Senior Public Service Administrator-Mainframe Storage Administrator

Position Overview

COME JOIN A TRANSFORMATIVE TEAM, with a record of proven, positive impact to the State of Illinois.

The Illinois Office of the Comptroller is seeking applicants for the position of Senior Public Service Administrator - Mainframe Storage Administrator.

The Comptroller is the chief fiscal control officer for the Illinois government, charged by the Constitution with maintaining the state’s central fiscal accounts and ordering payments into and out of the appropriate funds. The office processes more than 16 million transactions annually and serves as a “fiscal watchdog” to ensure that all state payments meet the requirements of the law. The Comptroller’s office provides meaningful and timely fiscal information to help state policymakers adopt effective policies. The office continually seeks new ways to improve how it serves the public. The Comptroller has updated and streamlined the Comptroller’s website and has led the process of updating the state’s payroll and accounting systems. Comptroller Mendoza is committed to running the Office of Comptroller as a financial watchdog for the interest of Illinois citizens and to installing the most modern and transparent systems to make the state’s financial information available to all. 

Major Function

Under administrative direction, the incumbent will manage and maintain our mainframe DASD (Direct Access Storage Device) and tape environments, ensuring optimal performance and availability. The incumbent will implement, configure, and maintain IBM subsystems including SMS (Storage Management Subsystem) and HSM (Hierarchical Storage Manager), as well as administer and support Computer Associates (CA) CA-1 Tape Management System. Install, configure, and support other mainframe software products as assigned, ensuring seamless integration and operation. The incumbent will plan, develop, coordinate, and rigorously maintain the Information Technology Disaster Contingency Plan, including regular testing and documentation, to ensure business continuity and data recoverability. Monitor system performance, troubleshoot issues, and implement proactive solutions to prevent outages and optimize resource utilization. The SPSA will provide technical support and guidance for all storage and disaster recovery-related incidents and requests. Collaborate with other infrastructure teams, application developers, and business stakeholders to ensure storage and disaster recovery requirements are met. The incumbent will stay current with industry’s best practices, emerging technologies, and security standards related to mainframe storage and disaster recovery. The SPSA-Mainframe Storage Administrator will assist with maintaining and developing operating system software and electronic communication, computer system administration activities including periodic on-call responsibilities and problem resolution.

Job Responsibilities

• Plans, develops, reviews, and maintains the Information Technology Disaster Contingency Plan.
  • Develops and coordinates procedures with technical support staff for recovery operations.
  • Performs liaison duties with outside entities, recovery specialists, and state agencies to coordinate recovery procedures and requirements.

• Plans, coordinates, implements, and maintains mainframe software tools and products.
  • Works independently with operations personnel, application programming staff, and support personnel for software implementation and modification.

• Serves as primary software support contact for various mainframe software products.
  • Prepares comprehensive reports for management on issues related to software implementation or modification.
  • Resolves technical problems.

• Develops schedules for system and data backups.
  • Reviews output to ensure accuracy and completeness of process.

• Develops and writes procedures for technicians; tests procedures for data and system restoration.

• Implements storage management policies and standards for operation and programming.
  • Provides problem resolution for technical problems and establishes problem resolution guidelines.

• Plans and/or participates in special projects as assigned.

• Performs other related duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of duties defined above.

Minimum Requirements

• Requires knowledge, skill and mental development equivalent to the completion of four (4) years of college, preferably with course work in information systems, computer science, mathematics, statistics, public or business administration.

• Requires four (4) years of progressively responsible experience in implementing storage management policies, working on SMS (Storage Management Subsystem) system, installing management software on MVS (Multiple Virtual Storage) and in disaster recovery, or any equivalent combination of training and experience.

Conditions of Employment

• This position is performed in an office environment with long periods of sitting, repetitive hand movement, bending, twisting, and lifting (max 50 lbs.) required.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Requires extensive knowledge of vendor supplied software and operating systems and communication support for large computer systems.
• Requires extensive knowledge of data processing systems including the analysis, design, and control of information.
• Requires ability to conduct research projects and make appropriate revisions to the system.
• Requires ability to coordinate the activities of programming and system analysis to accomplish the desired improvements in the software program.
• Requires extensive knowledge of IBM system software.
• Requires extensive knowledge of set up and maintenance of DFHSM (Data Facility Hierarchical Storage Manager)/SMS (Storage Management Subsystem).
• Requires knowledge of disaster recovery concepts.
• Requires knowledge of storage management policies.
• Requires ability to understand office programs and service objectives, activities and operational systems.
• Requires ability to express ideas clearly both orally and in writing.
• Requires ability to develop and maintain satisfactory working relationships with employee’s state agency points of contact and vendor representatives.
• Requires ability to understand laws, administrative rules, regulations, procedures and policies governing the Office of Comptroller.
• Requires ability to participate in complex projects, including identifying and resolving problems to ensure project accuracy and timelines.
• Requires ability to exercise judgment and discretion in developing, implementing and interpreting departmental policies and procedures.

*with or without reasonable accommodation.

Preferred Skills

• IBM Mainframe Storage and Tape Management:
  • Deep understanding of mainframe DASD environments and performance optimization techniques.
  • Proficiency in managing and administering virtual tape systems (VTS) and physical tape libraries.
  • Experience with mainframe storage replication technologies (e.g., GDPS, XRS).
  • Strong knowledge of IBM SMS (Storage Management Subsystem) and HSM (Hierarchical Storage Manager) for automated storage tiering and data lifecycle management.
  • Experience with CA-1 Tape Management System.

• TCP/IP Management:
  • Solid understanding of TCP/IP protocols and mainframe network configurations.
  • Experience with IBM Communications Server and related network security configurations.
  • Knowledge of network monitoring and troubleshooting tools on the mainframe.

• z/OS Maintenance and Management:
  • Extensive experience with z/OS system programming, including PARMLIB maintenance, IPL procedures, and system customization.
  • Proficiency in using SMP/E for installing and managing software products on z/OS.
  • Strong knowledge of z/OS security concepts and tools (e.g., RACF, ACF2, Top Secret)
  • Experience with z/OS performance monitoring and tuning using tools like RMF and Omegamon.

• Experience with COBOL, JCL, REXX, Assembler, and other relevant mainframe programming languages.

Benefits

This position is eligible to be a member of the State of Illinois Group Insurance program which includes health, dental, vision, and life insurance coverage options. Additionally, this position will annually accrue 12 paid sick days, a minimum of 12 paid vacation days, 4 paid personal days, and be afforded 14 paid state holidays, prorated based on start date. 

Equal Employment and Commitment to Diversity

The Illinois Office of Comptroller provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, sex or gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, disability, genetic information, service in the military, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws and ordinances. Equal employment opportunity applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leave of absence, compensation, and training. The Illinois Office of Comptroller is committed to the fair and equal employment of individuals with disabilities under the ADA. It is the Illinois Office of Comptroller's policy to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the company. The Illinois Office of Comptroller prohibits any harassment of, or discriminatory treatment of, employees or applicants based on a disability or because an employee has requested reasonable accommodation. 

The Illinois Office of Comptroller is committed to creating and maintaining a workplace in which all employees have an opportunity to participate and contribute to the success of the agency and are valued for their skills, experience, and unique perspectives. This commitment is embodied in agency policy and organizational culture.