Req #: 233726

Department: UNDERGRADUATE ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Posting Date: 05/03/2024

Closing Info: Open Until Filled

Salary: $7,000 - $7,535 per month

Shift: First Shift

Notes: As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life programs. For a complete description of our benefits for this position, please visit our website, click here. (https://hr.uw.edu/benefits/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/02/benefits-professional-staff-librarians-academic-staff-20230701_a11y.pdf ) Although open until filled, priority deadline is May 17th.

As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem-solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.

The University Honors Program, a unit of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, has an outstanding opportunity for a Computing Specialist to join our team.

Undergraduate Academic Affairs (UAA) shapes, advances and stewards a world-class undergraduate academic experience for students at the University of Washington. Staff, faculty and students in UAA deepen and enrich the learning experience for all undergraduates, recognizing and supporting the unique learning path of each individual student and the commitment of each academic program to excellence in learning and teaching.

The University Honors Program stewards innovative academic experiences featuring experiential learning, an interdisciplinary curriculum, and structured reflection. Students can pursue Honors as a general education track, an in-depth program within their majors, or a combination of the two. We prepare our students to ask and answer bold questions about the challenges facing our ever-changing world through participation in small classes with faculty from across campus, and by challenging themselves and each other to take intellectual risks and commit to conscious global engagement. The Honors staff supports these aims, serving approximately 1500 students each year in partnership with faculty, administrators, and other staff across campus and in the broader community.

The Computing Specialist in the University Honors Program reports to the program's Assistant Director / Director of Strategy & Operations and supports all areas of the Honor’s unit. This technical specialist performs a variety of complex computer system related activities including database and web application development, data management, website management, and programming. This position requires an understanding of a broad range of Honors functions and processes that are integral to the proper operations of the Honors Program. The role is one of collaboration, communication, and creating solutions that enhance productivity and empower staff, students, and process partners by making information and technology accessible. This position is responsible for the management and continual development of the Honors Program's internal and external websites, as well as a variety of applications that support admissions, scholarships, course registration, academic services, and alumni outreach. It includes opportunities for statistical data analysis, integration of data from various UW systems, digital strategy, IT management, and collaboration with departments across campus.

The Honors staff is a close and collaborative unit working to support our students and faculty. As an integral member of our team, the Honors Computing Specialist will join a staff community that models program values of deep curiosity about the world and the interdependence of all branches of knowledge; engagement with the complexities of difference and diversity; and pursuit of a life of continuous learning and personal growth.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Under the supervision of the Honors Program Assistant Director / Director of Strategy & Operations, this position will have the following responsibilities:

Application and Systems Management and Development (60%):

• Implement and maintain full software development lifecycle for custom systems.

• Recommend and implement system improvements and upgrades including bug fixes and performance enhancements.

• Write clean, secure, reusable code and libraries for future use and improve existing code and its design.

• Troubleshoot and respond to errors and issues as they arise.Admissions and scholarship systems:

• Maintain and add features to existing electronic student application review systems for Honors’ admissions and scholarships, including:- Coordinate application updates through collaboration with UW Admissions and outside vendors.- Import data from APIs and databases into the Honors system for use with the custom admissions review and decision process.- Coordinate with stakeholders to help improve forecast models for admissions and student enrollment.Academic Services tools and systems:

• Maintain, manage, and improve system tools for Honors student records and enrollment database, student curricular projects, and advising appointment scheduling.

• Provide reports to assist academic services staff in monitoring of student academic progress.Data management (10%):

• Lead data management for Honors systems.

• Write SQL queries, extract, and import data from UW data warehouses (EDW, SDB, EARS, Admissions CRM/Coalition) into Honors database applications for customized report generation, automation of manual processes, and synchronization with the Honors-managed system.

• Access and integrate data from various systems and prepare reports on Honors’ processes.

• Improve data collection and management, including data validation activities, and build reporting tools to provide insights to track, forecast, and explain variance.Website and Outreach Tools (10%):

• Manage external-facing websites in accordance with UW design and data security standards.

• Manage integration of Honors database and application functions with program website.

• Support marketing and outreach efforts via web and design assets including SEO/Analytics, website redesign, and email marketing.

