Academic Business Analyst

SASKATCHEWAN INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGIES; Saskatoon; On-site; CAD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT) seeks an Academic Business Analyst to support empirical decisions in the Advancement team. The role focuses on collecting and analyzing data to inform strategic academic initiatives and drive improvements across programs and policies.

You will produce metrics, dashboards, and insights on trends, collaborate with academic leaders, and communicate findings to the Vice President - Academics and senior management.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field is required.
• 3–6 years of related experience.
• Experience with data analysis, reporting, and KPIs is essential.

Responsibilities

• Analyze academic programs and processes to support strategic planning.
• Develop data-driven recommendations for the Vice President - Academics.
• Create dashboards and reports to monitor KPIs and trends.
• Collaborate with department leads to translate business needs into analytics projects.
• Prepare briefings and business documents for leadership.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Data analysis

Data visualization

Project management

Communication

Relationship building

Problem solving

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, public administration, education or related field

Job description

Established in 1976 the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT) is a First Nation governed post‑secondary institution. Recognized under provincial legislation, the Institute has been conferred authority to grant certificates and diplomas. SIIT welcomes over 2400 students into our urban and community programs annually as well as serving over 6000 clients through our ten Career Centres across the province. The Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies is playing a significant role in Saskatchewan's economic future. You can contribute to that success while building your career.

Nature and Scope

The Academic Business Analyst plays a key role in the Advancement team by performing strategic analysis to support key business decisions and outcomes. As an employee of SIIT, this position will positively promote and create an environment that demonstrates SIIT's vision, mission and mandate.

General Accountability

This position will have an academic focus and will be required to provide a thorough analysis on all academic initiatives, including collecting, analyzing and generating data to provide data-driven recommendations to their direct supervisor, Vice President - Academics and the Senior Management team. The Academic Business Analyst will analyse existing strategies, processes and policies, measure the effectiveness of current practices, identify areas for improvement and growth, and collaborate on the development and implementation of new strategies. The role is also responsible for providing metrics, analytics, and insights on trends and data to support future academic program planning and initiatives for the Institute. Ad hoc analysis will be a component of the role, digging into processes to identify areas for organizational improvement.

Specific Accountabilities

The Academic Business Analyst will have an end-to-end project accountability to assess all current practices within the Academic Department. Beginning with understanding the Institute's KPIs, they will analyse SIIT's academic business practices and goals and make suggestions to enhance current performance. This will include suggested strategies around increasing efficiencies, department design, reporting, data collection systems and practices, academic policies and frameworks, contracts and collaboration agreements, program design and execution, and all other related academic practices as requested by the Vice‑President, Academics.

The position will be responsible for being up-to-date on industry's best practices and help to troubleshoot current issues and implement solutions with this expertise. The Academic Business Analyst will provide leadership in the establishment, collection, interpretation and communication of a variety of metrics used to evaluate data and will serve as a key knowledge source for leadership. This position includes the following broad range of accountabilities:

Academic Analysis & Business Strategy

• Collaborate with Academic Department leads to understand their business objectives, challenges, and opportunities, and develop customized solutions to meet their needs
• Collate feedback on current process performance including monitoring and measuring the effectiveness of programs and academic workflows
• Perform in-depth analysis to assist the strategic academic planning cycle; data will provide an awareness of current trends and future trends in the market and at other colleges/institutions
• Highlight successes as well as target areas of improvement and identify gaps in current data collection across all academic areas and within academic information systems
• Create business cases, roadmaps and frameworks; provide fitting recommendations to enhance academic delivery, program design, quality assurance practices, processes and academic policies
• Develop and manage project plans, status reports, management and committee updates
• Create new analyses and/or tools that deliver insights that enable Academic Leaders to further their objectives
• Help lead various strategic initiative projects and collaborate across departments as assigned by the Vice President - Academics
• Prepare briefings, talking points and business documents on relevant findings for the Vice President - Academics

Data Analytics

• Provide quantitative data analysis and data visualization for use in data-based decision making
• Analyze process models and workflows as they are (As-is), develop future and improved designs (To-be) and determine the necessary changes for arriving at the improved state; test and execute processes to ensure that the right results will be achieved
• Perform analysis to detect inefficiencies and strengths within the scope of a given workflow
• Present, explain and discuss results of analysis and trends effectively to drive fact-based decision making at all levels within the Institute
• Recommend new processes and/or procedures to collect data, identify data issues and discrepancies to improve the accuracy of the data
• Understand the priorities of the Institute and translate those issues into analytics projects that support the Institute's objectives

Reporting and Compliance

• Ensure the strict confidentiality and privacy of information obtained
• Deliver high quality, timely, and efficient reports to the Vice President - Academics
• Ensure measurement reports meet governance and risk policies and identifying opportunities and solutions for continuous improvements
• Perform ad-hoc data analysis to answer business questions
• Report data to multiple stakeholders
• Partner with SIIT leaders to identify key metrics that drive desired Institute outcomes
• Monitor legislation, regulations, policies, and procedures applicable to reporting and operations to ensure SIIT compliance
• Monitor the Institute's progress in meeting objectives, project plans, and priorities as set out in SIIT's Strategic Plan

Relationship Management

• Engage employees to identify potential issues or challenges in SIIT data collection methods and assist in developing solutions
• Collaborate and collect information as required to support successful academic outcomes
• Provide regular and effective communication to stakeholders as requested
• Demonstrate leadership and initiative in sharing research and outcomes with key academic leaders
• Collaborate to ensure high quality and consistent practices are integrated, supportive and meet the overall Institute direction
• Lead internal committees as required

Risk Management

• Ensure general safeguarding and stewardship of all resources within Academics with transparency of activities, information, and reports
• Ensure compliance with ministry requirements, federal and provincial laws, legislation and policies

Required Qualifications and Experience:

A Bachelor's degree in business, public administration, education or another related field is required. A minimum of 3 to 6 years of related experience is required. Strong analytical skills to analyze complex business problems and derive insights are essential for this role. Experience and/or certification in project management is an asset as well as knowledge of various business models, frameworks and analysis tools to develop strategies is necessary. An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered. The incumbent will have knowledge of Saskatchewan's post-secondary institutions in addition to knowledge of education policies, programs and curriculum, and/or economic, labor market and demographic trends and issues. Knowledge of First Nations cultures and organizations would be an asset.

Required Competencies:

Flexible and Adaptable, Effective Communication, Relationship Building, Results Oriented, Attention to Detail, Influencing, Initiative, Problem Solving and Decision Making, Analytical Thinking, Planning and Goal Setting.