BUSINESS ANALYST

Updated: over 1 year ago
Location: Seattle, WASHINGTON
Deadline: 04 Oct 2022

This posting is only open to current employees of the College of Engineering.

As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.

The eScience Institute is seeking outstanding candidates for the position of Business Analyst.

The eScience Institute’s mission is to engage researchers across disciplines in developing and applying advanced computational methods and tools to real world problems in data-driven science and research. With sustainable core funding from the University of Washington and existing external funding multiple grants and gifts, we are significantly advancing our mission.

As we continue to grow our educational and outreach activities, we seek support staff to ensure these programs are meeting the needs of the campus community. We are housed in the renovated 6th floor of the Physics/Astronomy Tower, with fantastic views in all directions. We have a small, tight-knit staff that have permanent desks in our Data Science Studio - an open and dynamic space that is available to the campus community. The eScience Institute shares President Cauce’s commitment to combat inequities and racism. The values of diversity, equity and inclusion are integral to the success of our research enterprise and are embedded in the culture of who we are as an institution and employer.

The Business Analyst is key in providing day-to-day financial management and analysis for the eScience Institute. In partnership with the Director of Finance & Administration and eScience’s Executive Director, the Business Analyst will manage all aspects of the eScience Institute state and external services funding, around $2.8M annually. The Business Analyst will have a high degree of authority over the various fiscal elements of the eScience institute including budget management, analysis, reporting, compliance, policy development, and strategic planning.

The position includes exercising independent judgment and has some delegated decision-making authority for funds management. Primary responsibilities include fiscal planning, analysis, and funds management, including income-generating funds. This position is responsible for problem solving, prioritizing, and multi-tasking overlapping assignments, requests, and report deadlines. The role is fast-paced and requires speedy responses, and occasional deadlines with short lead times. The Business Analyst reports to the Director of Finance & Administration.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, ANALYSIS, REPORTING, & OPERATIONS (55%)
• Manage a portfolio and provide program management for our external service agreements, academic programs, our state budget, and our University Provost funding, totaling roughly $2.8M annually. Independently budget, account, and report metrics; maximize efficient use of funding, while ensuring compliance with state and federal rules and regulations.
• Allocate resources according to funding type and purpose. Work with stakeholders to project spending patterns. Remain familiar with all purchasing, invoicing, reimbursement and other fiscal processes, and handle these as necessary during high volume events. Provide training as necessary and review fiscal-related work by other staff.
• Review, analyze, and project expenses and effort, report metrics to sponsors and stakeholders. Lead regular reporting meetings with budget owners to inform and assess progress against financial targets, identify potential risks and opportunities for strategic planning, and make adjustments to ensure sound financial management over the lifetime of the funding sources.
• Create processes that ensure high quality and timely execution of the rhythm of business; identify and implement tools to execute those processes efficiently.
• Routinize budget and financial management and analysis. Review and interpret monthly financial results and develop mechanisms to provide regular updates to senior leadership.
• Identify and explain budget variances and provide recommendations accordingly.
• Think creatively and flexibly about how information can be presented for strategic planning purposes.
• Understand University business processes, rules, data structures, and available data sources to determine the data appropriate for the solution.
• May contribute to the financial management of studio events and tasks as needed.
• Work closely with the UW Director of Cloud and Data Solutions to administer awards of cloud credits. This includes setting up new users and managing user activity. Identify and monitor users’ expenses and optimize cloud costs.
• Provide consultation, content, and support for the development of training for internal and external audiences.
• Partner with the Director of Finance & Administration and the Grants Manager by providing expertise in eScience’s financial processes to manage and coordinate the Financial Transformation.
• Disseminate policy changes as a result of the Financial Transformation and train staff to use Workday.
• Oversee and analyze department financial transactions: ProCard, CTA, BPOs, P2I, XRs and ERs.
• Communicate directly with suppliers and generate consultancy agreements.
• Respond to audits and ensure expenditure documentations are kept in an organized and searchable manner.

RECHARGE CENTER ADMINISTRATION (20%)
• Establish a new recharge center for campus and external services. Develop policies. Build and maintain rate cards. Work with MAA to ensure compliance.
• On-board new agreements, working directly with sponsors to execute agreements and generate invoices as deliverables are completed.
• Negotiate and issue pay incentives for leads, route invoices, monitor guidelines of programs and workshops. Analyze, review, provide recommendations, and modify guidelines with the scientific organizers as needed.
• Ensure smooth transition of Recharge Center during the Financial Transformation by their expertise in financial system management.

