Applications Analyst, Information Technology Services

Suffolk University is a private, urban university located in the heart of downtown Boston. Our college green is the Boston Common and we are steps from dozens of historic sites including the Old State House, Faneuil Hall, City Hall and the Massachusetts State House. We have no real boundaries to our campus—Boston and Suffolk blend together.

Suffolk has been committed to creating an exceptional learning experience since 1906. Our vision is to be recognized as a dynamic institution that fosters engaged learning, rigorous scholarship, innovative thinking, and community collaboration across disciplines. We will ensure that Suffolk graduates are versatile and prepared for modern society and the new world market. We will provide rich curricula, experiential learning opportunities and professional mentoring through increased collaboration with alumni and community partners. We will recruit, mentor, and support a diverse faculty of teacher-scholars who are passionately committed to preparing our students to be leaders in the global community. We will inspire investment in a Suffolk community that is built on ethical, forward-thinking leadership, teamwork, and cooperation.

We compete for the best talent. We are an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse community. We are actively seeking applicants from groups that might be under-represented because of race/color, gender, religion, real or perceived disability, national origin or LGBTQ status. As part of our commitment we encourage you to complete the demographic portion of the application in addition to submitting your cover letter and resume/CV as it will assist us in targeting our recruitment efforts.

Please note that Suffolk University conducts background checks as a condition of employment.

We are also committed to the well-being of our employees. Our terrific benefits package for benefits-eligible positions include, but are not limited to:

• Generous paid time-off programs and commitment to work-life balance
• Tuition free course benefits in the College of Arts and Sciences and in the Sawyer Business School for employees with additional tuition benefits for spouses, domestic partners, and children
• Top-notch well-being care available through Harvard Pilgrim Medical/Delta Dental and a Flexible Spending Account
• Pre-tax commuter benefit
• Employee Assistance Program that provides employees and their family members with initial assessment, referrals and short-term counseling for personal and work challenges
• Discounted home and auto insurance

Description

Suffolk University is pleased to announce a career opportunity as an Applications Technical Analyst! The Information Technology Services (ITS) Enterprise Applications Team is seeking an Applications Technical Analyst who will work with stakeholders, including end-users, business analysts, subject matter experts, and vendors, to support the implementation of the Workday Student module and for post-production support of Workday HCM/Payroll and Finance modules.

The Application Technical Analyst will be a core member of the implementation team and will work to analyze, configure. Test business processes to ensure the proper operation of the Workday configuration. Candidates must have strongly specialized/analytical ability and can present data to support decision-making efforts.

The Application Technical Analyst should possess 5 years of experience with Workday, be responsible for supporting business process design and configuration in multiple functional areas, and understand the resulting integration and reporting requirements, designs, and implementation. S/he should have experience capturing, documenting, and analyzing business process requirements for ERP systems. The candidate also needs to understand how Workday will be part of an enterprise solution that includes several software platforms external to Workday, with differing business processes, data sources, and security policies that will need integration.

Prior experience with Workday HCM and Payroll, and/or Finance modules, business process design, integrations, reporting, security, and delivery standards is highly valued and desired.

Although not required, it is desired that the candidate have experience with some aspects of the Workday Student module that will be implemented. Experience in system administration, configuration, and design of the primary Student module consisting of Academic Advising, Academic Foundation, Admissions, Campus Engagement, Curriculum Management, Financial Aid, Student Financials, Student Records, and Student Recruiting. H/she will provide functional support to the Student Administration teams upon project completion.  

Primary/Principal Responsibilities:

