BUSINESS SYSTEMS SPECIALIST (Digital Experience)
McMaster University
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Job summary
McMaster University seeks a Business Systems Specialist (Digital Experience) to lead adoption of enterprise technologies, including Microsoft 365, across a large academic community. You will partner with faculty, staff and students to maximize technology value and drive user experience improvements.
The role focuses on change management, training, and user adoption, with responsibilities ranging from consultation to lead supervision of a team. Flexible work arrangements may be available.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree required in Computer Science, Business, or related field.
- 5 years of relevant experience required.
- Experience implementing and supporting Microsoft 365 technologies in a large organization.
Responsibilities
- Provide consultation to faculty, staff and students and support adoption of technologies.
- Lead change management, communications, and training strategies for new services.
- Develop learning resources and deliver training on enterprise technologies.
- Support evaluation and rollout of Microsoft 365 and related AI tools, ensuring governance and security alignment.
- Monitor usage, collect feedback, and drive continuous improvement.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
BUSINESS SYSTEMS SPECIALIST (Digital Experience)
Regular/Temporary
Regular
Location
Central Campus
Open Date
2026/10/30
Job Type
Continuing
Close Date
2026/11/12
Employee Group
Unifor Unit 1, Staff
Favorite Job
Department
UTS Digital Experience
Full/Part Time
Full-Time
Salary Grade/Band
Grade 11
Salary Range
$41.99 - $59.09 (hourly)
Job Code
JD0630
Existing Vacancy
Yes - Backfilling as Existing
Target Number of Openings
1
35
Schedule
Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm (flexible work arrangements available)
35 hours/week
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Business, or a related field of study.
Requires 5 years of relevant experience.
Anticipated Start Date December 2026
McMaster University fuels curiosity, inquiry, and discovery. Every day, we push the boundaries of knowledge through our world-class research, our ground-breaking approaches to teaching and learning and our commitment to operational excellence. We are seeking a talented Business Systems Specialist to help faculty, staff, and students maximize the value of technology by leading adoption initiatives and enhancing the overall user experience.
University Technology Services (UTS) is the central IT department serving McMaster and reporting into the AVP & Chief Technology Officer within the administrative portfolio of the Vice-President, Operations & Finance (VPOF). McMaster IT and UTS, play a critical role in the successful investment, integration, and implementation of technology at McMaster University.
Are you passionate about helping people get the most out of technology? Join Digital Experience, Design and Delivery, a team within University Technology Services (UTS) dedicated to providing exceptional service and support to the McMaster community. We value transparency, innovation, and accountability in everything we deliver, and our work directly supports McMaster University's strategic vision, Bolder Together.
As our Business Systems Specialist, you will be a trusted technical and consultative partner, helping faculty, staff and students discover how information technology can enhance the way they teach, learn and work. This role is ideal for a self-motivated professional who enjoys taking initiative and seeing ideas through to impact.
In this role, you will lead the adoption of digital technologies across the University and build meaningful partnerships throughout the campus community. You will bring an appreciation for the complexities of supporting a large and diverse user base, including non-technical users, along with a genuine commitment to making technology accessible to everyone. Experience in teaching and learning, strong client engagement skills, and experience supporting the adoption of Microsoft 365 products, including Copilot Premium, are considered assets.
Provide consultation and support to faculty, staff and students by assessing business needs, recommending technology solutions, and supporting the adoption of existing and emerging technologies, including Microsoft 365 services and new platform capabilities.
Lead technology adoption initiatives through change management, communications, user engagement and training strategies for new and enhanced services.
Develop learning resources and deliver training on enterprise technologies, including Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Power Automate, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Chat and Copilot Studio, while coordinating learning opportunities with vendors and external partners.
Support the evaluation, implementation and rollout of Microsoft 365, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Chat, Copilot Studio and other emerging technologies, ensuring alignment with university AI governance, privacy and security requirements and promoting responsible AI use through education and best practices.
Monitor service usage, adoption and user feedback, prepare reports and recommendations, and lead Communities of Practice to enhance engagement and continuous improvement for technologies such as Microsoft Teams and Power Automate.
Maintain user support resources, knowledge base content and self-service documentation within SharePoint, respond to support requests, elevate complex issues as required, and identify recurring issues for remediation and service improvement.
