Systems Analyst III, Information Technology

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

The Information Technology Department supports the organization’s technology needs and provides leadership for future solutions. Deschutes County IT manages systems and infrastructure, and provides stable, secure, and reliable technical support services to County staff and clients. The department includes 22 employees and partners with other technical staff throughout the County. The department is dedicated to enhancing security, efficiency, and productivity and provides everything from phone support to application integration.

The Applications System Analyst III is responsible for the full lifecycle management of assigned commercial off the shelf (COTS) and modified off-the-shelf (MOTS) enterprise applications used across Deschutes County. This role serves as the accountable owner for bringing a vendor product into the County environment and IT operations, ensuring it is implemented securely and effectively. The role operates as the Tier 3 functional and technical escalation point in operations, maintains an active and informed partnership with the vendor, and plans the product’s roadmap through eventual replacement and retirement.

The Applications Analyst balances business outcomes, user experience, operational stability, security and compliance requirements, and total cost of ownership across the entire lifespan of the application. This position also provides project management leadership and skills to drive cross‑functional initiatives and ensure project goals align with organizational timelines to successful completion.

The Applications Analyst also leads product lifecycle and portfolio decisions by continuously evaluating whether the product still meets business needs, security expectations, integration standards, and cost/benefit thresholds. When replacement becomes necessary, the role plans and executes the phase‑out change strategy, including data retention and records considerations, transition planning with product consumers as well as IT teams, parallel operations only as needed and kept at minimal, user adoption support for the new solution, decommissioning tasks, and contract closeout activities.

Throughout the lifecycle, the position ensures alignment with County governance, risk management, and enterprise architecture direction.

This position is located in Deschutes County and may be eligible for hybrid of in‑office/remote work as allowed by policy and approved by the supervisor.

• Product Intake and Onboarding
  :
  Leads discovery, fit‑gap assessments, and requirements translation for secure, efficient ERP system operations and integration.
• Tier 3 Support and Operations
  :
  Serves as the final technical escalation point for complex incidents, managing configuration changes and ensuring enterprise applications and systems health.
• Vendor Relationship and Release Management
  :
  Functions as the primary liaison for roadmap intelligence, contract obligations, and controlled enterprise applications and systems upgrades.
• Lifecycle and Portfolio Decisions
  :
  Evaluates enterprise applications and system performance against business, security, and cost metrics to determine long‑term viability. Drives operational and/or replacement strategies, including phased decommissioning, parallel operations, user adoption, and contract closeout while ensuring alignment with county governance standards.

Knowledge of or experience with:

• Enterprise Application Expertise
  :
  Deep knowledge of application life cycles, ITSM practices, data flows, and secure integrations.
• Vendor and Stakeholder Management
  :
  Proven skills in vendor negotiation, contract alignment, and stakeholder consensus building.
• Change and Lifecycle Execution
  :
  Ability to manage risk, maintain disciplined documentation, and lead controlled upgrade cycles.
• Progressive IT Experience
  :
  Years of experience administering or owning complex enterprise applications, preferably in government.

Skill in:

• IT Service Management (ITSM):
  Proficiency in core ITIL/ITSM processes, coordinating incident, problem, change, and release management frameworks.
• Vendor and Contract Governance
  :
  Capability in negotiation…