BUSINESS ANALYST FOR THE DATA SCIENCE MINOR ACADEMIC PROGRAM (15%)
• Financially administer the Data Science Minor academic program.
• Prepare projections and reports for the Provost, in collaboration with the Director of the Data Science Minor and the Associate Vice Provost for Data Science.
• Manage funds to meet the University’s Data Science Minor initiative.
• Exercise substantial responsibility to ensure program’s financial success by analyzing and balancing the funds against the necessary activities of the minor.

OUTGOING AWARDS AND CROSS DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION (10%)
• Administer, allocate and monitor awards to campus departments for postdoctoral fellows, research and data scientists, and faculty.
• Manage sub-budgets, and provide guidance/advice to other departments regarding sub-budget use and allowable spending.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or related field and at least three years’ relevant experience.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Previous experience in the University of Washington College of Engineering.
• Familiarity with a major research university setting or non-profit research organizations.
• Experience with University of Washington financial systems, policies, and procedures.
• Experience with University of Washington systems such as Enterprise Data Warehouse, MyFD, Workday.
• Demonstrated expertise in budget management and projection.
• Excellent diagnostic and problem-solving skills.
• Very detailed oriented with excellent organizational skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, problem solve, take initiative, set priorities, and handle multiple projects with
• competing deadlines efficiently and effectively.
• Experience tracking programs involving many individuals and institutional participants.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Effective interpersonal skills to interact with diverse groups in a team environment.
• Demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment.
• Proficiency with use of computers, Excel, Google Workspace, email, and Internet systems.
• Experience using and applying business intelligence tools to improve quality.

Conditions

Responsibilities include the coordination, planning, development, and implementation of the fiscal functions for an interdisciplinary group of directors, scientists, postdoctoral fellows, and events coordinators. It requires problem-solving, prioritizing and multitasking of assignments, requests, and report deadlines. It is often necessary to respond to deadlines with short lead times. May need to work outside of the normal 40-hour work week.

Complexities

The eScience Institute engages in a variety of research and training programs across an array of subjects with the aim of advocating for and spreading proficiency in the methods and tools of data-driven research. This complex web of collaborations, in turn, grows the impact of data science across engineering and scientific disciplines. These collaborations include committed support, expenses, and sharing of financial expertise as needed.

This position will balance the needs of eScience scientists and faculty with the needs of stakeholders from multiple departments and funding sources, providing clear communication and continuity of funding. The eScience Institute often provides partial or full salary support for faculty, postdocs, and research scientists hired by partner departments, requiring coordination and collaboration with multiple departments and organizational units on campus; the organizations include UW Libraries, UW-IT, APL, iSchool, and other units within the College of Arts & Sciences. Additionally, this position will coordinate with these departments and units when arranging and reimbursing travel, equipment, and supplies for faculty, postdoc, and research scientists. Many eScience staff have complex salary funding with multiple budgets shifting from month to month; this position is responsible for the tracking necessary to stay on top of additions and adjustments by multiple awards that may reside in other departments.

The Business Analyst will be pivotal in enabling eScience to develop and expand two sources of financial activity: a new self-sustaining cost-center of scientific software engineers, and fee-for-service hackweeks. This individual will provide continuity and act as the primary financial and administrative contact for both programs. This individual will negotiate directly with external and internal entities (federal, university, private foundations) to generate contracts and invoices. They will investigate and establish the internal billing center for the software engineers, and will be the primary point of contact with UW’s oversight organization (MAA).

Dimensions & Impact to the University

The eScience Institute is highly interdisciplinary with collaborative research, training and academic programs that cross departmental and institutional boundaries, and involve local, national, and international research organizations including federal, state, and local agencies, industrial partners, non-profits, and other universities. The Business Analyst is responsible for managing incoming and outgoing funds, contracts, and shared resources (e.g. IT and Cloud) within these diverse organizations, approximately $2.8M annually.

Additionally, this role is responsible for administering and providing financial analysis and management for the University of Washington’s Data Science Minor, currently enrolling 271 students. The Data Science Minor is the University’s third most popular minor and it is projected to grow significantly.

Application Process:   The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process.  These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others.  Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.



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