IT Solution Analyst(Service Availability Lead)

Strategic Staffing Solutions is currently looking for an IT Solutions Analyst for a W2 contract opportunity.

IT Solutions Analyst- Service Availability Lead

Location: Denver, CO, Minneapolis, MN
Work Arrangement: Hybrid - 3 days per week onsite (Tuesday-Thursday)
Schedule: 24x7 Operations - Fixed Assigned Shifts
Experience: 5-10 years
Employment Type: Contract
Top Skills:

• 5-10 years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas:


• 
  
  
  
  • Change Management
  
  
  • Risk Management
  
  
  • Incident Management
  
  
  • Network Operations
  
  
  • IT Operations
  
  
  • Service Operations
  
  
  
  


• ITIL certification required.


• Strong understanding of network operations and service availability.


• Experience working in a 24x7 operational environment.

Job Summary:We are seeking an experienced Service Availability Leads to support a 24x7 network operations environment. This role is responsible for maintaining network availability and stability by leading change management, risk management, and incident management activities.The Service Availability Lead will serve as a key operational partner to technical teams, engineering, project teams, contractors, and business stakeholders. The position requires a strong understanding of network operations, the ability to assess technical and operational risk, and the confidence to make sound, risk-based decisions.

The role will primarily focus on Change Management and Risk Management (approximately 70%), with Incident Management (approximately 30%).

The ideal candidate is a confident communicator, quick thinker, and decisive problem solver who can remain effective under pressure, lead remediation efforts, and quickly pivot between competing operational priorities.

Key Responsibilities

Change Management

• Review change requests submitted through ServiceNow.


• Validate implementation plans, testing plans, risk assessments, and rollback procedures.


• Ensure change requests contain sufficient technical and operational information before approval.


• Identify gaps, risks, dependencies, and potential impacts to network availability.


• Return incomplete or inaccurate change requests for correction.


• Facilitate Change Advisory Board (CAB) and Technical CAB meetings.


• Review and communicate change tickets during technical calls.


• Coordinate required approvals and ensure compliance with established change management processes.


• Support emergency change requests and operational escalations.


• Understand the technical and business rationale behind each change before providing approval or risk recommendations.

Risk Management

• Evaluate proposed changes and operational activities for technical, business, and service availability risks.


• Identify potential conditions that could negatively impact network stability or availability.


• Recommend appropriate risk mitigation strategies.


• Partner with engineering, network operations, project teams, and contractors to reduce operational risk.


• Lead or support remediation efforts when risks are identified.


• Help identify opportunities to reduce self-inflicted outages and improve operational processes.


• Make informed, risk-based recommendations and confidently communicate the rationale behind decisions.

Incident Management

• Lead response activities for critical incidents and service outages.


• Coordinate technical teams during incident investigation, troubleshooting, and service restoration.


• Facilitate incident bridge calls and technical discussions.


• Communicate service-impact information and expected restoration timelines to appropriate stakeholders.


• Provide timely updates during service disruptions.


• Escalate issues appropriately based on severity, risk, and business impact.


• Support remediation efforts following significant incidents.


• Help ensure the network remains stable and available during service-impacting events.

Service Availability & Network Operations

• Proactively identify and mitigate risks that could result in network outages.


• Monitor and support overall service availability and network stability.


• Participate in technical operational calls and availability discussions.


• Quickly pivot between different operational teams and priorities as incidents, changes, and risks arise.


• Work closely with contractors responsible for implementing and executing technical changes.


• Coordinate through team collaboration channels with technical and operational stakeholders.


• Support a continuous improvement culture focused on network reliability and operational excellence.

Day-to-Day Activities

• Review and evaluate change tickets submitted through ServiceNow.


• Participate in Technical CAP/CAB calls to discuss upcoming changes and associated risks.


• Answer technical and operational questions throughout the day.


• Provide approvals or risk-based recommendations for changes and incident-related activities.


• Coordinate with contractors responsible for implementing approved changes.


• Communicate with multiple technical teams through collaboration channels.


• Respond to incidents and operational escalations as needed.


• Assess risks and determine appropriate mitigation or escalation.


• Pivot between departments and operational priorities within a 24x7 operations environment.


• Lead or participate in remediation efforts following service-impacting events.

Required Qualifications

• 5-10 years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas:


• 
  
  
  
  • Change Management
  
  
  • Risk Management
  
  
  • Incident Management
  
  
  • Network Operations
  
  
  • IT Operations
  
  
  • Service Operations
  
  
  
  


• ITIL certification required.


• Strong understanding of network operations and service availability.


• Experience working in a 24x7 operational environment.


• Demonstrated experience evaluating technical and operational risk.


• Ability to review technical change requests and identify gaps in:


• 
  
  
  
  • Implementation plans
  
  
  • Testing plans
  
  
  • Risk assessments
  
  
  • Rollback procedures
  
  
  
  


• Strong understanding of change management processes.


• Ability to lead or facilitate operational meetings and technical discussions.


• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.


• Confident public speaker who can communicate effectively with technical and business stakeholders.


• Strong organizational and multitasking skills.


• Ability to work independently with limited supervision.


• Ability to make informed decisions under pressure.


• Ability to quickly learn new processes and adapt to changing operational requirements.


• Experience with ServiceNow.


• Experience in telecommunications, infrastructure, utilities, or other large-scale operational environments.


• Experience supporting major incidents and service outages.

Key Skills & Competencies

• Change Management


• Risk Management


• Incident Management


• Network Operations


• Service Availability


• ITIL


• ServiceNow


• Technical Risk Assessment


• Incident Response