Business Analyst Senior

Charlotte, North Carolina; Charlotte, Northern (NC, KY); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) in Charlotte, NC is seeking a Business Analyst II to transform operational data into actionable insights. You will develop dashboards, perform detailed analyses, and partner with multiple departments to drive performance improvements across the agency.

The role emphasizes data-driven decision-making, reporting accuracy, and continuous improvement, with responsibilities spanning data validation, trend analysis, and stakeholder communication.

Qualifications

• Experience turning detailed data into actionable insights for management.
• Ability to develop, maintain, and present dashboards and reports for stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication to explain complex data.
• Experience coordinating analytic projects across multiple stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Access, integrate, validate, and analyze data from multiple systems.
• Develop recurring and ad hoc reports, dashboards, and charts for managers.
• Investigate trends and performance gaps to identify improvement opportunities.
• Support development and maintenance of performance measures and reporting definitions.

Skills

Data analysis

Analytical thinking

Communication

Project coordination

Independent problem solving

Tools

Power BI

Tableau

SQL

Python

R

Job description

Department: Charlotte Area Transit System Department*Thank you for your interest in joining the team that keeps Charlotte moving, at a very exciting time for our organization. At the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), we're committed to delivering safe, reliable, and innovative transit services for our growing community, and we value employees who bring professionalism, passion, and a commitment to public service.**This position is currently employed by CATS, a department of the City of Charlotte. With the passage of the PAVE Act and last year's sales tax referendum, CATS is preparing to transition from a City department to the newly created Metropolitan Public Transit Authority (MPTA). The MPTA was established to strengthen regional transit governance, improve accountability, and support long-term investment in mobility. It's an important and exciting step forward for transit in our region.**Employees hired into this role will remain City employees through December 31, 2026, and will transition to MPTA employment on January 1, 2027. Benefits and compensation will follow City provisions through 2026 and shift to MPTA provisions in 2027, with clear information shared in advance. Your core duties, reporting structure, and daily responsibilities will remain consistent, with no break in service. If anything delays the transition, your City employment, including compensation and benefits, will remain in place until the move to the MPTA occurs.**The creation of the MPTA positions us for a more modern, sustainable, and efficient transit system, one that can better support the Charlotte region for decades to come. We're excited about what's ahead and appreciate your interest in being part of it.***SUMMARY**The Business Analyst II is a hands-on operations analytics role responsible for developing actionable insights that improve decision-making and operational performance across the agency. This role partners with business units to use detailed operational data to investigate performance drivers, diagnose service and operational challenges, evaluate improvement opportunities, and deliver clear, data-driven recommendations.This role involves work of greater scope and complexity than entry-level analyst assignments and requires more advanced analytical judgment. The Business Analyst II translates data into meaningful insights, builds reporting solutions, and supports continuous improvement initiatives by identifying trends, evaluating performance, and quantifying impact.**Major Duties and Responsibilities****Data Analysis and Performance Management*** Access, integrate, validate, analyze, and interpret detailed data from multiple systems, including operational, financial, workforce, customer, safety, quality, compliance, or other business data.* Develop recurring and ad hoc reports, dashboards, summaries, charts, presentations, and analytical work products for managers and stakeholders.* Investigate trends, anomalies, variances, and performance gaps using detailed business and operational data; diagnose underlying causes and identify actionable improvement opportunities.* Support development, refinement, and maintenance of performance measures, tracking tools, reporting definitions, or other analytical outputs used for management oversight.* Present data findings in a clear and useful manner to support planning, review, and decision-making.* Help monitor the results of operational changes or improvement initiatives and assess observed impacts through data and stakeholder input.* Support a culture of continuous improvement through structured analysis, documentation, and follow-through.**Research, Documentation, and Recommendations*** Research business issues, operating concerns, performance questions, and process-related topics using available data, records, staff input, and other sources.* Prepare written analyses, business summaries, process maps, findings, recommendations, and decision-support materials for management review.* Develop and maintain documentation related to business practices, performance measures, standard operating procedures, process guidance, reporting logic, or analytical methodologies.* Organize and maintain reference materials, data, and supporting documentation related to assigned projects and recurring responsibilities.* Translate analytical work into practical business language and actionable recommendations.**Cross-Functional Coordination and Stakeholder Support*** Work with managers, supervisors, frontline staff, and support departments to gather information, clarify business practices, validate findings, and support assigned analysis.* Participate in or facilitate meetings, interviews, work sessions, reviews, or process discussions related to business operations and improvement efforts.* Coordinate assigned analytical work involving multiple participants, deadlines, departments, or inputs.* Communicate findings, trends, process information, and recommendations clearly and professionally to assigned stakeholders.* Support alignment and consistency in business practices, reporting approaches, and performance understanding across affected groups.**Core Competencies****Analysis and Data Visualization:** Ability to apply analytical methods and tools to interpret data from multiple sources, evaluate performance, and develop clear, actionable dashboards and visualizations that support business decisions.* Experience with data visualization tools such as Power BI or Tableau.* Experience with data analysis tools and programming languages such as SQL, Python, or R.* Familiarity with statistical analysis, forecasting, and performance reporting.**Analytical Thinking:** Ability to evaluate business processes, operational issues, and performance data in a structured and independent manner; identify root causes, trends, risks, and opportunities; and develop sound conclusions supported by evidence.* Reviews data and business information critically and logically.* Identifies patterns, issues, and underlying drivers affecting performance or process outcomes.* Develops sound analytical conclusions using appropriate information and methods.**Communication:** Ability to communicate complex process and data findings clearly and professionally in writing and verbally; prepare strong analytical materials; and present information in a manner useful to managers and stakeholders.* Prepares clear reports, summaries, process documentation, and recommendations.* Communicates findings and business implications in an understandable and organized way.* Supports productive dialogue with managers, staff, and stakeholders regarding analysis and improvement needs.**Project Coordination:** Ability to organize analytical work, coordinate across stakeholders, manage timelines and follow-up, and support improvement initiatives or cross-functional assignments through completion.* Coordinates assigned analytical work involving multiple deadlines, inputs, or participants.* Tracks open items, action steps, and implementation follow-up effectively.* Maintains continuity and organization across multi-step analytical or improvement efforts.**Judgment and Independent Problem Solving:** Ability to work with professional independence, define analytical approaches, resolve moderately complex issues within scope, and determine when to escalate, recommend, or act.* Exercises sound judgment in selecting approaches and organizing work.* Resolves many analytical and coordination issues independently within assigned scope.* Recognizes matters that require management review, broader coordination, or escalation.**Knowledge, Skills and Abilities****Knowledge of:*** Principles and practices of business process analysis, operational analysis, and performance measurement.* Methods for collecting, validating, organizing, analyzing, and interpreting business and operational data.* Business documentation