Review Vacancy
AgencyInformation Technology Services, Office of
TitleDigital Service Professionals/Project Assistants (multiple positions)
Occupational CategoryI.T. Engineering, Sciences
Bargaining UnitPS&T - Professional, Scientific, and Technical (PEF)
Salary RangeFrom $95000 to $95000 Annually
Street Address Digital and Media Services Center
Albany is the preferred location; New York City will also be considered
Minimum Qualifications Six years of the experience described below for the digital specialty of interest to you:
• Web Development: demonstrated expertise in PHP, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS; experience developing for, and maintaining sites within, the Acquia Cloud; experience using Drush and third-party version control management tools such as Git; familiarity with Yammer and GitHub as well as SEO practices and implementation
• User Experience (UX): demonstrated experience in UX research, usability testing, and design; familiarity with human-centered design methodology; and experience in development of wireframes and prototypes
• Content Strategy: demonstrated experience creating ad campaigns for web and social media and knowledge of platforms where the ads run (i.e. Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter); working knowledge and experience with web-based Content Management Systems (preferably Drupal) and HTML; basic graphic design and user experience (UX) understanding
• Web Analytics: demonstrated experience in data analytics and proficiency in industry-standard statistical software (R, Python, etc.)
• Product Management: demonstrated experience leading the development of digital products and services
An associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate in related field may substitute for up to five years of experience.
Duties Description On behalf of the New York State (NYS) Office of Information Technology Services (ITS), the NYS Office of General Services (OGS) is recruiting Digital Service Professionals to support the NYS Digital and Media Services Center.
The New York State Digital Service Professionals Pilot Program is for anyone in the tech sector ready to focus on a completely different set of challenges. If you have been looking for a way to share your knowledge and skills to help fellow citizens, joining the New York State Digital Service Professionals Program is your opportunity to jump in for a civic tour of duty to change peoples’ lives for the better. We are recruiting multiple professionals with demonstrated skills and success across a variety of digital specialties: Web Development, User Experience, Content Strategy, Web Analytics, and Product Management. Selected individuals will be matched with high-priority digital projects based on skill sets and interests to create resources that help the Digital and Media Services Center build its knowledge of best practices from experience in the private sector, co-lead brainstorming sessions, and contribute to building a vibrant, creative culture within the team. Duties for all Digital Service Professionals will include, but not be limited to:
• Drive completion of high-priority digital projects for New York State.
• Serve as leaders and mentors, promote best practices, and lead workshops in their area of expertise at the Digital and Media Services Center.
• Contribute to the establishment of a lively, creative, and collaborative culture across the organization.
• Collaborate with other Digital Service Professionals and team members to openly share your knowledge and skills across the breadth of roles at the Digital and Media Services Center and contribute to a growing knowledge base that will help make your contributions available to future team members. Contribute to the development and delivery of training and reference materials.
• Serve as an ambassador of the program and representative of your digital field, effectively communicating your area of technical expertise and contributions to technical and non-technical audiences across New York State agencies.
In addition to the core duties above, Digital Service Professionals will have responsibilities specific to their digital specialty as described below.
Full Stack Web Development:
• Contribute quality, maintainable code across the project lifecycle using PHP, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, etc. in an agile environment that prioritizes human-centered design.
• Use best practices for current software development and build consensus around those practices on the team.
• Collaborate on cross-disciplinary teams as a strong communicator on development issues with high-level stakeholders.
• Actively participate in project planning by advising on development questions.
• Serve a leading role in code review and architecture discussions.
• Create clear documentation to ensure code is understood and maintainable beyond your civic tour of duty.
• Brainstorm and assist in the creation of new visually appealing and cutting-edge websites, converting graphical mock-ups into an interactive web presence.
• Conduct cross-browser, cross-platform, and cross-device user testing for inconsistencies, as well as testing for compliance to specified standards such as accessibility.
• Develop and propose creative new possibilities for content placement.
• Apply best practices in CSS file organization and structure.
• Remain current with web standards and application of design trends.
• Design and build functionality within demanding timeframes.
• Implement SEO best practices.
• Develop and maintain sites within the Acquia Cloud.
• Effectively utilize Drush and third-party version control management tools such as Git as well as communication tools such as Yammer and GitHub, as applicable.