Proven experience implementing and supporting Microsoft 365 technologies in a large, complex organization.
Experience developing and delivering training, communications, change management strategies and user adoption initiatives, including instructor-led, virtual and self-directed learning resources.
Experience providing consultative client support, including issue resolution, knowledge management, service improvement, and the successful delivery of enterprise-level technology projects, rollouts and service launches.
Strong facilitation, presentation, written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage and support both technical and non-technical audiences.
Demonstrated customer service, analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and work effectively both independently and in a collaborative team environment.
Proven ability to build collaborative relationships, lead initiatives, share knowledge and best practices, and partner with others to improve services and the overall user experience.
The Business Systems Specialist acts as a technical and consulting resource to various University departments and units with respect to the planning, implementation, and maintenance of information technology systems. Supports the University's academic and administration departments by acting in a functional capacity in all phases of the Project Life Cycle for medium to large projects, including post-production support and ongoing maintenance. Continuously gains an understanding of the University's operations and processes and how systems are used in support of those operations. Provides lead-hand supervision to a team of Business Systems Analysts.
Provide ongoing technical direction to Business Systems Analysts within the team and periodically to other technical staff assigned to relevant projects.
Coach and mentor junior staff in order to ensure a highly motivated and technically competent team.
Act as an on-site team lead responsible for planning, coordinating, and scheduling work assignments to ensure the completion of assigned projects.
Evaluate work product to ensure adherence to established functional and operational specifications.
Conduct in-depth client interviews to determine business process flows and rules.
Manage work assignments of internal staff and schedule and monitor adherence to procedures, protocols, and standards.
Accountable for the clarification, rationalization and documentation of project requests.
Approve production migrations according to project involvement.
Develop and lead end user training.
Partner with the technical team to maintain the information technology issues database, create new issues, and track the status of open issues.
Participate in the development of capital project charters and cost justifications.
Serve as the primary contact point with the user community.
Responsible for integration and release management.
Ensure appropriate business participation in information technology projects.
Utilize the appropriate control tools to coordinate projects according to Project Management Office methodologies.
Develop success criteria and risk assessments for projects and changes.
Develop, implement, and document best practices to align with departmental and University strategies and processes.
Work independently with users to define concepts.
Drive and challenge business units on their assumptions of how they will successfully execute their plans.
Collaborate with developers and subject matter experts to establish the technical vision and analyze tradeoffs between usability and performance needs.
Critically evaluate information gathered from multiple sources, reconcile conflicts, decompose high-level information into details, abstract up from low-level information to a general understanding, and distinguish user requests from the underlying true needs.
Conduct gap analyses.
Ensure that projects meet specified functionality requirements.
Perform advanced levels of analysis, problem solving and research skills to formulate solutions to complex business needs.
Perform the functional analysis for production support activities and advise business users in the analysis of less complex issues.
Work with project stakeholders to understand project scope and create test documents.
Manage all phases of testing including, but not limited to, system, integration, acceptance, regression, and performance.
Document system functionality, particularly related to new enhancements.
Develop and maintain information technology process flow, methodology, and control documentation.
Assist with the development of project proposals and estimates.
Elicit requirements using interviews, document analysis, requirement workshops, surveys, site visits, business process descriptions, use cases, scenarios, business analysis, and task and workflow analysis.
Analyze information needs and functional requirements and deliver artifacts such as functional requirements, business process models, use cases, screen and interface designs, test plans and test cases.
Take ownership of functional issues by identifying underlying problems, analyzing potential solutions and implementing system resolutions, including workarounds.
Provide Level III post implementation support to users regarding functional issues.
Work with the development team to determine technical approaches and technical risks for project testing.
Develop requirement specifications according to standard templates, using natural language.
Work closely with testing team members to ensure that requirements are testable.
Prepare and assist other testers with the creation of test cases.
Identify and manage defects identified during all phases of a project.
Review test cases created by testing team members to ensure that the test cases adequately define the business processes.
Resolve problems in the test, production implementation, and post-implementation phases in coordination with other technical and business groups.
Review systems, processes, and information and provide recommendations to supervisor.
Serve as the conduit between the Project Management Office and development teams through which requirements flow.
Liaise between the technology and support teams.
Communicate project, issue, and system status to others.
Communicate testing results to other stakeholders.