• Manage updates to program website and website tools in response to changing staff, student, and university requirements.

• Coordinate larger website design developments as needed.

• Development of alumni database and engagement tools to support alumni outreach.Technical analysis and planning (10%):

• Recommend tools, systems and services that expand the program’s capabilities.

• Evaluate and implement new and existing technologies, systems and software to support organizational needs, including automation of operations and processes, and for adherence to IT standards, best practices, and data security.

• Define requirements and propose technical solutions to integrate and improve existing workflows.

• Manage adherence to network security measures for complying and protecting data with regulations (i.e., FERPA, GDPR), including developing and enforcing security standards, audits, and policies for compliance.

• Maintain awareness of technology advances and collaborate on applying new approaches.

• Generate and maintain technical documentation.IT Management and Training (5%):

• Primary technical contact for the Honors Program and systems, including cross-platform compatibility, general troubleshooting and advice.

• Work with central UAA IT on server updates and administration of Linux LAMP stack servers, including on-site and cloud hosting solutions.

• Provide system training and support to Honors staff on Honors systems.Special Projects (5%):

• Engage with UAA IT staff in a collaborative technical group that provides mentorship, support, backup, and cross-training on UAA systems, languages, and protocols.

• Provide basic data analysis on reports to help inform program operations and decisions.

• Occasionally review and evaluate student applications in collaboration with Honors staff to better inform knowledge of the evaluation processes technical needs.

• Collaborate with the Honors staff on events, marketing and communications, survey development and collection, and special projects.

• Other duties as assigned. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's Degree in any discipline.

• Two years of experience working in database design/management, information architecture, web design and development, as a developer, or related fields.

• Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Demonstrated competency in web development, including managing and extending custom PHP and MySQL applications, basic LAMP server configuration, and WordPress experience.

• Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing, with a diverse population of staff, faculty, and students at varying levels of technical knowledge.

• Excellent organizational, time-management skills, and attention to detail.

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with people representing diverse perspectives, approaches, and job roles.

• Ability to manage competing projects and multiple deadlines and priorities.

• Manage current portfolio of web applications; fix bugs, add new features, make changes to the programming, and configure / install updates.

• Demonstrated competency in server and database administration, MVC web frameworks, accessible web standards (HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript), and user interface design.

• Experience with web frameworks, WordPress CMS custom development (themes/plugins), and user interface design.

• Experience with Composer or other library/dependency management tools.

• Display initiative, make recommendations to address client needs and system improvements, and take action.

• Create and manage imports of data from various sources including APIs, Data Warehouse, and other MySQL/MSSQL databases.

• Work both independently, cooperatively, and respectfully with faculty, staff, students, managers, supervisors, and academic peers and partners.

• Experience with web accessibility best practices (WCAG standards).

• Experience or training in user experience design. DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with programming languages including object-oriented PHP7/PHP8, JavaScript/Jquery, shell scripting, MySQL, Python.

• Experience maintaining code structures, Git version control, various application related databases, and backup processes.

• Experience with creating custom forms, input validation, workflows, and automations.

• Experience with cron jobs, server administration, Ubuntu LAMP stack, apache, SSL certificates, SFTP.

• Support editors who are authoring, coordinating, managing and migrating content.

• Experience with custom email notifications and email best practices (SMTP).

• Experience with SEO best practices & Google Analytics Tools

• Ensure sites meet security standards and maintain necessary documentation to support security reviews and audits.

• Stay current and informed on new developments in web technologies and server best practices.

• Experience with Adobe Creative Suite and photo editing.

• Experience creating MySQL reports and performing statistical and data analysis.

• Experience with the suite of Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace applications and tools.

• UW-specific technologies: SDB, EARS, DARS, EDW, Advance/Tandem, Marketo, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and Shibboleth.

• Demonstrated commitment to diversity and equity.

• Work is conducted in an office setting on campus with hybrid working options. The primary work hours are typically 8am – 5pm with some occasional evening and weekend hours. Cover Letter In your cover letter, please address the following prompt: What is it about this job that interests you, and how your prior work experiences connect to the responsibilities of this position. Please include your experience working with diverse populations at varying levels of technical knowledge. Application Process: The application process may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment, you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are access ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.

University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, among other things, race, religion, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.