Position Overview

Millions of people interact with the Boston Public Library digitally each year to do everything from checking out a book to printing a resume to learning a new skill. Meanwhile, technology enables over 450 internal staff members across 27 locations to be effective in their roles. We believe these experiences should be streamlined, easy to use. To achieve that goal, the Technology Process Improvement Owner will work closely with the CTO and the technology team to design and manage the transformation of existing technology resources, services and processes. This role is an opportunity to directly affect and positively impact library staff and patrons of various backgrounds throughout Boston.

We’re looking for a Technology Process Improvement Owner who embraces the opportunity and nature of working in civic technology. The technology team is in charge of defining and implementing an ambitious roadmap for our internal and public facing products. The Technology Process Improvement Owner will collaborate with various departments who have varying degrees of technical knowledge. They will be able to apply design thinking methodology and focus on end user experience through active listening and attention to user concerns as they shift between managing various projects to improve the services we provide. The Technology Process Improvement Owner works closely with other members of technology teams (i.e., server, network, applications, help desk, A/V, tech central, Web Services, Digital Services, and Training Coordinator) to prioritize features, and drive forward the roadmap for each product and process.

Reports to

Chief Technology Officer

Scope of Responsibility

Under immediate supervision and accordance with standard policy and practices performs any or all of the following;

1. Initiate and maintain appropriate working relationships with various departments and affiliate organizations to understand their goals, and help enable them through the use of technology.
2. Conduct research and survey current industry standards relevant to specific projects and goals.
3. Document and evaluate existing products and processes.  Understand how end users (staff, patrons, visitors, partners, etc.) use our systems. Draw on experience, data and feedback to inform improvement of product / service direction.
4. Develop a detailed product roadmap for implementing new technology with input from vendors, end-users and staff.
5. Assist in project management of technology related initiatives, including identifying, evaluating, planning, prioritizing, and managing responsibilities and tasks to successfully complete technology improvement projects.
6. Work with vendors and/or other members of technology teams as needed to obtain or create a demo environment so stakeholders can more effectively evaluate a change and provide feedback to make further modifications or refinements before rolling out to end users system wide.
7. Collaborate to ensure compatibility with existing technologies and document ownership of products.
8. Oversee vendor relationships from pre-acquisition through to final evaluation and transfer of ownership of new/updated product.
9. Define and track key product metrics - use metric targets to inform product/service evolution.
10. Schedule and attend meetings, prepare meeting materials, develop agendas, and ensure minutes are available for internal technological project team meetings, as appropriate.
11. Coordinate technological launches with internal stakeholders and provide weekly status updates. Assist in the development and execution of communications plans on a program and project basis.
12. Travel to BPL branches as needed.
13. Perform related duties as assigned.

Competencies 

• Demonstrated exceptional interpersonal skills.
• Ability to organize, prioritize, direct, motivate and evaluate services team, mentor others, and foster a team environment. 
• Ability to recognize and set priorities and to use initiative and decision-making skills.
• Strong listening, problem solving, writing, and verbal communicating skills communicates effectively and presents ideas clearly.
• Ability to identify risks and constraints and to develop and execute mitigation strategies.
• Ability to create simple user experiences (UX).
• Ability to take initiative and make appropriate independent decisions

Qualifications

1. Education – High School Degree. Associates Degree or Bachelor Degree preferred. In exceptional instances, specialized education, training and/or experience may be substituted for part or all of the educational requirements.
2. Experience - Minimum of 3 years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, professional experience in product management, project management, technology consulting, or related field. In exceptional instances, specialized education, training and/or experience may be substituted for part or all of the experience requirements.

Requirements:

1. Demonstrated aptitude for customer service and strong ability to communicate and to collaborate successfully with staff and patrons of all ages, diverse backgrounds, and technical proficiency levels.
2. Strong project management and organizational skills - ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines under pressure.
3. Experience using analytical and creative thinking to solve problems.
4. Experience with product acquisition and vendor relationship management.
5. Experience managing the selection and deployment of business wide products preferred.
6. Experience working with stakeholders to define key performance metrics and making data-based decisions with them, preferred.
7. Residency - Must be a resident of the City of Boston upon the first day of hire.
8. CORI - Must successfully clear a Criminal Offenders Record Information check with the City of Boston.

TERMS:

Union/Salary Plan/Grade:  AFSCME/LA-9T

Hours per week:  35