• Applications Manager

    Location: First Floor, Friars Gate, 1011 Stratford Rd, Shirley, Solihull Hours: Full time Salary: £ 54,650.00, From, depending on experience Central Support (head office)

If you are a current Linnaeus Associate, you will need to apply internally. In order to do this, please contact our Talent Acquisition team (details can be found via The Link) and someone will be in touch to discuss and progress your application.

Company Profile:

Linnaeus is a forward-thinking partnership of highly respected Primary Care and Referral veterinary practices across the UK and Ireland, comprising some of the best clinicians in the profession.

We are all individual but two important things bring us together; a commitment to excellence in everything we do and our passion to make A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.

At Linnaeus we carefully select the practices we partner with to ensure the highest levels of patient care across our group. Together we provide a growing community of like-minded veterinary professionals who are passionate about what they do. We work with different types of practices, in every field of veterinary medicine, including small animal, farm and equine.

We also have our Five Principles which form the foundation of how we do business today and every day and we put these at the centre of every decision we make.  This means:

  • We are committed to Quality of work and contributions to society. 
  • We embrace our Responsibility (as individuals and a company) to act now. 
  • We base decisions on Mutuality of benefit to our stakeholders. 
  • We harness the power of Efficiency to use our resources to maximum effect. 
  • We have the financial Freedom to make our own decisions, unrestricted by motivations of others.

Overview

Linnaeus has grown rapidly through acquisition, and now is the time to optimize business as usual operations. The Applications Manager role has opened through internal promotion, and we are thrilled to enter our next chapter focusing on digital product support, stability, and growth. We are embarking on a digital transformation programme to enhance our capabilities, making it an incredibly exciting time to join Linnaeus. This pivotal role will ensure our applications and systems are supported and maintained to the highest standards.

Main purpose & goals

As the Application Manager, you will manage and provide leadership to a team of Engineers and Analysts, ensuring that support demands, project deliverables, and maintenance are effectively achieved in line with business needs and KPIs. Our applications and systems are essential for providing quality care to our patients, making meticulous care and planning key to our goal of creating a better world for pets. This role will work closely with key stakeholders across central support and clinical teams, ensuring high standards of system and support delivery. You will take ownership of IT service responsibilities concerning applications and systems, engaging, and influencing stakeholders across Linnaeus and the wider Mars organisation, leveraging your experience in a digital environment to support the deployment and integration of technology-powered tools.

This is a hybrid role with travel required to Solihull or Linnaeus sites as needed.

Key Responsibilities

  • Be line manager and mentor a team of approximately 4 Applications Engineers & Analysts, fostering a collaborative and high-performing team environment.
  • Lead the day-to-day operational support of all applications and systems.
  • Ensure timely resolution and handling of incidents and requests in alignment to KPIs.
  • Monitor key system performance and stability, implementing improvements across the estate.
  • Ensure project deliverables are met to a high standard, documented, and shared across the function to enable support teams.
  • Coordinate maintenance activities across key systems including changes, upgrades, and patches, maintaining roadmaps to track progress.
  • Collaborate with IT, Data & Analytics, and Practices, acting as the primary point of contact for application-related issues, queries, and escalation.
  • Identify opportunities for process improvement and implement best practices across support and maintenance.
  • Create and maintain documentation for system configurations, processes, and procedures.
  • Generate reports on team performance and systems status, including risks.

Person specification

Experience

Essential

  • 3+ years’ experience in managing a support team, preferably focused on applications or systems.
  • Background in technical support roles, particularly with applications.
  • Worked in an IT Service Function.
  • Proven capability to manage team workload and prioritize business problems for resolution.
  • Strong stakeholder management experience.
  • Experience working effectively within multifunctional teams.
  • Worked with Microsoft Azure, managing Technical Applications Estate & Enterprise Applications.

Desirable

  • Experience in healthcare or veterinary-specific applications or systems.
  • Previous work within a global or multinational organization.

Knowledge
Essential

  • Comprehensive understanding of advancements in digital technologies, including automation, systems, and AI.
  • Knowledge of change management tools, techniques, and frameworks.

Desirable

  • Awareness of emerging digital technologies and trends.

Qualifications

Essential

  • Degree level (in a relevant field, or proven experience in similar roles.
  • Familiarity with ITIL, DevOps or Agile delivery frameworks.
  • Relevant technical certifications

Desirable

  • Team Management or coaching certifications.
  • ITIL, DevOps, Agile Delivery, or other framework certifications.

Skills & Abilities

  • Effective communication and stakeholder management skills.
  • Excellent problem-solving and analytical abilities.
  • Strong leadership and team management skills.

Desirable

  • Proficiency in SQL, Azure, Automations or PowerShell.
  • Strong project management capabilities.

Other qualities

Essential

  • Credibility and the ability to make a strong personal impact.
  • High emotional intelligence (EQ) and strong personal impact.
  • Flexibility and confidence in handling change.
  • A collaborative mindset focused on continuous improvement.
  • Enthusiasm for developing and mentoring team members.

Desirable

  • Demonstrated ability to drive innovation and digital change.

Part of an amazing global family

Being part of this amazing global group gives us the benefit of a huge network of experts and specialists, a future we can invest in and the security that allows us to concentrate on what we do best – caring for pets. We are proud to count some of the finest specialists, veterinary surgeons and nurses in the UK among our team. Being part of the Mars family of businesses provides huge development opportunities across the group for our Associates.

The future of the veterinary world is at the heart of everything we do. We are all individual but two important things bring us together: a commitment to excellence and our passion to make A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.

Linnaeus is owned by Mars, that makes us part of their 70,000 Veterinary Health Associates who spend their days thinking about the 400 million pets of the world and how to improve their lives. Being part of this amazing global group gives us the benefit of a huge network of experts and specialists, a future we can invest in and the security that allows us to concentrate on what we do best – caring for pets.

Our Associates are fundamental to our success and we are proud to count some of the finest specialists, veterinary surgeons and nurses in the UK among our team.

Being part of the Mars family of businesses provides huge development opportunities across the group for our Associates.

Linnaeus is an equal-opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment, we are committed to fostering a culture that is inclusive and diverse for all our associates.

If you would like to apply for this role, please click the Apply Button or for more information, please feel free to reach out directly to our Talent Acquisition team at [email protected]

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