IT Operations Technician

Protective Life; Birmingham (AL); On-site; USD 42,000 - 53,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental and vision insurance

Pension plan

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Job summary

Protective Life is seeking an IT Operations role in our Data Center Operations team. The role supports 7x24x365 monitoring of mainframe, distributed systems, and networks to ensure SLA-driven service delivery.

Responsibilities include evaluating alerts, coordinating incident response, performing routine maintenance, and supporting Change and Incident Management processes with knowledge of z/OS, AS400, and industry tools.

Qualifications

• Minimum 1-3 years of technical school training or equivalent work experience.
• Technical certifications (e.g., CompTIA A+, Network+) or relevant coursework is a plus.
• Minimum 1-3 years of professional, technical, and customer support experience in a corporate environment is required.

Responsibilities

• Distributed System/Network/Environmental/Mainframe Monitoring.
• Ensures mainframe and distributed system availability and production scheduling.
• Monitors mainframe and AS400 operations using TSO, OMEGAMON, TMON, and mainframe consoles.
• Monitors servers and applications utilizing WhatsUp Gold and available resources.
• Monitors network infrastructure using SolarWinds and available resources.
• Monitors facility environmental systems using Environet and available resources.
• Monitors business-critical APIs utilizing the available monitoring resources.
• IT Operations Support.
• Executes manual cycles and jobs using IBM z/OS mainframe and AS400 to ensure timely service level agreements (SLA) in support of corporate business operations.
• Provides Control-M support to application development and other IT operations teams, as required (i.e., manipulating errored jobs, holding and releasing jobs for delayed cycles, etc.)
• Accomplish daily turnover and status reports, as required.
• Identify, report, coordinate, and document system abnormalities.

Skills

Team-first mindset

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Customer service

Analytical thinking

Technical troubleshooting

Windows OS

LAN/WAN/Citrix

TCP/IP networking

Ability to lift

Education

Technical school training

CompTIA A+ or Network+ certifications

Tools

TSO

OMEGAMON

TMON

WhatsUp Gold

SolarWinds

Environet

Control-M

Job description

The work we do has an impact on millions of lives, and you can be a part of it.

We help protect our customers against life’s uncertainties. Regardless of where you work within the company, you’ll be helping provide protection and peace of mind when our customers need it most.

This position is part of a team responsible for providing 7x24x365 support in diagnosing operational issues with applications, operating systems and hardware, leveraging industry standard tools and techniques to identify solutions to technology-related issues in Protective Life Corporation’s Data Center Operations.

Responsibilities:

• Distributed System/Network/Environmental/Mainframe Monitoring
• Ensures mainframe and distributed system availability and production scheduling.
• Monitors mainframe and AS400 operations using TSO, OMEGAMON, TMON, and mainframe consoles.
• Monitors servers and applications utilizing WhatsUp Gold and available resources.
• Monitors network infrastructure using SolarWinds and available resources.
• Monitors facility environmental systems using Environet and available resources.
• Monitors business-critical APIs utilizing the available monitoring resources.
• Monitors internal and external websites utilizing available monitoring resources
• IT Operations Support
• Executes manual cycles and jobs using IBM z/OS mainframe and AS400 to ensure timely service level agreements (SLA) in support of corporate business operations.
• Executes daily checklist tasks to ensure operational efficiency and effectiveness to meet business SLAs.
• Provides Control-M support to application development and other IT operations teams, as required (i.e., manipulating errored jobs, holding and releasing jobs for delayed cycles, etc.)
• Accomplish daily turnover and status reports, as required.
• Identify, report, coordinate, and document system abnormalities.
• Responsible for assisting the Technical Support Center telephone support, as needed.
• Customer Support and Communication
• Utilizes on-call calendars and established procedures to escape events appropriately.
• Formats and transmits vetted communication for Informational, Maintenance, and Emergency Events.
• Promptly and professionally receives and responds to customer requests and ensures timely follow-up.
• Escalation and communication of issues, events, and outages within the guidelines of DCO procedures.
• IT Operations Management
• Reviews ITOM platform discovery and mapping scans to correct and validate any identified discrepancies.
• Reviews ITOM event management alerts for completeness and correctness to minimize event noise.
• Collaborates with IT owners and the ITOM platform owner, as needed, to resolve any issues.
• Information Technology Serivce Management (Incident/Problem/Change Management)
• Uses incident management software to log, document and close customer requests, as required.
• Uses problem management software to create, document, and complete problems, as required.
• Uses change management software to create, document, and complete changes, as required.
• Responds to operator alerts, messages, notifications and other error indicators from monitoring systems. Completes triage in-line with Incident Resolution Documents, procedures, and operating instructions.
• Accurately documents, escalates, and makes notification to on-call teams to expedite event remediation. Provide technical point of escalation for production systems, application and technical issues, equipment failures and environmental conditions to the appropriate team to ensure timely resolution.
• Works to resolve routine Data Center Operations equipment problems or issues.
• Reviews scheduled DCO changes for potential impact to customers.
• Attends weekly change management meeting to participate in review of upcoming changes.
• Disaster Recovery
• Participates in Disaster Recovery activities as required.
• Acts as a liaison between Technical Services, Production Control, and other Information Technology teams to resolve issues.
• Performs backup operations, as required.
• Continuous Process Improvement
• Works with DCO management to ensure that processes and services are continuously monitored for quality, cost-effectiveness and efficiency.
• Proactively seeks to identify opportunities for process workflow improvements and operational efficiencies and provides recommendations for implementing changes.
• Actively assist in the creation of new techniques, technologies and ideas that will enable more proactive resolutions to issues and potential issues.
• Assist in developing, documenting, testing and the implementing of processes and procedures.
• Engages in process and quality improvement activities.
• Provides process improvement recommendations to team leads and managers.
• Training/Administration
• Complete all assigned training prior to required completion dates.
• Attend all Information Systems, Corporate and OJT training as assigned by management.
• Strives to achieve a high degree of position qualification by continually increasing knowledge and skills in-line with improvements and changes to the enterprise IT environment, tools, and processes.

