Title:  Sr. Application Support Specialist

Position Overview

The Senior Application Support Specialist has deep functional and technical knowledge of the applications and the application landscape in the scope of their responsibility. Provides application maintenance and support services to users or to service delivery functions and contributes to the smooth operations of a dedicated application or application class.

Based in Toronto, the position will oversee and manage all IT Group related activities and is the single point of contact between MLMC and the Application Managed Services (AMS) Vendor.

The Senior Application Support Specialist will prioritize requirements and application changes for the AMS vendor and steer the AMS vendor to ensure quality of delivery. Manage operational oversight of vendor performance for specific services delivered by the vendor.

The position is responsible for all measures, methods and quality criteria which are necessary for smooth application operations (i.e., resolution of incidents within SLAs) and to deliver application changes within budget.

Your Role:

• IT Group Related Responsibilities
  • The key sourcing contact between the various Business Solutions function/service and the AMS vendor
  • Identifies technical-related requirements
  • Has knowledge of user base for the product
  • Responsible for the technical direction of application
  • For Third Party Software, facilitates coordination between the AMS vendor and Third Party software vendor
  • For Third Party Software, coordinates contract administration and procurement activities
  • Has knowledge and understanding of product/application license requirements in conjunction with IT Administration
  • Has good understanding and ability to manage license costs for the products, as well as managing budgets, forecasts and actuals for AMS vendor for the respective application areas
  • Manages the entire life cycle of the application from introduction to the environment to completion of Phase Out
  • Ensures the application goes through the decommissioning process when the product is being retired

• Vendor Management Related Responsibilities
  • Ensure the operation, support and maintenance of software products over the complete lifecycle of the product to agree upon SLAs and quality criteria
  • Supports investigation of problems and incidents in applications and services (2nd level) and assists with the implementation of agreed remedies and preventative measures
  • Monitors and manages management to 3rd level support
  • Coordinates production deployments
  • Reviews and approves work estimates
  • Oversee backlog management, release planning and rollout plans by the vendor
  • Receives Status reports and is responsible for communicating status to relevant IT stakeholders
  • Perform lessons learned as required.

Your Profile:  

• Business or technical undergraduate degree. Bachelor's degree preferred
• 7+years’ experience in an IT project or line management role at an Insurance or Reinsurance company
• 5+ years’ experience managing technical people/projects/resources
• 5+ years management experience in Sourcing and/or Governance positions
• Experience in, and understanding of, the following technologies:  C#, .NET Framework, Oracle, PL/SQL, JavaScript, SQL Server
• Deep functional and technical knowledge of applications
• A good understanding of onshore and offshore sourcing models and outsourcing best practices is required
• Prior experience dealing with vendors in a sourcing and managing relationship
• Position requires knowledge of various IT technical areas and disciplines
• Strong negotiation skills are required to deal with vendors on contractual and services issues
• Good communication and teamwork skills are required to work with multiple internal and external partners including local Application and Infrastructure teams, other IT functions and Business Areas
• Strong leadership and management skills with a proven track record of success
• Excellent time management and organizational skills.

About Munich Re

Together, we engage with everything we have and are, to help humankind act braver and better.

As the world’s leading reinsurance company with more than 40,000 employees in over 50 locations around the globe, Munich Re introduces a paradigm shift in the way you think about insurance.  By turning uncertainty into manageable risk, we enable fundamental change.  We recognize Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging as a key priority with a culture that welcomes different thoughts and opinions.  We dare to think big and are continuously innovating on behalf of our clients.

Our data, our technology, and our teams place us in a unique position to drive transformative change in the life insurance industry.  We invest strategically in our world class talent, offering our employees a work experience that promotes professional development, innovation, and rewards high performance.

What Can We Offer You?

We are pleased to offer our employees great benefits and resources to support their mental, physical and financial wellbeing. These include:

• An engaging and collaborative environment that promotes continuous learning and development
• A hybrid work environment that combines weekly in-office and remote days with Meeting-Free lunch hours and Focus Friday afternoons
• A great compensation package including annual company bonus
• Market leading company-paid flexible health and dental benefits, starting on your first day
• Flexible dollars provided by the company to put towards Health Spending Account and/or Wellness Spending Account
• Immediate participation in DC Pension Plan with an automatic 5% employer contribution, plus optional company match
• Generous time off including vacation, personal days, unplanned time, Statutory Holidays and company-wide early closure half-days
• Learning and development programs and resources, including unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning, Education Assistance Program and reimbursement for professional fees
• Maternity, Parental & Adoption Leave top-up program
• Employee Referral Program, Recognition & Rewards Platform

Please note that only candidates who are selected for interview will be contacted directly. We thank all candidates for their interest.

Munich Re is committed to providing a work environment that is inclusive and free of employment barriers and discrimination. Accommodations will be made for qualified applicants with a disability throughout the recruitment process. If you receive a request for an interview and you have a disability which will require an accommodation to support your participation, please contact AODARequestHR@munichre.ca as soon as practical so that suitable accommodations can be arranged.