Applications Specialist

AWE; Reading; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

9-day fortnight

Annual leave 270 hours

Pension scheme (9-13%)

Family friendly policies

Career development support

Employee Assistance Programme

Life Assurance (4x salary)

Discounts

Volunteer/leave policy

Job summary

AWE is seeking an Applications Specialist to provide subject matter expertise and quality assurance for enterprise applications. You will govern changes, ensure tests pass, and transition updates into operational service, while collaborating with business stakeholders, technical teams and suppliers to safeguard data integrity and align with security standards.

Reporting to the Domain Lead, you will support continuous improvement, manage lifecycle risks and ensure changes deliver business

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent experience in IT, business systems, technology, applications management or a related discipline.
• Experience supporting enterprise application change, enhancement, upgrade or configuration activities.
• Experience gathering and documenting business and functional requirements.
• Experience supporting application testing, defect management and acceptance activities.
• Experience working with third-party suppliers and service providers.
• Experience assessing business process, operational and technical impacts of change.
• Risk identification and mitigation skills.
• Structured problem-solving and root cause analysis.
• Ability to challenge assumptions and proposed solutions constructively.
• Strong attention to detail and quality focus.
• Ability to balance business needs, risk, compliance and operational considerations.

Responsibilities

• Requirements integrity: Accountable for ensuring business and functional requirements are captured, validated, traceable and maintained throughout the change lifecycle.
• Application fitness for purpose: Accountable for ensuring assigned applications continue to meet agreed business, operational and compliance requirements.
• Solution quality assurance: Accountable for assuring that proposed application changes meet documented requirements, quality standards and acceptance criteria prior to release.
• Data integrity: Accountable for assessing and safeguarding the impact of application changes on data quality, master data, business reporting and downstream processes.
• Operational readiness: Accountable for ensuring application changes are fully documented, tested, supportable and successfully transitioned into operational service.
• Supplier assurance: Accountable for validating supplier deliverables against agreed requirements, security standards, operational acceptance criteria and quality expectations.
• Standards and compliance: Accountable for ensuring application changes align with enterprise architecture, cyber security, risk management, governance and regulatory requirements.
• Benefits realisation support: Accountable for ensuring application changes support agreed business outcomes and intended operational benefits.
• Application lifecycle management: Accountable for maintaining awareness of application lifecycle risks, technical debt, upgrade requirements and vendor roadmaps.
• Risk and issue management: Accountable for identifying, assessing and escalating risks, issues and dependencies that may impact application service quality or change delivery.

Skills

Requirements gathering

Change management

Testing and defect management

Stakeholder communication

Problem solving

Education

Degree or equivalent IT experience

Job description

Role: Applications Specialist

Location: RG7 4PR , located between Reading and Basingstoke, with free onsite parking .

Package: Starting from £50,060p.a (depending on your suitability, qualifications, and level of experience)

Working pattern: AWE operates a 9-day working fortnight. We will consider flexible working requests so that your work may fit in with your lifestyle. Just let us know your preferred working pattern on your application.

Let us introduce the role:

The Applications Specialist provides subject matter expertise and quality assurance for assigned enterprise applications, ensuring application changes are effectively defined, governed, tested, implemented and transitioned into operational service. Reporting to the Domain Lead (Applications) and working closely with business stakeholders, technical teams, suppliers and operational support functions, the role is accountable for maintaining application fitness for purpose, supporting continuous improvement, safeguarding data integrity, and ensuring changes align with business objectives, enterprise standards, security requirements and operational needs. The role acts as a trusted advisor throughout the application lifecycle, supporting the successful delivery, adoption and ongoing optimisation of business-critical applications.

Key Accountabilities:

• Requirements Integrity: Accountable for ensuring business and functional requirements are accurately captured, validated, traceable and maintained throughout the change lifecycle.
• Application Fitness for Purpose: Accountable for ensuring assigned applications continue to meet agreed business, operational and compliance requirements.
• Solution Quality Assurance: Accountable for assuring that proposed application changes meet documented requirements, quality standards and acceptance criteria prior to release.
• Data Integrity: Accountable for assessing and safeguarding the impact of application changes on data quality, master data, business reporting and downstream processes.
• Operational Readiness: Accountable for ensuring application changes are fully documented, tested, supportable and successfully transitioned into operational service.
• Supplier Assurance: Accountable for validating supplier deliverables against agreed requirements, security standards, operational acceptance criteria and quality expectations.
• Standards and Compliance: Accountable for ensuring application changes align with enterprise architecture, cyber security, risk management, governance and regulatory requirements.
• Benefits Realisation Support: Accountable for ensuring application changes support agreed business outcomes and intended operational benefits.
• Application Lifecycle Management: Accountable for maintaining awareness of application lifecycle risks, technical debt, upgrade requirements and vendor roadmaps.
• Risk and Issue Management: Accountable for identifying, assessing and escalating risks, issues and dependencies that may impact application service quality or change delivery.

Essential Criteria:

• Degree or equivalent experience in IT, business systems, technology, applications management or a related discipline.
• Experience supporting enterprise application change, enhancement, upgrade or configuration activities.
• Experience gathering and documenting business and functional requirements.
• Experience supporting application testing, defect management and acceptance activities.
• Experience working with third-party suppliers and service providers.
• Experience assessing business process, operational and technical impacts of change.
• Risk identification and mitigation skills.
• Structured problem-solving and root cause analysis.
• Ability to challenge assumptions and proposed solutions constructively.
• Strong attention to detail and quality focus.
• Ability to balance business needs, risk, compliance and operational considerations.

Work hard, be rewarded:

We ask a lot and set the bar high because our work truly matters.

In return we offer balance, with award winning benefits including:

• 9-day working fortnight - meaning you get every other Friday off work, in addition to 270 hours of annual leave.
• Market leading contributory pension scheme (we will pay between 9% and 13% of your pensionable pay depending on your contributions).
• Family friendly policies: Maternity Leave - 39 Weeks Full Pay and Paternity Leave - 4 Weeks Full Pay.
• Opportunities for Professional Career Development including funding for annual membership of a relevant professional body.
• Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health Services.
• Life Assurance (4 x annual salary).
• Discounts - access to savings on a wide range of everyday spending.
• Special Leave Policy including paid time off for volunteering, public service (including reserve forces) and caring.