Work Experience, Education, Certification / Training Required:

• Ability to work various hours, shifts, holidays and overtime as required.
• Minimum of 1-3 years of technical school training or equivalent work experience in a related field is required. Technical certifications (e.g., CompTIA A+, Network+) or relevant coursework is a plus.
• Minimum of 1-3 years of professional, technical, and customer support experience in a corporate environment is required.
• Prior ServiceNow, Mainframe and/or Control-M experience is a plus.
• Basic familiarity with Microsoft Windows operating systems and Microsoft Office.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

• Soft Skills
• Team-first mindset.
• Accepts change in a productive manner and contributes to efficient implementation.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to multi-task.
• Strong interpersonal, oral and written communication skills.
• Strong customer service skills and a genuine desire to solve issues that arise.
• Quick learner, comfortable picking up new tools, and technical concepts with guidance.
• Great analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Technical Knowledge and Skills
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Windows operating systems and Microsoft Office.
• Understanding of LAN, WAN and Citrix environments.
• Understanding of TCP/IP, Routers, Switches, Hubs, Firewalls, Domains, DNS, DHCP and Subnets.
• Good analytical, problem solving and technical troubleshooting skills.
• Abilities:
• Ability to complete job requirements work with minimal supervision.
• Lifting and transporting moderately heavy objects, such as computers and peripherals.
• Ability to lift 30 pounds regularly and 50 pounds occasionally.

Employee Benefits:

We aim to protect the wellbeing of our employees and their families with a broad benefits offering. In addition to offering comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance, we support emotional wellbeing through mental health benefits and an employee assistance program. Work/life balance is important and Protective offers a variety of paid time away benefits (e.g., paid time off, paid parental leave, short-term disability, and a cultural observance day). The financial health of our employees is just as important as physical and emotional health. Some of the financial wellbeing benefits include contributions to healthcare accounts, a pension plan, and a 401(k) plan with Company matching. All employees are encouraged to protect their overall wellbeing by engaging in ProHealth Rewards, Protective’s platform to improve wellbeing while earning cash rewards.

Eligibility for certain benefits may vary by position in accordance with the terms of the Company’s benefit plans.

Accommodations for Applicants with a Disability:

If you require an accommodation to complete the application and recruitment process due to a disability, please email [e-mail]. This information will be held in confidence and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the application and recruitment process.

Please note that the above email is solely for individuals with disabilities requesting an accommodation. General employment questions should not be sent through this process.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to being inclusive and attracting, retaining, and growing an inclusive workforce.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

Protective’s targeted salary range for this position is $41,600 to $52,500. Actual salaries may vary depending on factors, including but not limited to, job location, skills, and experience. The range listed is just one component of Protective’s total compensation package for employees.