Senior Business Analyst

The University of Southern California’s (USC’s) Information Technology Services is seeking a talented Senior Business Analyst with an exceptional commitment to service excellence to join its team. As the IT Business Analyst, you will be an integral member of the Academic Technology team, collaborating with diverse and talented team members to help solve multidimensional information technology problems, improve customer experience, and generate value for our campus stakeholders across a broad base of departments and constituencies.

This is a fixed-term position with an anticipated end date of December 30th, 2020. This is a full-time role eligible for benefits including medical, dental and vision plans, a competitive 401K plan, and education reimbursement

ABOUT USC

USC is the leading private research university in Los Angeles—a global center for arts, technology, and international business. With more than 47,500 students, we are located primarily in Los Angeles but also in various US and global satellite locations. As the largest private employer in Los Angeles, responsible for $8 billion annually in economic activity in the region, we offer the opportunity to work in a dynamic and diverse environment, in careers that span a broad spectrum of talents and skills across a variety of academic and professional schools and administrative units. As a USC employee and member of the Trojan Family—the faculty, staff, students, and alumni who make USC a great place to work—you will enjoy excellent benefits, including a variety of well-being programs designed to help individuals achieve work-life balance.

Come join the ITS team and work as a trusted partner in shaping an environment of innovation and excellence for the university.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

The candidate for the position of Senior Business Analyst must meet the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as business administration, computer science, computer information systems, etc., or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience
• Five years of experience in one of the following fields: information technology, product design, or business analysis
• Proven record of delivering end-to-end, user-centered products, considering stakeholder requirements, user research, market analysis, data, customer feedback, and technical constraints or opportunities
• Experience leading requirement gathering interviews or sessions
• Proven experience utilizing analytics tools to measure results of user-centered products, documenting success, presenting opportunities, and supporting decision-making
• Experience developing test strategies and plans using widely accepted test methodologies or frameworks and proven analytical and problem-solving skills
• Proven ability to facilitate collaboration across a broad audience of stakeholders and drive consensus in alignment with university policies, processes, and procedures
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools and applications
• Experience operating with Lean and/or Agile methodologies, and familiarity with computer programming concepts, including software development lifecycles
• Proven time management and prioritization skills to make efficient, logical decisions in a rapidly changing environment
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with experience presenting technical topics in a business-oriented fashion to non-technical audiences
• Proven experience establishing strong working relationships with a wide range of team members and clients, utilizing clear and effective documentation skills
• Ability to provide strategy and recommendations on design and development methodologies, and leverage lessons learned from past experiences to drive continuous improvement of application and business process solutions

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate for the position of Senior Business Analyst has the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as computer information systems, computer science or a related field
• Experience in IT, business administration, higher education, or related fields
• Minimum of 5 years in IT business process analysis, functional project management or related business systems analysis experience
• Experience driving functional design for applications such as student information systems, learning management systems, or other similar enterprise software applications in a higher education or federated environment
• Demonstrated experience in data visualization and analytics, with design experience using business intelligence
• Deep familiarity with higher education business functions and processes including financial aid, course registration, enrollment, admissions, recruitment, orientation, grading, student billing, curriculum and catalog management, etc.

THE WORK YOU WILL DO

The Senior Business Analyst leads the planning, design, and conception of functionality for university applications. The successful candidate will be responsible for owning requirements, conceptualizing designs, and influencing future-state business processes in support of core organizational functions for the university. He/she will lead collaborative efforts across a broad range of business partners and stakeholders, including students, faculty, and staff as well as effectively document future-state processes, test the effectiveness of developed solutions, and enable the adoption of new business processes through training support.

Job Accountabilities

• Leads planning, design, and conception of university applications' functionality. Owns requirements, conceptualizes designs, and influences future-state business processes in support of core organizational functions for the university. Communicates and presents recommended improvements and solutions to business processes and decision-making rationale. Delivers engaging experiences that balance customer needs, business goals, and technical realities by working collaboratively across the organization, with fellow analysts and others (e.g., user experience researchers, product managers, designers, developers)
• Builds and delivers design solutions that meet customer needs and expectations. Leads user research efforts to gain understanding of customer and stakeholder pain points, challenges, and needs
• Delivers high-quality project analysis documentation (e.g. business requirements, functional design, scope matrices, use cases, future state proposals, user acceptance testing [UAT] plans, training materials). Actively mitigates risk by owning tasks, resources, and changes. Enables the release management process by anticipating risks and providing strategic recommendations for releases
• Manages actively and reports regularly on project plans, status updates and issues to management
• Aids the cultivation of an inclusive environment and a culture of trust and transparency, sharing information broadly, openly, and deliberately. Builds and maintains collaborative relationships with diverse groups of peers, team members, and leadership. Actively embodies Its values and behaviors (e.g., accountability, ethics, best-in-class service).
• Collaborates with team members and management, implementing effective solutions to support the Academic Technology department’s vision. Maintains currency with technology, standards, and best practices. Supports process improvement efforts within the team and across the ITS organization.
• Leads collaborative engagement efforts with a broad range of business partners s and stakeholders, including students, faculty, and staff, to productively and comprehensively solve issues. Utilizes leading practices to effectively anticipate, prioritize, analyze, and articulate problems, evaluate and document problem alternatives, manage constraints, and suggest interim and long-term solutions
• Develops Human Centered Design (HCD) processes and approaches to deliver a broad range of sustainable solutions. Engages in standard business analysis methodology, outlining problems, opportunities, and solutions, and identifies process-improvement efforts across the organization
• Maintains currency on emerging technologies and approaches, leveraging the latest industry knowledge to drive innovation and continuous improvement for the organization. Seek opportunities for innovation and maximizing system functionality by continually developing skills, knowledge, and abilities
• Performs other related duties as assigned or requested. The university reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.