Vedder Price's Chicago Office is looking for a Manager of Application Development. The Manager of Application Development's primary responsibility is to oversee the streamlined operation of the Application Development team and to ensure it aligns with the business objectives of the firm. The Manager of Application Development is responsible for planning, organizing, monitoring and controlling all aspects of application development, implementation and maintenance of development tools, and control of deployment activities. This manager will be responsible for mentoring developers and ensuring that they achieve and improve skillsets necessary to develop applications to meet firm objectives. This person, together with the Director, will also be responsible for planning and deploying resources to projects. The development manager will proactively interface, with internal and external customers, vendors, project managers, business analysts and the technical/programming staff to ensure effective definition and the delivery of business applications.

As the Manager of Desktop Operations, your job duties will include but are not limited to:

• Oversee all application development activities in the firm, including all phases of the application development lifecycle. Participate in needs assessment, requirements definition, creation, maintenance, upgrading and support of custom developed applications.
• Manage all forms of application development, including creation of custom applications, creation of web applications, creation of SharePoint applications, automation of data exchange between systems, workflow automation, support of data warehouses, use of APIs for integration purposes, and development within the Microsoft Office environment.
• Collaborate with project management and business analyst resources to ensure proper requirements gathering and definition, scope definition, and project planning prior to initiation of development projects
• Understand that application development is not always the most effective solution to business challenges and assist the firm in assessing a variety of solutions, including creation of new systems, integration and customization of off-the-shelf solutions, leveraging of unused features or add-ons to existing systems, or automation of minor steps within a manual process.
• Establish best practices for creating and maintaining secure code and secure systems. Collaborate with Vedder Price security resources to demonstrate to clients or auditors that the firm utilizes secure code development practices.
• Participate in and advocate for change management best practices in the application development and deployment process, including the proper utilization of development and/or test systems as needed.
• Recommend appropriate development languages and platforms
• Recommend and implement appropriate development methodologies
• Collaborate with database and data architect resources to define optimal database design for custom solutions
• Collaborate with testing, support, and desktop engineering teams to ensure proper testing, QA review, user experience management, packaging, and deployment of developed applications
• Recommend, specify, and oversee outsourcing of development projects to external parties as appropriate.
• Assist Director of Information Services in defining staffing requirements, needed development and analysis skillsets, and organizational structure of the Application Development team. Lead efforts to hire, develop, and retain skilled development and analyst resources.
• Manage Application Development staffing, including recruitment, supervision, scheduling, development, evaluation and disciplinary actions.
• Participate in IS strategic planning as a member of the IS management team.
• Work with Application Development team to maintain optimal collaboration with Network Operations and Desktop Operations teams.
• Work with Technology Support Manager to prioritize tickets and helps maintain focus on improving customer experience with firm technology.

Skills & Competencies:

• Experience in defining detailed business requirements to support strategic and/or tactical projects and improvement of business processes
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical users at all levels of the organization
• Superior understanding of the firm's goals and objectives, with demonstrated ability to apply technology in solving business problems.
• Strong organizational skills, capability to schedule and coordinate multiple activities in results-oriented environment. Initiative and ability to enforce policies and procedures through influence.
• Must subscribe to being highly available and responsive to occasional after-hours issues, as the firm operates on a near 24x7 basis.

Qualifications & Required Experience:

• Bachelor's degree required
• 10+ years overall IS work experience, including three to five years' experience managing and/or directing an Application Development operation required, ideally in the legal industry or other demanding professional services environment.
• Position also requires the ability to work under pressure to meet strict deadlines.

Computer Skills:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be proficient in the following software:

• Proficiency in MS Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Visio)
• Working knowledge of SQL server and fundamentals of database design

Equal Employment Opportunity

Vedder Price P.C. is an equal opportunity employer. We value and encourage diversity and solicit applications from all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability (where applicant is qualified to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodations), medical condition, protected veteran status, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. We participate in E-verify.

Applicants who are interested in applying for a position and require special assistance or an accommodation during the process due to a disability should contact the Vedder Price Recruiting Team at vprecruiting@vedderprice.com.