User Experience (UX):
• Lead UX research, usability testing, and design on projects in partnership with NYS agencies, including creating UX documents and artifacts as needed to guide development.
• Lead and shape discussions on interaction design, information architecture, and service design on digital projects.
• Develop wireframes and prototypes based on user research and data.
• Clearly communicate the value of UX to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Incorporate both strategic and tactical thinking to outline high-level approaches and concrete steps for achievement.
• Incorporate UX into sprints on teams that include developers, content designers, and product managers.
• Advocate for human-centered design and methods in all projects.
Content Strategy:
• Lead content redesign of New York State Agency websites.
• Collaborate with agency program areas to create content plans and strategies for digital channels.
• Train and educate agencies in digital content best practices.
• Analyze and simplify complex government processes and transactions for online usability and comprehension.
• Develop style guides and documentation on content best practices.
• Help set goals for agency website and social media channels.
• Collaborate with the user experience and design team members on web-based Content Management Systems, graphic design, and web and social media efforts.
• Apply customer service approaches to content in all digital channels.
Web Analytics:
• Help define the New York State Digital and Media Services Center’s approach to using data and metrics to best serve New York State agency goals.
• Take a leading role in learning about agency data needs and establishing metrics for measuring success.
• Communicate effectively with agency leadership to explain how and why data should inform decision making.
• Develop methods to collect and analyze data and report on progress towards achieving performance goals, including developing and advising on predictive modeling.
• Create case studies that demonstrate how users are benefiting from the work the team is doing.
• Utilize industry-standard statistical software (R, Python, etc.).
• Set analytics goals for state government websites using Google Tag Manager.
• Assist with creating strategies and processes to better streamline, coordinate and integrate data into state operations and among state agencies.
• Share and present findings with team and senior staff.
• Educate and train state agencies on the basics of analytics to encourage a data-informed approach.
Product Management:
• Lead the development of digital products and services.
• Establish a clear product vision and build consensus around that vision among internal team members and agency partners.
• Bring an evidence-based approach to decision making that is informed by quantitative and qualitative research methods.
• Identify risks and take proactive steps to address and mitigate them.
• Create product strategies and roadmaps.
• Collaborate with the client, stakeholders, and team members to establish a sustainable plan for maintaining the product.
• Ensure products are compliant with New York State laws and regulations.
• Lead all meetings pertaining to the project, involving all relevant stakeholders.
• Ensure all projects are delivered on-time, within scope, and within budget.
• Assist in the definition of project scope and objectives, involving all relevant stakeholders and ensuring technical feasibility.
• Develop and maintain a detailed project plan to monitor and track progress.
• Create and maintain comprehensive project documentation, including taking notes at all meetings and sending post meeting recaps with action items.
• Manage changes to the project scope, project schedule, and project costs and communicate and measure project performance.
• Report and escalate issues to management as needed.
• Successfully manage the relationship with the client and all stakeholders.
• Manage multiple projects and provide daily status updates to management.
Additional Comments • These positions may require routine evening and weekend work, as well as some travel on occasion.
• It is anticipated that the Digital Service Professionals will serve for 18 months.
• Additional information on location, work hours and digital specialty preference(s) will be discussed at time of interview.
Some positions may require additional credentials or a background check to verify your identity.
Email Address HR.Recruitment.its@ogs.ny.gov
Address
Street NYS Office of General Services, Human Resources Management
26th Floor, Corning Tower
Notes on ApplyingNo later than April 20, 2020, please complete the candidate application survey located at https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/5495528/Digital-Service-Professionals.
If you are unable to complete the survey, you may submit a clear, concise resume and one-page personal statement/cover letter to the email or address above. In your cover letter, please indicate:
• Why you want to join the NYS Digital Service Professionals Pilot Program
• The digital specialty that you are interested in (Web Development, User Experience, Content Strategy, Web Analytics, or Product Management).
• How you meet the qualifications for the program and digital specialty of interest
• Links to any online presence (e.g. LinkedIn, personal website, design portfolio, etc.)
• Whether you will accept placement in Albany and/or New York City
New York State is an equal opportunity employer. Some positions may require additional credentials or a background check to verify your identity. Selected candidates who are new or returning to NYS service may be required to pay for fingerprinting fees.