Business Applications Specialist

The Business Applications Specialist is responsible for delivering company-wide business solutions through ERP and external software application configuration/development as well as supporting all field-based users utilizing such applications. This includes troubleshooting applications for all internal customers, such as Sales, Finance, Operations, Supply Chain, and other business units. This position is also responsible for managing assigned projects and defining, developing, testing, training, analyzing, maintaining, and improving in-house and external provided software applications.

Continuous mentoring and development of system users will be critical to support the collective application of all systems and processes.

• The closest Colony branch location
• Typically 8am and 5pm, Monday through Friday
• Moderate travel requirements between Colony locations (including weekend travel and overtime)

• Act as the first line of Application Support, including support that may not be in normal business hours.
• Support the release of all new, enhanced, or repaired system applications to ensure maximum user adoption. This will include documentation and providing user training.
• Participate in all system implementation projects supporting new acquisitions.
• Act as an ambassador of Colony at all times.
• Work closely with the IT Development team, corporate departments, regional teams, and branch resources to coordinate specific duties and implement deliverables.
• Assist Developers, Analysts, and Designers in conceptualizing, developing new software programs, and applications.
• Develop and maintain professional relationships with our 3rd party strategic partners to help ensure Colony will be top priority in times of urgent need.
• Proactively keep Senior Business Applications Specialist informed of status and open issues at all times.
• Respond and resolve problems in an efficient and timely manner.
• Maintain currency of all Colony systems, policies, and procedures.
• Maintain a moderate travel schedule throughout the year with potential overtime / weekend travel.

• Analyze and assess existing business systems and procedures to drive measurable continuous improvement and increase profitability.
• Manage the definition, development, and documentation of software business requirements, objectives, deliverables, and specifications in collaboration with internal users and departments.
• Manage defining software development project plans, including scoping, prioritization, scheduling, and implementation.
• Provide Project Management with tracking of the status of various projects throughout the project lifecycle. This includes full immersion into such projects and becoming the expert in the room of associated tasks to drive to expected outcomes.

• Assist in planning & facilitating the Business Assessment / Gap Analysis Process pertaining to the system migrations.
• Conduct research into software application products and services in support of business requirements.
• Coordinate with external vendors to drive efficient implementation of new software products, and for resolution of any adaptation issues.
• Manage the prioritization and scheduling of applicable software improvements and upgrades.
• Manage and conduct on-site training pertaining to system migration and utilization of system applications.
• Develop, plan, and conduct all post go-live support, training, and advanced training.
• Provide on-site field support during conversion and post go-live hyper care weeks in business support of branch and regional leadership.

• Collaborate closely with business stakeholders to understand their requirements, informational needs, and data sources, and conduct requirements gathering sessions, meetings, and presentations.
• Translate business needs into a clearly defined and detailed business requirements document, inclusive of business use cases, process flows, traceability matrices as well as report mock-ups.
• Clearly document and articulate As-Is with To-Be business needs and be able to educate users on system functionality/features and help bridge the gap on processes as needed.
• Ensure systems integrations are built for scale to align with the growth of the company while maintaining accuracy and completeness of data flowing from our ecommerce platform, fulfillment center, and other third‑party systems.
• Work with the internal and implementation partner teams on automating data integrations.
• Stay ahead of the new features and functionality, and provide recommendations for continuous improvements.
• Participate in technical design reviews & audits to ensure design objectives are met and standards are followed.
• Work with direct reports and end users on usability / Help Desk issues.

• In-depth, hands‑on knowledge of, and experience with, enterprise applications, with preferably 2 years’ Colony experience with the day-to-day technical management and…