Research Services Business Analyst

Job Description:

 The Research Services Business Analyst supports the successful oversight, maintenance, troubleshooting and knowledge of the Universityâ™s Research Administration Information Systems. This position will be interacting with the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) and Sponsored Research Reporting.  This position is responsible to plan, coordinate, and monitor Research Administration business processes and related systems to ensure operational, procedural and regulatory requirements are met.  Perform project management activities which include planning, designing, implementing and maintaining business applications and computer systems.  Research and analyze strategic system choices (within the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP)) and makes recommendations to achieve the goals and objectives of the Universityâ™s business needs.  Provide leadership, strategic direction, and oversight of the Workday (WD) Effort Reporting to meet the Universityâ™s business needs and facilitate mechanisms for effective and efficient training and outreach between OSP and the University.  Serve as an active liaison between WD Operations Support, CIS and the OSP staff, and be a key member of the Research Services team.  

Major Responsibility: System Maintenance and Testing    50 %

Supporting Actions:

• Maintains, updates, tests and troubleshoots systems and business processes in a manner that minimizes downtime and encourages feedback from end users.
• Works with CIS and other campus units and/or vendors to ensure that systems issues are reported and resolved quickly and correctly.
• Creates and maintains functional documentation on systems (including systems architecture), business processes and integration points.
• Serves as a point-of-contact for questions regarding use of research administration information systems and for departments on campus regarding process and policy changes related to use of research administration systems.
• Monitor daily integration and data validation reports, including data updates, data fixes, code table configurations, validations, and business rules. 
• Coordinate & Review data validation reports and troubleshoot issues and data inconsistencies with RAIS, CIS, and OVPR. 
• Serve as a liaison between the RAIS, OVPR, and end users to gather business requirements and processes, perform gap analysis for upgrades and conversions, and document current and future processes and practices related to systems.
• Assist with development of quality assurance measures for sponsored projectâ™s systems & data.  
• Collaborate with RAIS, OVPR, CIS and Departments to support various reporting needs.
• Lead analysis of the Effort Reporting system, future enhancements and documentation of business processes
• Cross train a staff member on Effort Reporting and prioritize tasks as needed
• Lead Effort Reporting and other related systems initiatives

Major Responsibility: System Support and Training      25%

Supporting Actions:

• Coordinate & provide support to end users to promote the effective use of the system and reports, share best practices, and instruct on business processes.
• Assist with the preparation of online training screeners, documentation, and coordination of training schedules for the various applications.
• Conduct in-person trainings on applications to user community.
• Supports OSP management in determining, developing, and/or delivering systems training for OVPR and other departments at the University.

Major Responsibility:   Project Management       15%

Supporting Actions:

• Participates as key member on information technology project teams.
• Leads new project scoping/estimating and other pre-project activities.
• Plans, coordinates and assists with integration, regression, and user acceptance testing.
• Uses systems and business process knowledge to understand and gather customer requirements as inputs to effective systems design and enhancements.  This includes the identification of information technology tasks and estimates and timely supports those tasks to completion.
• Actively facilitates integration of OVPR and departmental needs and processes into new and existing systems.
• Leads in the planning and implementation of upgrades to software; including the researching, testing (moderate to difficult), and evaluating of potential impacts to upgrades and changes to workflow.

Major Responsibility:   Collaboration and Business Process Improvements       10%

Supporting Actions:

• Collaborates with system vendors; e.g. InfoEd and Workday.
• Serve as an active member on application Subcommittees with Vendor and External Customers.
• Participate on various application Subcommittees to enhance the product functionality to meet the Universityâ™s business needs.  Provide feedback to vendor on user interface and functional equivalency issues.  Collaborate with peer institutions on best practices.

Section 4: Decisions Position is Free to Make

Describe the authority held by the position by listing 1 to 2 examples of decisions that the position is free to make and explain the decisions that depend on the positionâ™s advice.

• Develop documentation to support application use for faculty and staff
• Prioritizing daily application operational tasks
• Design and development of training materials  and screeners
• Determine validations, both system and reporting, needed to ensure accuracy of data.

Section 5: Dimensions

List quantitative measures that define the size and scope of the position (for example, the number of students counseled, the number of faculty and/or staff supported, the number of employees supervised, the number of events planned, the size of budget managed).

• Application support will affect research compliance, proposal development, proposal submission, and award management for the University
• Currently there are over 600 end users with access to the grants management application, including faculty & department administrative end users; this will expand as we implement new and replacement systems.
• The Research Administration industry has transitioned to an electronic form of administration which requires support for various eRA systems.
• In FYâ™20 over 1,800 proposals requesting $434M were submitted on behalf of 550 Principal Investigators and 80 academic departments. 
• FY20 sponsored project expenditures were $204M.
• OSP accepted and established more than 750 awards in FY20 on behalf of 365 Principal Investigators.

Section 6: Job Qualifications and Competencies

Job Qualifications

Indicate the minimum required education and years of experience. Include any required licenses or certificates.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience plus 3-5 years of related experience
• Experience working with complex ERP systems and/or enterprise research systems (i.e Coeus, InfoEd, Workday)
• Experience working business processes redesign; experience in a higher education or government organization, preferred.
• Experience with relational database systems and tools (e.g., SQL and SQL query tools such as Oracle SQL*Plus) and form development tools (e.g. HTML, XML)
• Experience with data warehouse design and report writing; e.g. Cognos

Job Competencies

Indicate the essential job competencies. Competencies are required knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform the job successfully.

• Ability to accurately document business processes and ERP systems' information architecture.  Ability to be precise and attentive to detail is essential.
• Demonstrated experience utilizing critical thinking skills to proactively solve or mitigate problems, including anticipating issues, identifying solutions and providing appropriate communication to impacted parties.
• Ability to work with a wide range of individuals with varying sophistication and information needs.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills and the ability to facilitate group activities.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline driven environment; e.g. multiple projects, with routine interruptions and changing priorities.
• Demonstrated experience utilizing critical thinking skills to proactively solve or mitigate problems, including anticipating issues, identifying solutions and providing appropriate communication to impacted parties.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision.
• Possess a willingness and ability to support and promote a diverse and inclusive campus community

Section 7:  Physical Demands and Working Conditions

Please use the following checklist to identify general physical demands and working conditions.  Additional specific physical demands and working conditions required to perform the job should be added. Also indicate any information that would be helpful in understanding any unusual or hazardous conditions associated with performing the position, or specific work schedule information.

General Physical Demands

Lift/Carry/Push/Pull

☒ Requires ability to read

☒ Must remain in stationary position for long periods of time at desk or computer

☒ Typically 10 to 20 pounds

☒ Requires moving around campus

☒ Requires occasionally standing, sitting, walking; using hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls;  reaching with hands and arms; climbing stairs; hearing; talking

☒ Requires frequently moving about inside the office to access printer, files, and other materials/equipment

☒ Operates a computer and other office equipment

☒ Some travel may be required

Recruiting Start Date:

Job Posting Title:

Department:

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Submission Guidelines:

Please note that in order to be considered an applicant for any staff position at Brown University you must submit an application form for each position for which you believe you are qualified. Applications are not kept on file for future positions. Please include a cover letter and resume with each position application.

Still Have Questions?

If you have any questions you may contact employment@brown.edu.

EEO Statement:

Brown University is an E-Verify Employer.

Brown University is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive academic global community; as an EEO/AA employer, Brown considers applicants for employment without regard to, and does not discriminate on the basis of, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, race, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.