Data Analyst

at  Northwestern University

The Data Analyst collaborates with senior leadership of McCormick School of Engineering (McC) to build and manage a comprehensive data repository; perform sophisticated analysis and observation; develop metrics, reports and presentations to inform McC Administration strategy, decision making and communications. The Data Analyst is the product owner/lead for McCormick’s PowerBI and Tableau data reporting dashboards. Quantitative information spans the broad spectrum of faculty, student, alumni, staff demographics, including diversity, engagement, satisfaction, productivity, global reach, student enrollment, budget, staffing, space utilization, research activity, etc. The Data Analyst leads data gathering and validation for external reporting processes for the McCormick School.
The Analyst creates a network of resources within the School including McC IT, Finance & Business Services, Facilities Administration, HR, Research Administration, Undergraduate and Graduate Studies, Career and Personal Development, Marketing, and Development as well as within Northwestern Offices of the Provost, Senior VP Business & Finance, VP of Research, Institutional Analysis, Risk Management and HR and external associations and organizations. The Manager reports to the McC Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives & Marketing.
Performs tasks related to the design, implementation, support/maintenance, and enhancement of NU’s enterprise, vendor and in-house developed applications. Documents functional requirements, analyzes requirements in the context of software and processes, develops and executes test plans, assists with and documents business process improvement efforts, and works with production issues. Completes content, process, and procedures for technical and functional system work that is low to medium in complexity.
Typically works with senior staff, but may coordinate smaller or less complex projects independently.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: (EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, AND ANY OTHER CERTIFICATIONS OR CLEARANCES)

• Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree in a major such as computer science, information technology, or related; OR appropriate combination of education and experience.
• 2 years functional/business/system analysis or other relevant experience required.
• ERP/CRM applications
• InfoEd (Grants Administration)
• PeopleSoft Financials/SCM (NU Financials)
• PeopleSoft HRMS (FASIS)

MINIMUM COMPETENCIES: (SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, AND ABILITIES.)

• Strong experience in PowerBI and Tableau
• Data visualization and presentation skills
• Ability to work directly with clients and leadership to understand and shape requests based on available data

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: (EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE)

• Degree in data science or similar experience
• Experience with business intelligence reporting, ideally in a higher education context

PREFERRED COMPETENCIES: (SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, AND ABILITIES)

• Working knowledge of higher education environment
• Predictive analytic capabilities
  Target hiring range for this position will be between $80,297 - $112,917 per year. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Strategic Planning

• Partners with senior analysts, end users and peers to document and analyze functional requirements, identify gaps and alternative approaches to meet requirements, and ensure all deliverables completed (adhering to approved methodology and documentation standards).
• Partners with functional users and technical and reporting staff to determine best approaches, ensuring that approved solutions are implemented in a timely and correct fashion.

Administration

• Drafts accurate documentation of process, procedure, and system/application configuration.
• Formulates and executes test scripts, implementation project plans, rolls out communications and training materials.
• Outlines medium complexity use cases.

Development

• Formulates test scripts and performs detailed testing for moderate to complex use cases to ensure that the implemented software functions correctly.
• Participates in and may facilitate iterative feedback processes among users, developers, and analysts to ensure software functionality aligns with requirements. Draws on prior implementation experience to engage in discussions.

Performance

• Assists in software evaluation and enters moderate to complex configurations to meet user needs.
• Collects feedback from users on application performance and escalates moderate to complex critical performance issues with technical resources and management.
• Collaborates with technical, reporting and application resources to analyze and resolve moderate to complex production issues in a timely manner. Provides input into possible solutions based on prior system knowledge and basic analytical skills.

Supervises

• Provides work direction and/or supervises staff such as subordinates, contractors, vendors, students, etc.
• Manages basic projects or work packets ensuring timelines, deliverables and expectations are met.
• Other duties as assigned.