Application Specialist

Job ID: 523895

CRH's Americas Materials division is the leading integrated supplier of aggregates, asphalt, ready mixed concrete and paving and construction services in North America. Our operations span North America with over 29,000 employees at close to 1,660 locations in 45 US States and 2 Canadian provinces.

Position Overview

The goal of an Application Specialist is to maximize the business value delivered by IT applications. They do this by influencing product roadmaps, executing projects, driving adoption, leading continuous improvement efforts, and delivering excellent customer service. An Application Specialist ensures solutions are fit for use and fit for purpose by optimizing system design and configuration, defining efficient workflows and processes, and developing data standards that enable business intelligence and analytics.

They guide end users through change management and training to ensure they get the most out of the system. An Application Specialist will coordinate maintenance, upgrade and enhancement efforts, and find ways to ensure that solutions are reliable, scalable, and aligned with business needs. They serve as the escalation point for complex support issues beyond the capabilities of Field Service and Service Desk personnel, resolving them efficiently while identifying opportunities to prevent recurrence and expand first-line support coverage over time.

• Actively engage with customers, business leaders, and vendors to understand needs, define requirements, and prioritize initiatives maximizing business value.
• Participate in product roadmap and backlog grooming activities with designated product managers, and contributing insights from system usage, user feedback, and business trends.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement and recommend enhancements improving system reliability, scalability, and alignment with business needs.
• Develop and maintain data standards enabling business intelligence and analytics across supported applications.

• Lead and execute deployment, upgrade, and enhancement projects from initiation through delivery.
• Collaborate with Business Analysts and Solutions Engineers to create implementation and deployment plans which are simple, repeatable, and minimize future support requirements.
• Complete system configurations and prepare site-specific documentation.
• Identify and communicate risks which may impact timeline, scope, cost, or resource requirements.
• Provide post-deployment warranty support to ensure successful adoption and issue resolution.

• Ensure solutions are fit for purpose and fit for use by optimizing system design, configuration, and workflows.
• Define efficient processes and data standards supporting operational needs and enabling reporting and analytics.
• Ensure application availability, data integrity, and adherence to enterprise standards.

• Guide end users through change management and training to ensure effective adoption and utilization of systems.

• Train Application Specialists, Field Services, and embedded IT resources to support deployments and expand overall team capability.
• Identify opportunities to improve Service Desk first-call resolution through training, documentation, and standard operating procedures.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex support issues beyond the capabilities of Field Service and Service Desk personnel.
• Actively participate in major incident resolution, including troubleshooting and root cause analysis.
• Identify chronic or systemic application errors, document resolutions, and collaborate with development and Quality Assurance (QA) teams to ensure closed-loop corrective action.
• Ensure compliance with Service Level Agreements (SLA) and Operational Level Agreements (OLA).

• Provide timely status updates to key stakeholders and IT management on projects, incidents, and initiatives.
• Prepare and distribute end user communications regarding major incidents, scheduled downtime, and system changes.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Associate's degree in engineering/computer related discipline, or equivalent experience required.
• 2+ years of technical and/or end user experience with construction materials point of sale and accounting systems, telematics solutions, document imaging, etc. preferred.
• Experience with fleet management, transportation, or logistics applications, including areas such as truck tracking, dispatch, live order tracking, or Hours of Service (HOS) compliance preferred.
• Experience with material tracking, inventory management, supply chain, or material forecasting applications preferred.
• Experience with Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) supporting equipment work orders, preventive maintenance, or asset lifecycle management; exposure to Hexagon EAM preferred.
• Experience supporting or implementing enterprise business applications in an operational or field-based environment preferred.
• Knowledge of creating and maintaining technical documentation.
• Knowledge of Windows 10 and above, applications in Microsoft 365, and general PC networking.
• ITIL Foundation certification preferred.
• Cognos experience is preferred.
• SQL and scripting experience is preferred.

• Ability to travel (overnight) as required based on business needs up to 25%.
• Ability to drive up to 5 hours for onsite services.

• • Ability to effectively work and communicate with people with a wide range of skills, experience, cultures, and capabilities - business leaders, finance leaders, peers, vendors, staff members.
  • Ability to present ideas in concise, business-friendly, and user-friendly language.
  • Must possess organizational skills, be an independent thinker, and ability to multitask within a fast-paced environment.
  • Demonstrate a hands-on collaborative approach; works well in a team.
  • Demonstrates strong oral/written communication and listening skills.
  • Ability to troubleshoot and solve problems independently by effectively leveraging provided tools.
  • Ability to understand customer needs and concerns and be able to customize services and products as appropriate.
  • Ability to self-manage time and travel expenses on a weekly basis.

• Able to communicate with others by telephone and in person.
• Able to utilize a computer for word processing, email communication, and preparation of documents and presentations.
• Sitting for extended periods of time.
• Ability to safely lift up to 50 pounds.

• Normal office working conditions in addition to industrial plant sites and quarries, requiring the usage of personal protective equipment, e.g., hard hat, steel-toed boots, and safety glasses.
• The position may require work outside of normal business hours in response to critical incidents or business-impacting project deliverables and the ability to be on call at a scheduled rotation.

• Highly competitive base pay
• Comprehensive medical, dental and disability benefits programs
• Group retirement savings program
• Health and wellness programs
• An inclusive culture that values opportunity for growth, development, and internal promotion