Data Analyst

The University of Sheffield; Sheffield; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 37,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave

Pensions

Flexible working

Development and wellbeing

Retail discounts

Job summary

The University of Sheffield is seeking a Data Analyst to join the Business Intelligence Team. You will support the university’s Reporting Service, respond to queries, and assist with ETL, data validation and BI project life cycles.

You will gather requirements, document data rules, and help produce insights that inform decision making across the university. Strong communication and teamwork are essential.

Qualifications

• Ability to understand and apply business rules to data.
• Experience extracting data from corporate systems and validating accuracy.
• Ability to investigate data issues methodically.
• Willingness to learn new technical skills.
• Effective verbal communication for explaining complex data.
• Ability to plan work and manage multiple projects.
• Strong interpersonal skills to work with colleagues.
• Ability to work to deadlines and under pressure.
• Experience with data visualization tools (Excel, Power BI, Tableau).
• Ability to translate business requirements into reporting solutions.

Responsibilities

• Respond to queries and support reporting from the University’s BI services.
• Gathe r requirements and set up ETL processes for reporting.
• Develop and maintain data dictionaries and user guides.
• Extract, transform and validate data from multiple sources.
• Monitor reporting usage and adjust to changing needs across the University.
• Carry out testing and contribute to documentation as needed.

Skills

Data analysis

SQL

Power BI

Excel

Tableau

Data modelling

Data warehousing

Communication

Problem solving

Job description

The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more. Find out more about our benefits (opens in a new window) and join us to become part of something special.

Overview

Come and be part of an innovative and influential University department delivering excellent Business Intelligence to a leading Russell Group institution. We support the delivery of world class learning, teaching and research and that’s why we need you!

Do you have a passion for data that helps inspire change? This is an exciting opportunity for a pro-active, technologically savvy and analytical individual to join the Business Intelligence Team. As the Data Analyst you will support the University’s Reporting Service by responding to queries and supporting business as usual processes. You will also have the opportunity to work across the full life cycle of BI projects. Supporting others in the team to gather requirements, set up ETL processes and validate data. You’ll make use of the end products of these projects to produce analysis and insights that support decision making across the University.

Main Duties And Responsibilities

• Support the running of the University’s Reporting Service by managing the teams outward facing inbox.
• Responding to queries received and identifying repeat requests that could be answered by self service reporting.
• Support senior team members in the planning, design and creation of reporting from the Data Warehouse to meet the requirements of colleagues across the University.
• Working with team members, develop and document data and user acceptance testing processes and technical documents such as data dictionaries and user guides
• Develop and maintain a specialist understanding of the data and business rules that support the University’s reporting.
• Develop and maintain your understanding of the University’s systems, relevant processes and the data held on them.
• Extract, transform and validate data from a variety of sources as well as reviewing and proposing improvements to systems and processes.
• Support the analysis of internal and external data sources.
• Develop a practical understanding of the technology used by the Business Intelligence team and principles including, cube design, SQL and DAX.
• Monitor use and engagement of reporting, including report reviews taking into account feedback and the changing needs of the University.
• Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post

Person Specification

Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.

Criteria

A high level of literacy and numeracy coupled with experience of working with data from multiple sources.

Essential

• Application and interview – The ability to understand and apply business rules and statutory guidance to data.
• Application – Experience of data extraction from corporate systems, validating this data to ensure accuracy.
• Application and interview – Ability to methodically investigate problems or issues with data.
• Application, interview – Experience of adapting existing skills to new circumstances and a willingness to learn new technical skills
• Application and interview – Effective verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex data and technical terminology
• Interview – The ability to plan work, manage several projects at once and a consideration for future proofing
• Application and interview – Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to work with a wide range of colleagues, work in a team as well as working independently.
• Application and interview – The ability to work to deadlines, manage several projects at one time and work accurately under pressure.
• Interview – Experience of using software for the visualisation and presentation of data analysis for decision makers (for example Microsoft Excel data visualisations, Power BI, Tableau).
• Interview – Experience of interpreting business requirements and successfully translating them into actionable reporting solutions.

Desirable

Interview

Grade

6

Salary

£32,080 - £36,636 per annum. Potential to progress to £39,906 per annum through sustained exceptional contribution.

Work arrangement

Full-time (35 hours per week)

Line manager

Business Intelligence Developer (Service Management Lead)

Right to work in the UK

If you do not currently hold the right to work in the UK, you can find more information here to help determine your visa eligibility. Additional guidance is also available on the UK Visa & Immigration website.

Our website

https://staff.sheffield.ac.uk/spc

For Informal Enquiries About This Job, Contact

Jeff Tsao: on [e-mail]

Matt Waterman: on [e-mail]

Next steps in the recruitment process

It is anticipated that the selection process will take place on the week commencing 2nd November 2026. This will consist of an interview with a technical test. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage on the week commencing 9th November 2026. Contact Jeff Tsao ([e-mail] ) if you require any reasonable adjustments.

Our vision and strategic plan

We are the University of Sheffield. This is our vision: sheffield.ac.uk/vision (opens in new window).

What We Offer

• A minimum of 38 days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.
• Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.
• Generous pension scheme.
• A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.
• A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development (for example, Race Equality, LGBT+, Women’s and Parent’s networks).
• Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.
• A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes; integrated with our Technical Career Route
• A range of generous family-friendly policies
  • paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies
  • access to menopause support in the workplace
  • paid time off and support for fertility treatment
  • and more

More details can be found on our benefits page: sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/benefits (opens in a new window).

We are a Disability Confident Leader (opens in a new window). If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.

Closing Date: 11 October 2026

We are a research university with a global reputation for excellence. Our ideas and expertise change the world for the better, making a real difference to society. We know that when people come together with different views, approaches and insights it can lead to richer, more creative and innovative teaching and research and the highest levels of student experience. Our University Vision (www.sheffield.ac.uk/vision) outlines our commitment to building a diverse community of staff and students that recognises and values the abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living for everyone.