Senior IT Applications Specialist

The Information Technology Unit announces an immediate full-time opening for a senior applications specialist for qualified applicants whose essential function will be to ensure the best use of available technology to enhance the ability of Maryland Legal Aid to provide high quality legal services.   Primary Duties and Responsibilities (others as assigned):   With input from staff, develop best practices and policies and procedures for the use of technology at Maryland Legal Aid.   Participate on staff hiring committees when called upon. Represent Maryland Legal Aid at industry conferences.   Assist in the development of and posting in appropriate forums sample documents, brief and document templates.   Assist in the creation of annual and long-term work plans, including budgetary considerations, for Maryland Legal Aid technology maintenance and enhancements.   Keep abreast of advances in technology in areas relevant to law practice and legal services and make recommendations about any changes and/or upgrades to case management applications and other software focused on service delivery, such as bankruptcy and child support software.   Manage Maryland Legal Aid’s intranet. Duties include: directing staff on best practices and effective usage of the intranet, interfacing with intranet stakeholders to insure content is kept current and advising staff when outdated content should be removed. Actively participate on web advisory board and provide guidance on use of social media within the organization.   Manage and execute software acquisition when new business applications are needed for the organization. This includes: working with staff to develop requirements checklists, vendor assessments, testing applications, and leading focus groups to assess the new applications.   Serve as Maryland Legal Aid’s contact for the People’s Law Library and MD Justice legal services websites.   Facilitate regular assessments of Maryland Legal Aid’s technology related practice needs, especially those in county offices, units and specialty practice areas.   Assist in designing and implementing trainings in mission critical applications (e.g. case management system) to ensure that staff is using the software to its maximum advantage.   Participate in the preparation of grant and funding proposals. Provide measurable outcomes as needed for grant compliance reporting.