A day in the life of Jesper the Application Administrator

What’s it like to work as an Application Administrator at Nederlandse Loterij?

“My goal is to make things as efficient as possible for the user. I receive various requests, such as access or optimisation requests. I look for solutions and discuss possible improvements with the applicant.

Responding quickly to changes in the market is an important part of my job. A fast response keeps us in the lead. It’s important to set up everything so efficiently that it stays agile enough for us to make fast adjustments.

I work with many different teams as the link between security, technology and the teams. I really enjoy it. My goal is to make sure people have a safe setting to work in.”

Can you tell us about the Technology Department?

“I’m a member of the IT Service Desk team, which is part of the Technology department. We have grown tremendously in recent years. This is my fourth year, and it is a very agile department. To give you an idea: two years ago I worked in a team of 15 and today Technology has grown to a department of 80 employees. The ambitious growth target we had in mind has been achieved, which I’m very proud of. And we’re still growing; we will continue to expand much more in the years to come. I’m certainly looking forward to that.

What’s different about working at Nederlandse Loterij?

“In the Technology department, we always work with the latest systems. This is where we really lead the way and stand out from the crowd. We work with a CI/CD (continuous integration and continuous delivery) platform. I see this as a great challenge because working with the latest systems also means having the latest knowledge. That is true not only of Technology, but of the entire organisation. I see this as a unique element of working at Nederlandse Loterij.

Something else that really appeals to me is the space you’re given for personal input. If you have a plan or a particular goal in mind, you are given the opportunity to really go for it. I sometimes make a demo and am then able to carry it through. It’s great to have this flexibility. The managers work alongside you, support you. Nederlandse Loterij is a horizontal organisation with a friendly culture. They’re really on the same wavelength as the employees.”

What does your agenda look like?

“We start each day with the IT Service Desk team. At the daily start meeting, we discuss what everyone is doing and what important actions still need to be taken. That works very well for me; it’s clear. At the meeting, we also look to see if we can help each other and share a lot of knowledge.

As well as the daily start meeting, we meet every Friday afternoon with the team in the office for the ‘celebration moment’. That’s when we look back on the week and focus on all the results. You often achieve a result without thinking much about it. The celebratory moment helps to create awareness and to reflect on our successes. And also to talk about things that may not have gone entirely to plan. That provides many insights. Using the Jira tool, we try to make everything measurable so that we can learn from it every time

Other than that, my agenda is filled mainly with meetings related to projects, such as the GO-live of the Lotto promotion page or the completion of a Eurojackpot project. I also have the freedom to arrange my own schedule. Jira is used to create a roadmap based on the various projects. These sprints give me a clear insight into everything already in place and what is due to arrive.”

Want to know more about Jesper’s job? View his agenda for more information!