% of Time
Responsibility
50% Develop and implement new/enhanced Workday modules
• Participate in the Workday implementation project and contribute expertise in Workday's business process configuration model.
• Facilitates collaborations with stakeholders across the university to design and document business processes for enterprise resource planning solutions.
• Leads user research efforts to understand customer and stakeholder pain points, challenges, and needs. Builds and delivers design solutions that meet customer needs and expectations. Translate needs and practices into comprehensive system design.
• As a core project team member, the Applications Technical Analyst will serve as the subject-matter expert of Workday business process configuration.
• Configures best-in-class application functions for enterprise resource planning tools that are aligned with business objectives. Configures application functions independently or in a team environment.
• Communicates and presents recommended business process improvements and solutions and decision-making rationale in the team and functional team meetings. Works collaboratively with others across the organization, including product managers, designers, developers, analysts, implementation partners, and consultants, to deliver engaging experiences that balance customer needs, business goals, and technical realities.
• Develops human-centered design (HCD) processes and approaches to deliver a broad range of sustainable solutions. Engages in standard business analysis methodologies by outlining problems, opportunities, and solutions.
• Collaborate with IT on necessary integrations, draft system specifications, and workflow process.
• Drives innovation and continuous improvement by leveraging the latest industry knowledge and best practices. Continually develops skills, knowledge, and abilities by maintaining currency on emerging technologies and approaches. Seeks opportunities to innovate and maximize system functionality.
• Actively mitigates risk by owning tasks, resources, and changes. Enables the release management process by anticipating risks and providing strategic recommendations for releases. Delivers high-quality project analysis documentation such as business requirements, scope matrices, use cases, future state proposals, UAT plans, etc.
• Prioritizes analyzes, and articulates problems. Evaluates and documents problem alternatives. Manages constraints and suggests interim and long-term solutions. Utilizes leading practices to anticipate or solve problems effectively. Engages appropriate stakeholders to productively and comprehensively solve problems.
• Documentation skills are critical in this position for business continuity.
• Works closely with team members and management to implement and support effective solutions for enterprise resource planning. Maintains currency with technology, standards, and best practices. Supports process improvement efforts within the team and across ITS.
• Performs other related duties as assigned or requested. The University reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.
• Work towards Workday Pro certification and maintenance.
30% Provide support and maintenance of Workday to ensure optimal user functionality and technical integrity of configurations
• Creating or contributing to business requirements documents, system configuration documents, detailed functional specification documents, test plans and test cases, user training documents, and implementation documentation as necessary.
• Mentoring other functional analysts actively sharing knowledge to develop in-house expertise on Workday.
• Establish and implement training programs for users and ITS staff.
• Prepare and conduct training sessions.
• Handle production support issues through resolution.
• Prioritizes analyzes, and articulates problems.
• Evaluates and documents problem alternatives.
• Manages constraints and suggests interim and long-term solutions.
• Utilizes leading practices to anticipate or solve problems effectively.
• Engages appropriate stakeholders to productively and comprehensively solve problems.
• Provide ad hoc assistance to stakeholders.
• Reporting efforts: work with team management to set priorities, develop, test and roll out new/changed reports.
• Ensure system integrity: partner with stakeholders for semi-annual system upgrade testing and pertinent weekly upgrades.
20% Stakeholder/ITS Collaboration and Communication
• Utilizes exceptional communication and collaboration skills to serve as a key leader and partner in discovering, evaluating, selecting, planning, designing, implementing, training, and supporting Workday.
• Establishes and maintains productive, cooperative working relationships with stakeholders from across the entire Suffolk community.
• Contributes to an inclusive environment that values differences by building and maintaining collaborative relationships with team members, peers, and ITS leaders. Actively embodies ITS values and behaviors, including accountability, ethics, and best-in-class customer service. Contributes to a culture of trust and transparency by sharing information broadly, openly, and deliberately.
• Works closely with team members and management to implement and support effective solutions for enterprise resource planning. Maintains currency with technology, standards, and best practices. Supports process improvement efforts within the team and across ITS.

REQUIREMENTS/QUALIFICATIONS:

Required Education and Experience:
Knowledge and Experience with the following:

• Minimum 5 years of progressive Workday experience.
• Exposure and/or experience with Student processes.
• Proven strong logic, analytical and technological skills.
• Demonstrated experience with technical configuration and integrations.
• Prior systems implementation or conversion experience preferred.
• Self-starter with the ability to work independently or as part of a team.
• Demonstrated understanding of Workday concepts.
• Strong communication skills with a customer service orientation and an ability to work well with all levels of the organization.
• Demonstrable technical writing and editing skills, with the ability to explain complex concepts and processes clearly and effectively
• High performance and standards

Suffolk University does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age, genetic information, or status as a veteran in admission to, access to, treatment in, or employment in its programs, activities, or employment. Suffolk University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. The University is dedicated to the goal of building a diverse and inclusive faculty and staff that reflect the broad range of human experience who contribute to the robust exchange of ideas on campus, and who are committed to teaching and working in a diverse environment. We strongly encourage applications from groups historically marginalized or underrepresented because of race/color, gender, religious creed, disability, national origin, veteran status or LGBTQ status. Suffolk University is especially interested in candidates who, through their training, service and experience, will contribute to the diversity and excellence of the University community.