• Performs tasks related to the design, implementation, support/maintenance, and enhancement of NU's enterprise, vendor and in-house developed applications.
• Consults with users to define detailed requirements, analyze business needs, consider current and future business implications, translate functional into technical requirements, validate solutions, and drive business process improvement efforts.
• Serves as subject matter expert in regard to content, processes, and procedures associated for complex technical and functional system.
• Monitors and mentors other business systems analysts in software development methods and processes and implementation of those methods.
• Manages complex projects independently.

Specific Responsibilities:

Strategic Planning

• Consults with junior 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). Often convenes and facilitates working groups in this capacity.
• Consults with functional users and technical and reporting staff to determine best approaches, ensuring that approved solutions are implemented in a timely and correct fashion.
• Contributes to defining methodology and documentation standards, and periodically reviewing them to integrate appropriate industry practices.
• May represent organizational area in regard to advisory groups, planning committees, and similar standing work groups whose purpose is to develop requirements related to the implementation of enterprise business systems.

Administration

• Acts as a subject matter expert, reviewing and verifying that documentation of training materials, process, procedure and system/application configuration is accurate.
• Documents implementation scope and complex use cases.
• Coordinates project resources to ensure that tasks are completed on schedule and that issues, risks and variances are identified and escalated in a timely manner

Development

• Writes test scripts and performs detailed testing for complex use cases to ensure that the implemented software functions correctly.
• Facilitates iterative feedback processes among users, developers, and analysts to ensure software functionality aligns with requirements. Influences decision making based on prior implementation experience.

Performance

• Evaluates software and enters complex configurations to meet user needs.
• Collects feedback from users on application performance and escalates complex critical performance issues with technical resources and management.
• Facilitates troubleshooting with technical, reporting and application resources to analyze and resolve production issues in a timely manner. Able to identify root causes based on prior system knowledge and advanced analytical skills.

Supervises

• Provides work direction and/or supervises staff such as subordinates, contractors, vendors, students, etc.
• Recommends staff hires/terminations. May provide input into position descriptions; participates in recruiting process.
• Coaches and mentors junior staff.
• Manages moderate to complex projects ensuring timelines, deliverables and expectations are met.

Miscellaneous

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree; OR appropriate combination of education and experience.
• 4 years functional/business/system analysis or other relevant experience required.

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

• Ability to communicate very effectively both verbally and in writing, especially to communicate business requirements to technical specialists as well as technical concepts to business users
• Excellent attention to detail, organizational skills and ability to thrive under tight deadlines
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills including the ability to independently seek out information resources and professional colleagues to assess and resolve problems and demonstrating creativity in identifying, assessing, and resolving problems
• Proven knowledge of current web-based application standards. Demonstrated ability to identify and utilize new information technology tools to solve business problems
• Good understanding of relational-database concepts, ability to manage/clean data.

Preferred Qualifications:

• MBA or comparable business experience
• Experience working with third-party software vendors
• Experience doing software development/architecture for web-related projects
• Project management

Preferred Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities)

• Experience with web-based Content Management
• Familiarity with online collaboration systems
• Solid exposure to web 2.0 concepts such as social networking, RSS, blogs, wikis, XML, widgets, mashups, etc .
• Familiarity with Microsoft technologies – (C#, .NET framework, Visual Basic, ASP)
• Experience with SQL in a Microsoft SQL Server environment

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 strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters for people who can obtain them as a critical tool for minimizing severe illness. More information can be found on the COVID-19 and Campus Updates webpage.

The Northwestern campus sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations. We acknowledge and honor the original people of the land upon which Northwestern University stands, and the Native people who remain on this land today.