Quality Control Specialist

Department: IT Cyber Service Operations
Salary/Grade: NEX/14

Job Summary:

The Quality Control Specialist is responsible for IT processing workflows for the University's enterprise systems, ensuring 24/7 operational continuity by managing urgent events and meeting Service Level Agreements. This on-call role uses metrics to improve monitoring, issue detection, reporting, and resolution, and operates with minimal supervision to schedule, diagnose, correct, and control workflows. The specialist collaborates with system owners and IT support staff, maintains up-to-date workflow documentation, supports daily operations, satisfies audit controls, and manages business continuity during IT service disruptions.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Manages IT workflow processes across enterprise systems using advanced automation tools. Participates in a weekly rotation to provide 24/7 on-call support to maintain the integrity of business-critical IT workflows. Provides workflow control consulting to business units and collaborates daily with IT teams, service owners, and systems managers on automated IT processing and control.
• Participates in university IT audits to ensure secure and reliable operations. Implements targeted security measures to improve established processes. Manages visitor kiosks to support secure access, photo identification badge issuance, and guest registration within university data centers. Reviews security access reports, prepares monthly physical security metrics, and controls process for media scheduled for on-site destruction.
• Ensures security certificates for domains owned by Northwestern University and servers centrally managed by IT are issued, renewed, or revoked through a consistent process.

Miscellaneous

Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications: (Education, experience, and any other certifications or clearances)

• Four-year baccalaureate (BA) degree or the equivalent combination of education, training, and experience from which comparable skills and abilities can be acquired.
• Three years of customer service experience in a technical field with direct customer contact.
• One year experience in data center operations in a corporate environment, university, or military facility following standard operating procedures, job monitoring, and handling events and alarm response.
• information security
• Microsoft Exchange
• Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access, Outlook)
• Microsoft SharePoint
• Other: Workforce Timekeeping System
• Other: Microsoft Teams
• Other: CA Workload Automation for Job Scheduling
• FERPA
• FISMA
• HIPAA
• HITECH
• decision making
• judgment
• problem solving
• read & interpret technical drawings
• Troubleshooting
• collaboration and teamwork
• functional documentation
• organizational skills
• planning
• workflow development & documentation

Minimum Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities.)

• Excellent written and verbal skills.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills when working with IT professionals, faculty and staff.
• Working knowledge of enterprise level automated job scheduling software.
• Ability to comprehend complex systems, to understand the interrelationships between components and to anticipate how automated IT operations and workflow failures might occur.
• Ability to explain and absorb technical aspects of the work to both inform and take directions in time critical situations.

• Ability to instruct data center technicians on how to accomplish monitoring and respond effectively to aberrant conditions on a 24/7 basis for university-wide IT systems.

Preferred Qualifications: (Education and experience)

• Four-year baccalaureate (BA) degree in computer science or related engineering discipline.
• Five years of customer service experience in a technical field.
• Three years of experience in data center operations within corporate, academic, or military environments, consistently adhering to standard operating procedures, monitoring workflows, and effectively managing event and alarm responses.
• Experience working in Higher Education in information technology or data center operations.
• ITIL Fundamentals Certification (most recent level).

Preferred Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities)

• Attention to detail
• Collaboration
• Conflict Management
• Computer Proficiency
• Compliance
• Customer Focus
• Efficiency

Benefits:
At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness:
Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities, and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.
We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth & Development:
Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics, including disability and veteran status. View Northwestern's non-discrimination statement. Job applicants who wish to request an accommodation in the application or hiring process should contact the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance. View additional information on the accommodations process.