fitting room systems and Oracle Retail exposure is desirable.
• ITIL Foundation desirable
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal)
• Good understanding of core support processes including Incident, Problem and Change Management
• Team player with demonstrable ownership of issues and ability to escalate when necessary.
• Flexibility when it comes to supporting new technologies and a fast learner.
• Proficient in creating and maintaining documentation with attention to detail.
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Highly motivated and supportive/team player with a strong service ethic