Lead Applications Systems Analyst

CLA is a top 10 national professional services firm where our purpose is to create opportunities every day, for our clients, our people, and our communities through industry-focused wealth advisory, digital, audit, tax, consulting, and outsourcing services. Even with more than 8,500 people, 130 U.S. locations, and a global reach, we promise to know you and help you.

CLA is dedicated to building a culture that invites different beliefs and perspectives to the table, so we can truly know and help our clients, communities, and each other.

Our Perks:

• Flexible PTO (designed to offer flexible time away for you!)

• Up to 12 weeks paid parental leave

• Paid Volunteer Time Off

• Mental health coverage

• Quarterly Wellness stipend

• Fertility benefits

• Complete list of benefits here

CLA is growing and seeking to hire an experienced Lead Applications Systems Analyst to join our talented Information Technology team. The position offers growth, flexibility and a collaborative work environment.

This role is responsible for all current capabilities, usability, and future implementation plans for the application platform(s) assigned. They are responsible for communication between the business, IT teams, and vendors.

How you’ll create opportunities in this Lead Applications Systems Analyst role:

Application Management

• Serve as the escalation point for critical outages, high-impact issues, and strategic requests.

• Oversee enterprise monitoring, performance optimization, and capacity planning for supported applications.

• Lead the design and governance of application configuration standards, ensuring compliance with IT and business policies.

• Direct patching, release, and development efforts across multiple applications, coordinating with vendors, IT leadership, and cross-functional teams.

• Provide approval for testing and implementation of critical business functions.

• Govern vendor relationships, negotiating contracts, licensing, and service agreements to maximize value and minimize risk.

• Anticipate vendor roadmaps and proactively align organizational adoption strategies with future functionality.

• Represent applications in enterprise change control boards and steering committees, influencing risk, compliance, and strategic direction.

Operations & Leadership

• Lead estimation, resource allocation, and prioritization for enterprise-level enhancements and initiatives.

• Author release communications, highlighting business impact, risk mitigation, and strategic value.

• Partner with IT Trainers and Business Analysts to ensure documentation, training, and requirements align with enterprise standards.

• Facilitate prioritization forums across multiple service lines, balancing competing demands and aligning with organizational strategy.

• Analyze and communicate dependencies across applications, business functions, and enterprise systems, mitigating risks and ensuring continuity.

• Mentor and develop team members, fostering a culture of operational excellence and professional growth.

• Provide thought leadership in application lifecycle management, influencing enterprise architecture and IT strategy.

What you will need:

• 7 years of relevant experience in application support, systems analysis, or IT operations required

• Bachelor's degree or a combination of relevant experience and training may be considered in lieu of a degree.

Technical Competencies:

• Experience planning, facilitating, documenting, and managing business, functional and technical requirements.

• Follows development and deployment standard processes.

• Experienced in test planning, test case development and execution.

• Script writing and SQL development understanding requirement, creation varies by responsibility, creating and modifying