Technical Specialist (GIS Senior Systems Specialist)

at  The City of Vancouver

QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience:

• Related Post-secondary degree in Information Systems or GIS or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience. A technical or/and GIS graduate degree would be an asset.
• A minimum of three years of related experience in a GIS infrastructure technical environment or an equivalent combination of training and experience.
• A relevant certification(s) from vendors such as Microsoft and ESRI is highly desirable.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of current trends, standards, and products used in modern IT & GIS infrastructure and practices.
• Thorough knowledge of the characteristics and capabilities of GIS infrastructure and its integrations, including ESRI ArcGIS Enterprise, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, and geodatabases; Safe Software FME, and Autodesk CADD and Map 3D products.
• Considerable knowledge of GIS applications server management techniques and procedures used within an enterprise GIS infrastructure environment comprised of any combination of physical or virtual systems, on premise and cloud.
• Problem-solving skills and ability to efficiently investigate GIS system problems, formulate solutions and seek assistance when required.
• Ability to write scripts & programs for GIS system maintenance and automation, and data manipulation.
• Ability to collect, analyze, and evaluate information required for performance, capacity and availability management, and planning, as well as for system backups and restores.
• Ability to monitor the performance of the GIS infrastructure and integrations, identify problems or improvements and formulate solutions. Where appropriate, communicate and escalate concerns before they increase in severity.
• Ability to plan, test, and install new releases or enhancements or patches to vendor software.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with users, staff/peers, and vendors.
• Ability to communicate with all levels of stakeholders effectively both orally and in writing.
• Ability to evaluate and make recommendations on proposed GIS hardware and software acquisitionsand upgrades.
• Understanding of municipal business processes and public sector enterprise architecture framework and practices such as TOGAF.
• Ability to develop and document GIS system architecture and roadmap and promote best practices.
• Ability to work under pressure, manage multiple priorities, and respond to requests promptly.
• Operational and basic project management skills: results-focused, collaborative, and team-oriented.
• Ability to accommodate occasional variances in hours of work that may be required to ensure proper support coverage as per operational requirements.
• Ability to work on call or on standby or after business hours, including weekends, to provide emergencyor extended support or to install application upgrades/releases.
• Ability to work with confidential and business critical data.
• Ability to meet transportation requirements.

Where operationally appropriate and subject to change, the City of Vancouver has a Flexible Work Program. This program allows staff to work remotely 1 – 4 days a week from locations that are a daily commutable distance from their work at a City worksite. At this time this position is eligible to be part of the Flexible Work Program.
Business Unit/Department: IT, Digital Strategy & 311 (1070)
Affiliation: CUPE 15 Non Pks
Employment Type: Regular Full Time
Position Start Date: March, 2025
Salary Information: Pay Grade GR-031: $56.27 to $66.55 per hour

MAIN PURPOSE AND FUNCTION

The GIS Senior Systems Specialist is responsible for technical work in the field of Geographic Information System (GIS) Technology involving the administration, maintenance and management of GIS systems consisting of GIS software, hardware and purposed-appliances on various operating systems in an on-premise or cloud environment henceforth referred to as GIS infrastructure. The GIS Senior Systems Specialist is a subject matter expert on Information Systems, as well as modern GIS platforms technologies: ESRI ArcGIS Enterprise, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, and geodatabases; Safe Software FME, Autodesk CADD and Map 3D products. The position recommends, designs, builds, configures, and monitors the performance of the GIS infrastructure; investigates and resolves technical problems, updates GIS infrastructure software to achieve maximum benefit from operational improvements and enhancements (functional and security) supplied by the vendors; and plan and participate in the investigation and implementation of proposed GIS infrastructure acquisitions, architecture changes and upgrades, to ensure the stable, secure and effective operations of the City’s GIS infrastructure systems.

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

System Management

• Participates in the development of GIS standards, policies, systems, and applications.
• Oversees/advises on small projects and reports on solution specifications, solution architecture and work progress for new GIS systems.
• Uses digital workflow platform to manage and update GIS service requests and incidents.
• Follows all corporate and GIS policies, procedures and processes
• Monitors the GIS Platforms team’s queue and applying ITIL best practices while working with TS Service Desk Software to resolve tasks and requests assigned to the team in a timely and efficient manner.

Analysis and Strategy

• Responsible for analytical work in planning, designing, supporting, monitoring, and maintaining the City’s GIS system infrastructure and its integrations.
• Leads in the development of GIS architectural framework and design, in alignment with the City’s enterprise architecture standards.
• Participates in conducting GIS technical & IT industry research; reporting on industry trends, the feasibility of technologies and products and technology alternatives.
• Works with business customers to complete GIS requirement assessments.
• Works with various departments to establish/install new GIS technology and services.

Monitor, Audit, Report, Document

• Monitors enterprise GIS infrastructure and services according to management needs andproject specifications, including GIS servers and databases.
• Creates and updates documentation according to established GIS standards for configurations, procedures, architecture, audit information and training.
• Creates and updates build documentation for new GIS systems and package deployments.
• Documents GIS system testing procedures and plans, including training materials.
• Monitors and reports on GIS systems’ capacity, performance, and uptime.

Technical System Administration and Maintenance

• Provides operating support for the City’s GIS infrastructure both on-premise and off-premise.
• Maintains GIS system uptime and integrity while adhering to business continuity requirements, City policies and industry best practices.
• Plans, designs, installs, configures, tests, and delivers enterprise GIS system infrastructure and services according to operational needs and project specifications.
• Investigates, reports, tests, identifies and resolves GIS system software problems that affect the operational performance of enterprise systems and services, and leads working with external vendors or consultants in solving all technical problems.
• Provides problem resolution for calls and outages referred by Help Centre.
• Configures and optimizes GIS infrastructure hardware and software, including system backups and restores.
• Conduct security and user administration.
• Prepares and provides training for relevant stakeholders.
• Establishes and follows change control processes including functionality testing, including system security.
• Monitors and protects the security of enterprise GIS systems, adhering to existing security policies.
• Implements automated notifications and audit trails, and manages log processes of enterprise GIS infrastructure.
• Plans, develops and implement patching and upgrade schedules of GIS infrastructure while adhering to industry best practices
• Plans and implements for the replacement of end-of-life GIS infrastructure.
• Other technical duties/responsibilities as assigned.