Microsoft teams phone specialist (senior it specialist), grade n28

About the Position

Please note: The salary range above represents this position’s earning potential. The anticipated hiring range for this position will be $97,540.00 to $154,255.00, based on the candidate’s qualifications and experience.

WHO WE ARE

The mission of the Department of Technology & Enterprise Business Solutions (TEBS) is to use information technology to:

• Enable our employees to provide quality services to our citizens and businesses.
• Deliver information and services to citizens at work, at home, and in the community.
• Increase the productivity of government and citizens.

TEBS is a fully integrated enterprise in which all Montgomery County Government Departments and Offices have the ability to utilize reliable, accurate, and secure information to perform the government services and functions essential to the citizens of Montgomery County.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We are seeking two (2) experienced and results-driven Microsoft Teams Phone Technical Specialists to help lead and support the migration of over 7,000 telephone service users from the county’s on-premises telephony systems to Microsoft Teams Phone with Operator Connect, and then to be the primary resource for operating, maintaining, supporting, troubleshooting, provisioning, configuring, and optimizing Microsoft Teams Phone service for the county’s users on an ongoing basis. The role will focus on ensuring the service's reliability, responsiveness, cost-effectiveness, and user satisfaction.

What You'll Be Doing

The specialists will play a key role in ensuring the reliability, responsiveness, cost-effectiveness, and overall user satisfaction of the service. The ideal candidates will have strong technical expertise in deploying, configuring, and managing Microsoft Teams Phone, along with hands-on experience supporting large-scale enterprise telephony migrations and ongoing support operations.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as the technical lead for migrating the county’s on-premises telephony services to Microsoft Teams Phone with Operator Connect.
• Collaborate with internal telecom staff, IT teams, and Microsoft partners to plan, configure, test, and implement Teams Phone telephony solutions.
• Provision and configure Microsoft Teams Phone users, including number assignment, calling plan enablement, calling policies, auto attendants, call queues, and additional voice features.
• Partner with the project manager to develop migration strategies and support a phased rollout for departments and user groups, ensuring a smooth transition with minimal disruption.
• Assist Telecom team members and IT support staff in troubleshooting and resolving Teams Phone issues such as call quality, connectivity, reliability, and feature functionality.
• Document processes, configurations, and troubleshooting procedures for internal support use.
• Contribute to establishing service and call-quality monitoring capabilities and support related Network Operations Center activities.
• Support user acceptance testing, training coordination, and post-migration user assistance.
• Provide expert guidance on best practices for Microsoft 365 and Teams Phone voice integration.
• Maintain clear and consistent communication with stakeholders and project managers regarding progress, risks, and emerging issues.
• Operate, maintain, support, troubleshoot, provision, configure, and optimize Microsoft Teams Phone services post-migration, ensuring reliability, responsiveness, cost-effectiveness, and a high level of user satisfaction.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience in enterprise IT or unified communications (UC) environments.
• Familiarity with user training and change management for UC migrations.

A criminal background and credit history check will be conducted on the selected candidate prior to appointment and will be a significant factor in the hiring decision. The individual selected for this position will be considered an Essential Employee. Essential employees must report to work during a period of general emergency or liberal leave. This position REQUIRES possession of a valid driver's license from the applicant's state of residence, and the ability to drive a county vehicle to observe and/or perform work on the Transfer Station grounds or site visits.

Work Schedule:

This position may require occasional evening and weekend hours based on program needs. This position requires the ability to attend meetings or perform work at locations outside the office.

Minimum Qualifications

Experience:

• Five (5) years of professional experience in the information technology field, including:
• Demonstrated experience managing large-scale telephony environments and implementing migrations to Microsoft Teams Phone.
• Strong knowledge of Teams Phone, Operator Connect, and Microsoft 365 administration.
• Proficiency in configuring and managing Teams voice services, including dial plans, direct routing, calling policies, and voice routing.
• Experience working with telecommunications carriers, Session Border Controllers (SBCs), and network infrastructure supporting voice services.
• Strong troubleshooting and diagnostic skills for telephony and VoIP systems.
• Ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams and communicate technical concepts effectively.
• Familiarity with PowerShell scripting for Microsoft Teams administration is preferred.
• Relevant certifications (e.g., Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Administrator Associate) are highly desirable.
• Avaya certifications (ACSS, ACIS, etc.) are preferred.

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field from an accredited college or university. Equivalency: An equivalent combination of education and experience may be substituted.

Medical Protocol:

This position requires completion of a pre-employment Medical History Form to assess your ability to safely perform the essential duties of the role.

Preferred Criteria, Interview Preferences

All Applicants will be reviewed by the Office of Human Resources (OHR) for minimum qualifications. Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications will be rated “Qualified,” placed on the Referred List, and may be considered for an interview. Preference for interviews will be given to applicants with experience in the following:

• Have you held the Microsoft Teams Administrator role (with access to the Teams Admin Center) for more than one year
• Have you led a Microsoft Teams telephony migration project as the lead architect, engineer, or support lead
• Have you directly configured any of the following in a production environment: Direct Routing, Operator Connect, or Microsoft Calling Plans
• Have you personally created and managed Auto Attendants and Call Queues in Microsoft Teams
• Have you configured E911 or Location-Based Routing for any organization using Microsoft Teams
• Have you used Call Analytics, Call Quality Dashboard (CQD), or Teams Admin Center to troubleshoot post-migration call quality issues

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The Office of Human Resources (OHR) reviews the minimum qualifications of all applicants, irrespective of whether the candidate has previously been found to have met the minimum requirements for the job or been temporarily promoted to the same position. This evaluation is based solely on the information contained in the application/resume submitted for this specific position. Montgomery County Government(MCG) is an equal opportunity employer, committed to workforce diversity. Accordingly, as it relates to employment opportunities, the County will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, in accordance with the law. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should email OHR at Hiring@montgomerycountymd.gov. Individual determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made in accordance with all applicable laws. MCG also provides hiring preference to certain categories of veterans and veterans/persons with a disability. For more information and to claim employment preference, refer to the Careers webpage on Hiring Preference. All applicants will respond to a series of questions related to their education, relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities required to minimally perform the job. The applicant's responses in conjunction with their resume and all other information provided in the employment application process will be evaluated to determine the minimum qualifications and preferred criteria or interview preference status. Based on the results, the highest qualified applicants will be placed on an Eligible List and may be considered for an interview. Employees meeting minimum qualifications who are the same grade will be placed on the Eligible List as a "Lateral Transfer" candidate and may be considered for an interview. This will establish an Eligible List that may be used to fill both current and future vacancies. If selected for consideration for this position, you may be required to provide evidence that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities indicated on your resume. Montgomery County Ethics Law: Except as provided by law or regulation, the County's "Public Employees" (which does not include employees of the Sheriff's office) are subject to the County's ethics law including the requirements to obtain advanced approval of any outside employment and the prohibitions on certain outside employment. The outside employment requirements of the ethics law can be found at 19A-12 of the County Code. Additional information about outside employment can be obtained from the Ethics Commission website.