At PwC, our people in managed services focus on a variety of outsourced solutions and support clients across numerous functions. These individuals help organisations streamline their operations, reduce costs, and improve efficiency by managing key processes and functions on their behalf. They are skilled in project management, technology, and process optimization to deliver high-quality services to clients. Those in managed service management and strategy at PwC will focus on transitioning and running services, along with managing delivery teams, programmes, commercials, performance and delivery risk. Your work will involve the process of continuous improvement and optimising of the managed services process, tools and services.Focused on relationships, you are building meaningful client connections, and learning how to manage and inspire others. Navigating increasingly complex situations, you are growing your personal brand, deepening technical expertise and awareness of your strengths. You are expected to anticipate the needs of your teams and clients, and to deliver quality. Embracing increased ambiguity, you are comfortable when the path forward isn’t clear, you ask questions, and you use these moments as opportunities to grow.
Skills
Examples of the skills, knowledge, and experiences you need to lead and deliver value at this level include but are not limited to:
- Respond effectively to the diverse perspectives, needs, and feelings of others.
- Use a broad range of tools, methodologies and techniques to generate new ideas and solve problems.
- Use critical thinking to break down complex concepts.
- Understand the broader objectives of your project or role and how your work fits into the overall strategy.
- Develop a deeper understanding of the business context and how it is changing.
- Use reflection to develop self awareness, enhance strengths and address development areas.
- Interpret data to inform insights and recommendations.
- Uphold and reinforce professional and technical standards (e.g. refer to specific PwC tax and audit guidance), the Firm's code of conduct, and independence requirements.
Role Overview
The Mainframe Support Analyst is responsible for monitoring, troubleshooting, and maintaining IBM Mainframe (z/OS) applications. This role ensures the availability, performance, and security of mission-critical COBOL, JCL, DB2, and CICS-based applications supporting enterprise business operations. The analyst will work in an Agile, DevOps-driven environment, supporting legacy modernization, application stabilization, enhancements, and performance improvements for Freight, Rail, and Logistics systems.
Required Technical Skills
🔹 Mainframe Technologies: z/OS, COBOL, JCL, DB2, CICS, VSAM
🔹 Batch Job Scheduling & Execution: Control-M, CA-7, OPC/TWS, Tivoli Workload Scheduler
🔹 Database & Query Optimization: DB2, SQL, EXPLAIN, RUNSTATS, REORG, QMF, SPUFI
🔹 Monitoring & Debugging: Abend-AID, File-AID, Xpediter, IBM Debug Tool, OMEGAMON, MainView
🔹 Security & Compliance: RACF, ACF2, Top Secret, SOX, PCI-DSS, GDPR
🔹 CI/CD & DevOps: Jenkins, IBM UCD, Compuware ISPW, Zowe CLI
🔹 Automation & Scripting: REXX, CLIST, JCL, Python, Shell Scripting
Ey Responsibilities
1️
⃣ Incident & Problem Management
✅ Provide Level 2/3 support for mainframe applications, resolving batch job failures, transaction issues, and system performance degradation.
✅ Diagnose and troubleshoot COBOL program abends, JCL syntax errors, and DB2 query failures.
✅ Perform Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and implement permanent fixes for recurring issues.
✅ Work with ITIL-based Change, Incident, and Problem Management processes (ServiceNow, JIRA, Remedy).
2️
⃣ Batch Job Monitoring & JCL Execution
✅ Monitor, schedule, and execute batch jobs using Control-M, CA-7, OPC/TWS, or Tivoli Workload Scheduler.
✅ Debug JCL failures, dataset contention, missing files, and dependency errors.
✅ Implement restart/recovery procedures to minimize system downtime.
3️
⃣ COBOL Application Support & Debugging
✅ Debug and analyze COBOL batch and online (CICS) programs for troubleshooting issues.
✅ Use IBM Debug Tool, Xpediter, File-AID, and Abend-AID for debugging and performance tuning.
✅ Work with developers to implement code fixes, enhancements, and testing in production support environments.
4️
⃣ DB2 Database & SQL Performance Tuning
✅ Optimize SQL queries, stored procedures, and DB2 access paths using EXPLAIN and PLAN_TABLE.
✅ Execute DB2 utilities (RUNSTATS, REORG, LOAD, UNLOAD, RECOVER, COPY, CHECK) to improve database performance.
✅ Troubleshoot DB2 deadlocks, locking issues, and slow-performing queries.
5️
⃣ CICS Transaction Monitoring & Performance Optimization
✅ Monitor and troubleshoot CICS transaction failures, response time delays, and queue performance.
✅ Work with CICS System Management commands to analyze and resolve session issues.
✅ Assist in CICS region configuration, resource definition, and tuning for high availability.
6️
⃣ DevOps & Automation in Mainframe
✅ Support CI/CD pipelines for mainframe applications using Jenkins, IBM UrbanCode Deploy (UCD), Compuware ISPW.
✅ Automate batch job execution, log analysis, and monitoring scripts using REXX, CLIST, JCL, and Shell scripting.
✅ Work with Zowe CLI and z/OSMF for mainframe modernization and automation initiatives.
7️
⃣ Security & Compliance Management
✅ Manage RACF, ACF2, or user access, security policies, and dataset protection.
✅ Ensure compliance with SOX, PCI-DSS, GDPR, and HIPAA regulations for mainframe security.
✅ Support disaster recovery (DR) planning and execution for critical mainframe applications.
8️
⃣ Monitoring & Performance Management
✅ Use IBM OMEGAMON, MainView, BMC Control-D, or SysView to analyze system performance.
✅ Monitor CPU, memory, and disk utilization to optimize job execution and transaction processing.
✅ Analyze logs, traces, and reports to proactively identify performance bottlenecks.
9️
⃣ Collaboration & Documentation
✅ Work in Agile (Scrum/Kanban) environments for application support and continuous im
