Architect/Back Office Systems

CDC Software, Inc.The Customer-Driven Company™

 

CDC Software, Inc. is a global software provider of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Supply Chain Management (SCM), and real-time Performance Management (PM) solutions and services targeted to specific industries and vertical markets.  By embedding industry-specific functionality and best practices in its solutions, CDC Software offers faster implementation, lower total cost of ownership, and superior business fit.  CDC Software solutions have a global reach and serve over 6,000 customers in more than 50 countries through our 22 global offices. With our corporate headquarters in the United States, a strong presence in EMEA, Australia, and South America, and a notable presence in China and Japan, we use our global experience and resources to deliver superior products and services.  For more information on our growing company, please visit www.cdcsoftware.com

 

Architect/Back Office Systems

 

Position Summary

The Principal Applications Architect - Back Office Systems is the technical business owner for the systems and applications utilized for financial transactions, reporting, BI, time & expenses, payroll, revenue recognition, HRIS, product licensing and more. The Principal Applications Architect is accountable for the quality and reliability of the business functions performed by these systems and will also be responsible for identifying and resolving systems issues, consolidation of newly acquired operating companies and design and control of systems integration goals. This role must work with department stakeholders to maintain a list of department priorities, report project status, etc. The Principal Applications Architect may be required to project manage, design and/or test various phases of these projects.

 

This position calls for a seasoned/senior IT professional with excellent business skills who has a broad range of knowledge in current technologies and solid experience in project planning and project team management in application deployment, integration, upgrades and reporting.

 

Reports

Reports to the VP of Applications Management


Duties & Responsibilities:

 The Principal Applications Architect will act as a primary interface between many of the CDC business departments and the IT department for the processing of invoices, expenses, business intelligence reporting, etc. This role will coordinate and prioritize the development and systems integration tasks that are assigned to IT. Responsible for aligning CDC’s business requirements with IT’s technical requirements and ensure that financial tracking, license issuance, payroll, reporting and other systems have been architected for greatest functional efficiency, security, continued growth, ease of integration, SOX compliance, and more.Review new project and enhancement requests and approve them based on technical feasibility as they relate to back office systems in scope.  Manage resourceproject demand in cooperation with the IT Project Manager.Create the requirements and design documents for enhancements to the systems used by CDC business departments. These include (but are not limited to) Pivotal CRM, Compuware PSA, Softrax, HRIS, Purchase Order Tracking, FRX, SafeNet license issuance and ERP Financials.Identify problem areas that require upgrades and determine the appropriate business and technical solutions and define the requirements.  Software development projects will be assigned to the Applications Development team for final construction and implementation.  Collaboration with the Development Manager is required for all new integration projects, custom development and application deployments.  The Principal Applications Architect will ensure that timelines, appropriate security levels, testing, stakeholder authorizations, budget and business goals have all been met according to corporate policies before final implementation.Maintain and coordinate the on-going tasks required during all phases of systems operation for all applications in scope. These include definition of requirements, design, development, testing, deployment, enhancements and ongoing application support.Communicate and resolve overdue and unfulfilled tasks and helpdesk issues to ensure smooth and reliable deployments.Create and maintain a corporate financials strategic roadmap for deployment, consolidation and integration activities supporting all mission critical financial system in the enterprise.  Formulate strategies with the help and cooperation of financial systems stakeholders and management.  Communicate roadmap strategies with the IT team members to ensure awareness and timely delivery of projected and forecasted goals.  Oversee that new software purchases, custom development, user security, application design and implementation follow the agreed upon financial roadmap strategies and policies.  Enforce and maintain these policies.Share responsibility with Finance to update the standard product catalog. This includes the Softrax & Pivotal product catalogs and the price lists which are used by Sales, Product Management, Contracts, Accounting and Finance.Coordinate regular meetings with business process owners, stakeholders and management to review metrics, ensure that business goals are being met and that projects are meeting forecasted milestones.  Create test plans relating to all upgrades, changes and enhancements in compliance with CDC change management policies and Sarbanes Oxley. Administer these test plans and ensure that external departments address and resolve any issues. Coordinate activities involved in the migration and/or consolidation of back office systems employed by new companies acquired by CDC Software.  Assess existing applications in use and develop migration, consolidation and/or decommission strategies and timelines in accordance with the new acquisition project management team.  Ensure that activities are executed in compliance with corporate policies within the project timelines and budgetsIdentify staffing and resource requirements to ensure the back office applications are properly supported and projects are delivered in a timely manner.  Oversee the activities of Business Analysts to ensure that workflow, application integration efficiency and security goals, among others, are being met.

 

Required Skills:Formal education in business and/or computing and progressive experience with accounting, billing, HRIS, payroll, license issuance and CRM systems.Experience and relevant knowledge to document detailed business requirements for complex financial systems as well as a strong understanding of accounting and financial reporting processes.Experience with systems architecture planning; preparation of cost-benefit and return on investment analysis; ability to identify high value business needs and balance fulfilling them with available resourcesFunctional expertise in Compuware PSA and Softrax or similar enterprise applications designed for tracking revenue, time and expenses in a large, global organization.Functional expertise in MS SQL stored procedures and systems integration Design, develop, and document standard and ad hoc reports using Crystal Reports and other third party reporting toolsBachelor’s degree in FinanceAccounting, Computer Science, or related field, or 7+ years of relevant experience in managing and administering financial and/or ERP software applicationsStrong analytical and problem-solving skills for functional support of software applicationsAbility to identify, document, and mange business processes and workflowsProject planning, management and reportingExcellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills

 

Preferred:Experience in administering Softrax & Compuware PSAExperience with Crystal Reports Experience with Business Intelligence reporting toolsExperience with SQL database administration

· Background in professional services companies – especially consulting

 

Location:  Atlanta, GeorgiaTravel:  Minimal

 

CDC Software is an equal opportunity employer.  Principals only please.

 

Contact:

Human Resources

jobs@cdcsoftware.com