Ascension is seeking an experienced Senior Technology, Enterprise Systems & Network Consultant to provide senior-level technology advisory, enterprise systems, infrastructure, implementation, and modernization support for potential Frederick County, Maryland Task Orders.

The ideal candidate is more than a traditional network engineer or application specialist. Ascension is seeking a senior technology professional who can look across an organization’s business processes, enterprise applications, ERP/EAM platforms, infrastructure, networks, integrations, data flows, security considerations, and technology portfolio and determine how those components should work together to achieve operational objectives.

This individual will help County departments evaluate current technology environments, identify technology and operational risks, define future-state requirements, evaluate solution alternatives, support ERP and Enterprise Asset Management initiatives, guide system implementation, assess network and infrastructure requirements, and translate complex technical information into actionable recommendations for executive, operational, and technical stakeholders.

The successful candidate should be comfortable entering an environment where the problem may initially be loosely defined. The individual must be capable of independently assessing the situation, asking the right questions, identifying dependencies and risks, developing alternatives, and providing practical recommendations without requiring extensive day-to-day supervision.

This role is particularly suited for a technology consultant, enterprise architect, solutions architect, systems architect, ERP/EAM technical consultant, or senior infrastructure consultant who combines strong technical depth with business judgment and client-facing consulting experience.

Contractor Role Summary

The Senior Technology, Enterprise Systems & Network Consultant will provide technical leadership and advisory support across technology modernization initiatives and Task Orders involving:

• Enterprise Asset Management technology and implementation
• Enterprise Resource Planning systems and modernization
• Enterprise application implementation
• Systems integration
• Infrastructure and network services
• Technology assessments
• Technology modernization and transformation
• Systems requirements and architecture
• Technical solution evaluation
• Technology implementation planning
• Testing and implementation readiness
• Data and application integration
• Technical risk and issue assessment
• Technology governance and documentation

The consultant will work with County executives, department leadership, IT personnel, operational users, vendors, project managers, business analysts, and other subject matter experts to understand business requirements and convert them into feasible technology solutions.

The consultant is expected to maintain a business-first technology perspective. Recommendations should not simply identify new technology; they should explain how the proposed architecture, application, infrastructure, or process improves operational effectiveness, reliability, scalability, security, maintainability, interoperability, and user experience.

Position’s Day-to-Day / Task-Order Activities

The consultant may be expected to:

• ASSESS existing enterprise applications, infrastructure, networks, integrations, technology platforms, and supporting processes to identify risks, gaps, bottlenecks, redundancies, and modernization opportunities.
• EVALUATE Enterprise Resource Planning and Enterprise Asset Management environments, including business-process-to-system alignment, application functionality, integrations, interfaces, configuration requirements, data dependencies, and implementation readiness.
• GATHER functional, technical, operational, security, integration, reporting, performance, and user requirements through interviews, workshops, documentation reviews, system demonstrations, and stakeholder working sessions.
• TRANSLATE stakeholder requirements into system requirements, technical specifications, architecture recommendations, process models, use cases, user stories, acceptance criteria, and implementation requirements.
• DEVELOP current-state and future-state technology architecture documentation, system diagrams, integration maps, application inventories, data-flow diagrams, and technology roadmaps.
• ANALYZE hardware, software, cloud, network, application, integration, and enterprise platform alternatives and provide objective recommendations based on cost, risk, scalability, supportability, interoperability, security, and business value.
• ADVISE County leadership regarding technology modernization strategies, architecture alternatives, platform selection, technical risks, implementation sequencing, and dependencies.
• SUPPORT ERP and EAM planning, requirements definition, solution evaluation, implementation governance, configuration review, testing, deployment, stabilization, and post-implementation assessment.
• REVIEW vendor-proposed architectures, technical solutions, implementation plans, interfaces, integration approaches, technical documentation, testing strategies, and deliverables.
• IDENTIFY technical risks, implementation obstacles, integration issues, resource constraints, architecture weaknesses, security concerns, and system dependencies before they affect project scope, cost, schedule, or performance.
• RECOMMEND corrective actions, modernization alternatives, architecture improvements, configuration changes, process improvements, and risk mitigation strategies.
• DESIGN or support technical implementation approaches for enterprise applications, digital workflow platforms, integrations, APIs, cloud services, low-code solutions, and supporting technologies.
• COORDINATE with business analysts, project managers, system administrators, developers, vendors, infrastructure personnel, cybersecurity personnel, operational SMEs, and executive stakeholders.
• FACILITATE technical discovery meetings, requirements workshops, architecture sessions, vendor demonstrations, implementation readiness reviews, design reviews, and stakeholder decision meetings.
• SUPPORT network and infrastructure assessments involving connectivity, LAN/WAN environments, cloud connectivity, system availability, performance, resiliency, interoperability, and future capacity requirements.
• DEVELOP technology assessment reports, architecture recommendations, technical decision memoranda, implementation roadmaps, risk registers, technical requirements, testing artifacts, executive briefings, and other Task Order deliverables.
• ESTABLISH measurable technical performance criteria and acceptance requirements for systems, implementations, integrations, infrastructure, and vendor deliverables.
• VALIDATE technical solutions through design reviews, requirements traceability, test planning, user acceptance testing, implementation readiness assessments, and post-deployment verification.
• MONITOR implementation progress and advise project leadership regarding technical dependencies, risks, decisions, changes, issues, and corrective actions.
• DOCUMENT technical decisions, assumptions, dependencies, recommendations, configuration requirements, risks, issues, and implementation activities in a format that is maintainable and retrievable by the client.
• PREPARE concise executive-level presentations that translate complex technology topics into business implications, alternatives, risks, costs, and recommended actions.
• RESPOND to client requests within required Task Order and contract response timelines and maintain professional communication with stakeholders at all organizational levels.

Expected Tools, Technologies, and Processes

Candidates should have experience with a combination of the following. No candidate is expected to have expertise in every platform listed.

Enterprise Systems

• ERP platforms such as SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics 365, or equivalent enterprise applications
• EAM/CMMS platforms such as IBM Maximo, Infor EAM, Cityworks, or comparable platforms
• ServiceNow or similar enterprise workflow/service management platforms
• Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Teams, and Power Platform

Infrastructure and Network Technologies

• Enterprise LAN/WAN environments
• Network architecture and connectivity
• Cloud and hybrid-cloud environments
• Microsoft Azure and/or Amazon Web Services
• Identity and access management concepts
• Enterprise integration technologies
• APIs and middleware
• Network monitoring and performance concepts
• Business continuity, resiliency, and disaster recovery concepts

Analysis and Architecture Tools

• Microsoft Visio and/or Lucidchart
• Microsoft Project
• Azure DevOps, Jira, or comparable Agile/requirements tools
• Requirements traceability tools
• Microsoft Excel
• PowerPoint
• Power BI
• SharePoint
• Architecture and technology-roadmapping tools

Delivery Processes

• Systems Development Life Cycle
• Agile / Scrum
• Waterfall and hybrid implementation methodologies
• Requirements management
• Architecture assessment
• Solution evaluation
• Configuration management
• Change management
• Testing and User Acceptance Testing
• Implementation readiness
• Cutover and deployment
• Post-implementation stabilization
• Risk and issue management
• Quality assurance / quality control