IT Supervisor - Departmental Application Development

Marion County; Salem (OR); On-site; USD 95,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Marion County seeks an IT Supervisor of Application Development to lead a team delivering and modernizing the county's application services for a multi-department enterprise environment. The role blends hands-on technical directions with people leadership, focusing on standards, backlogs, and continuous improvement.

The incumbent will manage performance, guide architecture decisions, and drive practice change within a collaborative, accountable team culture, ensuring delivery aligns with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information science, MIS, business administration or related field.
• Two years of IT project management or technically related experience.
• Two years of supervisory or three years lead experience in an IT-related field; or any satisfactory combination of work, education, training, or experience relevant to the position.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Application Development team: assignment, performance management, and professional development.
• Own delivery and continuous improvement of the Application Development service with a visible backlog and defined processes.
• Establish engineering standards and development discipline (source control, code review, deployment, documentation).
• Coordinate governance, intake, and cross-team work; participate in program-wide governance and reporting.
• Perform other duties as assigned and contribute to budgeting discussions.

Skills

Leadership

Agile delivery

DevSecOps

ITIL

Performance management

Coaching

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science / information systems / MIS / business administration

Job description

GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES

The IT Supervisor of Application Development is a first-line supervisor responsible for the delivery and continuous improvement of the county's application development service. The incumbent owns both the technical direction of the team and the maturity of how that team works — leading a group of developers through the ongoing modernization of systems, practices, and skills required to serve a multi-department enterprise environment. This role requires direct technical expertise in software development sufficient to assess quality, guide architecture, set standards, and earn the trust of a technical team. It equally requires the leadership capability to develop people, drive practice change, and build a team culture grounded in accountability, continuous improvement, and collaborative delivery. The successful incumbent understands that modernizing a development team is a change management challenge with a technical dimension — and leads accordingly.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED

Works under the general supervision of a higher-level IT Manager who establishes goals, and reviews the results obtained for overall effectiveness.

SUPERVISION EXERCISED

Supervises professional and technical staff to include: prioritizing and assigning work; conducting performance evaluations; coaching and developing staff; ensuring employees follow policies and procedures; maintaining a healthy and safe working environment; and making hiring, termination, and disciplinary decisions.

Team Leadership and Development

Supervise the Application Development team, including work assignment, performance management, and professional development. Establish clear performance expectations grounded in outcomes — what the team delivers and how reliably it delivers — rather than activity or compliance. Coach staff toward genuine expertise in their domain, including the ability to assess their own work, identify gaps, and drive improvement without waiting for direction. Conduct timely and substantive performance evaluations. Manage personnel matters in a manner consistent with a team culture oriented toward growth and accountability. Develop and maintain cross‑training plans that reduce knowledge concentration and build team resilience.

Application Development Service Ownership

Own the delivery and continuous improvement of the Application Development service on behalf of the county's departments and elected offices. Maintain a prioritized, visible backlog; enforce work‑in‑progress limits; and ensure a structured delivery process — including regular ceremonies, a definition of done, and source control discipline — operates consistently. Assess build‑vs‑buy decisions and platform strategy with an enterprise lens, preferring vendor‑supported commercial platforms where appropriate to reduce long‑term maintenance burden. Track and report on service performance using delivery metrics such as cycle time, throughput, and delivery predictability. Identify gaps in service quality and address them through active Service Improvement Planning.

Technical Practice and Standards

Serve as a practicing technical expert in application development, with sufficient hands‑on competency to assess solution quality, guide architecture decisions, set engineering standards, and provide credible technical direction. Establish and enforce development discipline — including source control standards, code review practices, deployment procedures, and documentation requirements — as non‑negotiable team norms. Assess inherited systems and technical environments objectively, surface risk honestly, and sequence modernization efforts deliberately. Demonstrate and reinforce modern delivery practices, with an understanding of how security, quality, and operational considerations integrate into the development lifecycle from the start rather than as an afterthought.

Governance and Cross‑Team Coordination

Implement and maintain development standards, intake processes, and coordination practices consistent with the division's governance framework. Ensure all development work enters through the established intake model, is prioritized transparently against a visible backlog, and is tracked to completion. Participate in portfolio‑level governance including the Portfolio Leadership Review, presenting service performance and representing the Application Development team's capacity, commitments, and risks. Coordinate with other IT service areas on cross‑team work and production change management. Contribute to the ongoing maturation of Agile delivery practices within the team and the broader IT service management program.

Other Job Duties

Participate in meetings, in‑service training, workshops, and professional development activities for the purpose of maintaining current knowledge and contributing to the broader IT organization. Participate in budget discussions related to application platforms, vendor contracts, and development tools. Perform other duties as assigned.

EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING

1. Bachelor's degree in computer science, information science, management information systems, business administration or related field; AND
2. Two years of IT project management or technically related experience; AND
3. Two years of supervisory or three years lead experience* in an IT‑related field which may be concurrent with other required experience; OR
4. Any satisfactory combination of work, education, training, or experience relevant to the position, as determined by Marion County.

*Lead experience must have included: training; reviewing the work of others; organizing, planning, and scheduling work assignments; providing input on employee performance evaluations; providing guidance in daily activities; providing technical expertise; acting as a resource on difficult points of procedures; and providing assistance to and making recommendations in the hiring process.

PREFERENCES

• Certification in Application Development or Application Architecture
• Certified Project Management Professional (PMP), or other equivalent project management certifications
• Two or more years' experience working in an ITIL/ITSM environment.
• Extensive experience with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Azure.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• The finalist for this position will be required to pass a criminal history background check, including finger printing; however, conviction of a crime may not necessarily disqualify an individual for this position.
• This assignment is not represented by a union.
• This is a full‑time position, which is not eligible for overtime.
• Typical Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., with flexibility depending upon the needs of the department and program.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

Knowledge of: software development practices and engineering standards; Agile and iterative delivery methodologies and how to match them to team mandate; application lifecycle considerations including build‑vs‑buy judgment and vendor platform evaluation; modern DevSecOps principles and security‑integrated development; IT service management principles (ITIL or equivalent); supervisory and people development practices including performance management and coaching; and delivery metrics such as cycle time, throughput, and deployment frequency.

Skill and ability to: lead a technical team through practice change without losing trust or operational continuity; assess technical environments and sequence modernization deliberately; establish engineering standards as team norms rather than aspirational goals; communicate credibly with both technical staff and non‑technical department stakeholders; manage competing priorities across delivery, improvement, and governance; and hold people accountable through coaching and direct conversation.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Sits; moves about the work area; bends forward; reaches overhead; lifts, pushes, pulls, and carries up to 50 lbs.; moves carts weighing up to 50 lbs.; operates a keyboard; speaks in clear and audible voice; reads at 12 pt. font; distinguishes colors and shades; sees using depth perception; hears a whispered level of speech; and distinguishes colors and shades.