Water Services Applications Manager (Lead Information Technician Systems Specialist)

City of Phoenix; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 115,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension Plan

401(a) and 457 plans

Paid time off and holidays

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

The City of Phoenix Water Services Department is seeking a senior-level Applications Manager to provide strategic oversight for the enterprise application portfolio supporting municipal water and wastewater services. This role leads lifecycle planning, modernization, vendor engagement, and portfolio optimization to deliver measurable business outcomes.

You will guide complex technical initiatives, oversee cross-functional teams, and ensure applications are secure, reliable, and aligned with

Qualifications

• Three years of experience developing, evaluating, using, and maintaining technical system hardware and software.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer information technology or a related technology field.
• All finalists for positions are subject to a criminal background check.

Responsibilities

• Oversee enterprise application portfolio and ensure alignment with security and architecture requirements.
• Develop strategic lifecycle plans, upgrades, modernization, and end-of-life activities.
• Provide oversight for development, configuration, testing, deployment, and production support.
• Lead vendor relationships, contract renewals, and budget planning for CIP and modernization.

Skills

App portfolio oversight

Vendor management

Budget management

Stakeholder relationships

Lifecycle management

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science or related field

Tools

Power BI

Job description

About This Position

The City of Phoenix Water Services Department (WSD) Technology Services Division is seeking a senior-level Applications Manager to provide strategic oversight and operational leadership for the enterprise application portfolio supporting municipal water and wastewater services. This role is responsible for guiding application lifecycle strategy, modernization planning, vendor engagement, and portfolio optimization, ensuring applications align with organizational priorities and deliver measurable business outcomes. The Applications Manager serves as a strategic portfolio leader with deep technical fluency, capable of aligning technology investments with business objectives, managing risk, and ensuring the long-term sustainability, security, and reliability of business-critical applications. While not a hands‑on developer, the role requires sufficient technical depth to effectively oversee engineering teams, assess architectural and lifecycle decisions, and guide complex technical initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage and oversee an enterprise application portfolio supporting critical business and operational functions.
• Establish and maintain governance for application lifecycle, including classification, health assessment, and risk evaluation.
• Lead application portfolio rationalization efforts, including consolidation, modernization, replacement, or retirement of applications.
• Ensure applications are vendor-supported, compliant with City standards, and aligned with security and architecture requirements.

Application Lifecycle Planning & Strategy

• Develop and maintain strategic lifecycle plans and roadmaps addressing sustainment, upgrades, modernization, and end-of-life activities.
• Evaluate technical debt, obsolescence risk, operational impact, and cost to support informed investment decisions.
• Coordinate lifecycle planning across application teams, vendors, and business stakeholders.
• Align application strategies with business objectives and desired outcomes.
• Engage stakeholders to understand their business goals, priorities, and desired outcomes.
• Assess system capabilities and limitations.
• Develop actionable initiatives to address their needs and deliver measurable results.

Technical Oversight & Operations

• Provide oversight into development, configuration, integration, testing, deployment, and production support.
• Review technical designs, upgrade strategies, and implementation approaches to ensure stability, scalability, and maintainability.
• Guide technical staff and vendors during complex incidents, upgrades, and high-risk changes.
• Ensure consistent practices across development, change management, and production releases.
• Work tracking, metrics & executive reporting.
• Establish formal mechanisms to track staff and vendor work, project plans, and operational tasks.
• Monitor progress to ensure alignment with departmental priorities, timelines, and service commitments.
• Develop and deliver weekly executive-level reports summarizing application health, risks, milestones, and resource utilization.
• Utilize dashboards and reporting tools (e.g., Power BI) to provide visibility into work progress and portfolio status.
• Identify risks, issues, and resource constraints and implement corrective actions as needed.

Vendor, Contract & Financial Management

• Oversee vendor relationships supporting enterprise applications.
• Lead contract renewals, pricing reviews, and scope management for applications.
• Develop and manage operational budgets and Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) related to application modernization or expansion.
• Coordinate with finance and procurement teams on funding strategies, budget adjustments, and long-term cost planning.
• Governance, continuity & compliance.
• Serve as liaison for disaster recovery, business continuity, and audit activities related to the application portfolio.
• Ensure applications meet continuity of operations requirements and recovery objectives.
• Coordinate audit documentation, responses, and remediation activities.