Facilitate effective dialog between technical staff.
Interact with and exchange information with colleagues.
Follow a test script and document defects.
Prepare and review recommendations and other project initiation documents.
Prepare and review end user and operations documentation, training materials, and timelines.
Maintain information technology process flow, methodology, and control documentation.
Work with others to prioritize and schedule issues resolution.
Plan, schedule, and monitor own work within short time horizons.
Organize individual time, work and resources to accomplish objectives in the most effective and efficient way.
Understand and use appropriate methods, tools, and applications to complete work tasks.
Demonstrate a rational and organized approach to work and identify development opportunities.
Absorb technical information when it is presented systematically and apply it effectively.
Use measurement methods to monitor progress toward goal attainment, tenaciously working to meet or exceed those goals, while deriving satisfaction from the process of goal achievement and continuous improvement.
Ensure that the internal and external customer perspective is a driving force behind decisions and activities.
Follow service practices that meet customers’ and University needs.
Interact with others in a way that gives them confidence in one’s intentions and those of the University.
Work collaboratively with others to achieve departmental and institutional goals. Actively participate as a member of a team to move the team toward the completion of goals.
Perform a range of varied work activities in a variety of structured environments.
Successfully engage in multiple initiatives simultaneously.
Apply and enforce department change control policies and procedures.
Acquire and maintain a basic understanding of Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing principles.
Read and understand complex Business Process Diagrams and develop basic (Level II) models.
Read and understand a complex project plan and develop simple project plans.
Remain current with relevant development and project methodologies.
Provide lead hand supervision and is responsible for the quality and quantity of work of others.
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Business, or a related field of study
Requires 5 years or relevant experience
Familiarity with AI governance, privacy and security considerations in a higher education environment
Experience in a teaching and learning environment
Experience leading or supporting Communities of Practice
Experience coordinating training with vendors and external partners
Relevant certifications, such as Microsoft 365 certifications, change management training (e.g., Prosci ) or a project management credential (e.g., PMP)
Knowledge of accessibility standards, including the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and experience applying them to training materials and SharePoint content
Data and reporting skills, including working with usage dashboards, building reports and analyzing survey results to measure adoption
The successful candidate will be a member of a larger program team within Digital Experience, Design and Delivery
Occasional work outside regular business hours may be required, for example to support service launches, training sessions or events
Occasional travel between McMaster’s campuses may be required
McMaster University is located on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee and Mississauga Nations and within the lands protected by the "Dish With One Spoon" wampum agreement.
The diversity of our workforce is at the core of our innovation and creativity and strengthens our research and teaching excellence. In keeping with its Statement on Building an Inclusive Community with a Shared Purpose, McMaster University strives to embody the values of respect, collaboration and diversity, and has a strong commitment to employment equity.
The University seeks qualified candidates who share our commitment to equity and inclusion, who will contribute to the diversification of ideas and perspectives, and especially welcomes applications from indigenous (First Nations, Métis or Inuit) peoples, members of racialized communities, persons with disabilities, women, and persons who identify as 2SLGBTQ+.
As part of McMaster’s commitment, all applicants are invited to complete a confidential Applicant Diversity Survey through the online application submission process. The Survey questionnaire requests voluntary self-identification in relation to equity-seeking groups that have historically faced and continue to face barriers in employment. Please refer to the Applicant Diversity Survey - Statement of Collection for additional information.
Job applicants requiring accommodation to participate in the hiring process should contact:
To ensure an ongoing and vibrant University community that meets the needs of our students, staff and faculty and supports the University mission, ability to work on-site continues to be a requirement for most University positions. The University is supportive of exploring flexible work arrangements that effectively balance operational needs and employee interests.
At McMaster University, we believe in a comprehensive and inclusive interview process. Our interview methods encompass a variety of approaches that allow our hiring teams to provide a flexible and accessible experience for engaging with our candidates. Throughout your recruitment process at McMaster, you may be requested to participate in a variety of formats, that may include in-person, virtual or recorded interviews. If you have any questions as you move through the hiring process, please reach out to talent@mcmaster.ca or the HR contact associated with your position of interest.
McMaster and its third-party partners may use AI tools to screen, assess, or select applicants during the hiring process. Please note that currently our recruitment platform does not use AI nor is it part of our current recommended recruitment process.
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