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Job Description
- Responsible for the administration of all CICS and Websphere MQ (WMQ) subsystems and associated software on the client’s mainframe z/OS systems.
- IBM Technical Manager and RB Central Systems
- Install, test, configure and implement mainframe CICS, WMQ and associated system software while maintaining a stable operating system environment for business applications.
- Provide technical support to Operations, Database and Applications Department as well as the IBM Technical Manager and other users of the mainframe systems in areas related to program coding, performance, product exploitation and the use of CICS and WMQ tools and utilities.
- Plan and implement corporate strategies for new technology and assist with development of corporate technology standards.
- Ensure documentation of all related operational processes and procedures.
- Provide training and skills transfer as well as presentations to the RB Engineers
- Work closely with Applications Development and Systems Programmers in z/OS, DB2, Networking and Websphere groups and other members of the CICS and MQ Department and importantly ensure a strong technical and working relationship with the IBM Technical Manager who is responsible for setting objectives, goals, targets and priorities and is to be kept informed of all progress and issues, risks and concerns.
- Keep software versions current preferably N or N-1 and apply maintenance at the minimum twice yearly via RSU as necessary to keep software under existing maintenance agreements coordinating with the IBM Technical Manager and System Programmer Teams for z/OS and Db2.
- Perform CICS and WMQ system backups and recovery
- Monitors system activity for performance and availability and where necessary, tune accordingly
- Perform problem diagnosis and resolution.
- Liaise with vendors to manage and resolve queries and incidents.
- Design and code exits and procedures to maximize productivity and to minimize the occurrence of errors.
- Support new and existing applications (a mixture of in-house and those supplied by 3rd party vendors) during all stages of the development life cycle.
- Work with the IBM Technical Manager and other internal departments to understand current and future projects to ensure the systems programming infrastructure is able to meet the demands of future growth
- Develop, plan, and implement the overall strategic goals of the organization's mainframe CICS and WMQ software infrastructure.
- Evaluate and recommend changes to current and future system software requirements to meet the organization's needs as well as plan for new features and enhancements as well as security improvements that are introduced with new versions and releases of the products.
- Ensure documentation of all related operational processes and procedures.
- Provide on-call support as required by the IBM Technical Manager and NIC as well as supporting change activities for other teams during the week and at weekends when business volumes are less.
- Provide operational training to local company staff
- Recent and extensive knowledge of CICS and Websphere MQ internals and externals.
- JCL and batch understanding as well as TSO, SDSF and ISPF knowledge to navigate the systems and support the CICS and MQ infrastructure.
- Implementation and administration of CICSPLEX Systems Manager and in particular WLM, BAS, CPSM APIs and the Web User Interface (WUI).
- Administration and tuning of the CICS-DB2 Attachment Facility.
- Configuration and administration of WMQ Queue Sharing and Clustering
- Monitoring using Tivoli Omegamon and CA-SYSVIEW
- CICS Web Services administration and programming
Job Requirements
- 7+ Years experience as a CICS and Websphere MQ systems programmer.
- Good understanding of SMP/E and maintenance strategies
- Experience of writing and updating Exits in Assembler is a good to have but not essential
- Understanding of CICS-RACF and WMQ-RACF security and associated RACF profiles for CICS and MQ subsystems
- Work well independently and with others with minimal supervision
- Ability to effectively communicate, both verbal and written, to staff and executive management.
- Essential behavioral skills including good communication both written and verbal, honest, hardworking, team player, patient and loyal to colleagues and the IBM Technical Manager.
- Good understanding of Microsoft Office tools including email, Word, Powerpoint, Excel and Visio.
- Availability management for backups and recovery of CICS and MQ subsystems as well as good understanding of replication technologies
- Security and encryption features for CICS and MQ subsystems.
- Application programming in COBOL is a good to have
- CA-Gen AD products and in particular All Fusion Gen and Direct Connect
- TCP/IP Sockets feature as provided by IBM Communications Server
- Project planning and management techniques