  Procurement & Solution Evaluation

  • Participate in procurement and evaluation of application solutions and services.
  • Review business requirements and evaluate proposed solutions for technical feasibility, lifecycle impact, and alignment with business objectives.
  • Support implementation planning for new or replacement application systems.
  • Leadership & Coordination Provide oversight for application services staff, technical resources, and vendors.
  • Coordinate activities across IT teams, business units, finance, procurement, and external partners.
  • Ensure staff work is planned, tracked, and executed in a cohesive manner to support departmental goals and operational priorities.
  • Represent departmental interests and provide input to support decision-making and prioritization of initiatives within a steering committee.
  • Collaborate with stakeholders and report back action items, ensuring alignment, accountability, and timely implementation of agreed-upon initiatives.
  • Serve as a subject matter expert representing the department in committees, steering groups, and cross-functional discussions, providing informed input to support decision-making and prioritization of initiatives.

  IDEAL CANDIDATE

  • Ability to monitor a portfolio of projects, including milestones and critical dates to mitigate potential risks.

  SALARY

  Pay Range: $115,460.80 to $154,731.20 annually.

  Hiring Range: $115,460.80 to $147,368.00 annually.

  Pay Range Explanation

  • Pay range is the entire compensation range for the position classification.
  • Hiring range is an estimate of where you can receive an offer. The actual salary offer will carefully consider a wide range of factors, including your skills, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, training, and internal equity.
  • Promotions occur when the last two digits of the pay grade increase.
  • Demotions occur when the last two digits of the pay grade decrease.
  • Lateral transfers occur when there is no change to the last two digits of the pay grade.
  • When there is a change in the first digit of the pay grade, there may also be a change to your classification or unit.

  Benefits

  • Traditional pension with employer and employee contributions, click here for more details: Pension Information.
  • 401(a) and 457 plans with employer contributions.
  • Choice of generous medical HMO, PPO, or HSA/HDHP plans.
  • Medical enrollment includes a monthly $150 City contribution to a Post-Employment Health Plan.
  • Wellness incentive of up to $720 annually.
  • Dental, vision, and life insurance options.
  • Employer paid long-term disability.
  • Free Bus/light rail pass.
  • Tuition reimbursement program up to $6,500 per year.
  • Paid time off includes 13.5 paid holidays, 12 vacation days, and 15 sick days and personal leave days.
  • Paid Parental Leave for eligible employees up to 480 hours (12 weeks) of paid leave for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child during a 12-month period.
  • Federal Student Loan Forgiveness offered through Savi.

  For more details, visit: Unit 007 Benefits

  Minimum Qualifications

  • Three years of experience developing, evaluating, using, and maintaining technical system hardware and software.
  • Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer information technology or a related technology field.
  • All finalists for positions are subject to a criminal background check applicable to the department or position.
  • Some positions require the use of personal or City vehicles on City business. Individuals must be physically capable of operating the vehicles safely, possess a valid driver's license and have an acceptable driving record. Use of a personal vehicle for City business will be prohibited if the employee is not authorized to drive a City vehicle or if the employee does not have personal insurance coverage.
  • For information regarding pre-screening and driving positions, click here.
  • The City job description can be found here.

  Preferred Qualifications

  The minimum qualifications listed above, plus:

  • Minimum 10 years of experience:
    • Overseeing application upgrades, development, integration, testing, deployment, and sustainment activities.
    • Managing application-related operational budgets and Capital Improvement Projects (CIP).
  • Six years of experience:
    • Developing, evaluating, using, and maintaining technical systems, hardware, and software, including oversight or coordination of enterprise applications, vendor-supported systems, and operational environments.
    • Developing, supporting, and migrating applications using both modern and legacy programming languages within a relational database management system (RDBMS) framework.
    • Demonstrating the ability to align application technologies with business objectives and translate strategic initiatives into operational execution.
    • Managing or overseeing enterprise application environments within a large, complex organization.
  • Four years of experience:
    • Supporting audits, disaster recovery planning, and continuity of operations for enterprise applications.
    • Application portfolio rationalization, modernization planning, or lifecycle governance.
  • Experience in/with the following:
    • Delivering senior level presentations to communicate key risks, objectives, and health of portfolio. Building relationships with stakeholders.

  RECRUITMENT DATES

  Recruitment closes August 20, 2026. All materials must be received by 11:59 p.m. on this date.

  REFERENCE

  Lead Info Tech Systems Spec, JC:09580, ID# 62681, 08/14/2026, USM, JG, Benefits:007

  Building the Phoenix of tomorrow.

  #DoWorkThatMakesPhoenixWork

  City of Phoenix is an equal opportunity employer. AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other national service alumni who meet the required qualifications are encouraged to apply.