The Lead Business Analyst provides critical thinking, analytical and technical expertise to the Office of Financial Assistance to ensure regulatory compliance with federal, state, institutional and Title IV financial aid programs. This position works as part of the IT team that is responsible for analyzing, testing, and coordinating financial aid and enrollment management data to assist staff in managing, planning and developing efficient processes to better serve our students and to support the University’s goals, mission, and objectives.

Duties

• Critical thinking and Support: Writes and modifies complex PS queries, primarily for the Office of Financial Assistance, but may assist other offices across the University. Manages and performs all aspects of financial assistance packaging plans, creates packaging equations, webpage updates, and budgets for all terms. Completes research and coordinates the data for the preparation of detailed statistical information. Coordinates with directors to modify shell docs, create data files, merge, and manage all electronic communications to students. Formulates scope and objectives through research to develop or modify our complex systems. Coordinates the design, writing, and maintenance of complex applications. Performs testing and debugging of complex applications. Reviews detailed specifications and recommend modifications to better assist with meeting the goals and objectives of Enrollment Management. Maintains complete policies and procedures for all processes on a google drive. 
• Communication and Relationships: Coordinates with directors to modify shell docs, create data files, merge and manage all electronic communications to students. Serves as Primary Destination Point Administrator to create and modify accounts for employees to exchange data with the U.S. Department of Education. Assists with all phases of the Dept. of Ed. systems including research and problem-solving to develop and/or modify the system to meet regulations. Retrieves archived data from legacy system to fulfill data requests. Assists with all phases of checklist and item type set-up for all schools at Pepperdine. Provides technical support to the scholarship management system.
• Project Planning: Works with supervisor and/or the Leadership team to establish priorities for the PeopleSoft FA module.
  Partners with the Leadership team and supervisor to collect, analyze, and document business requirements and plan for system, application, and/or process improvement projects. Analyzes metrics to ensure customer satisfaction. Makes recommendations and provides input to project status reports. 
• Project Management: Takes ownership of assigned projects and plays a proactive role toward the goal of project completion from start to finish. Works on annual goals, creates/maintains documentation, and reports status of projects on a regular basis to the supervisor and the leadership team.
• Administration: Reviews and submits regular, timely, and complete documentation of processes, such as status reports, and assessments for mid-year and annual reviews, and other routine IT and University practices. Keeps personal and shared work-spaces clean and organized. 
• Collaboration: Provides backup support and assistance to other team members, example, daily EDE transmission. Collaborates with co-workers on departmental, division-wide, and institutional projects. Shares process information and makes informal recommendations on how to improve processes and overall job execution within the team/department. 
• Professional Development: Attends training sessions, vendor presentations, user group meetings, conferences, and seminars. Engages regularly in individual professional development related activities to remain current with industry technology trends and work processes. 
• Committees and Beyond: Volunteers to undertake tasks that stretch the employee's capabilities. Serves on various committees within the Information Technology division. Participates in external University committees. Performs other related duties as assigned. 
• Uphold University mission through work performed.

The above information has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.

Skills and Qualifications

Required: Bachelor’s degree in related field, specialized training, or equivalent work experience and five (5) or more years of relevant technical and/or business work experience. Leadership skills, experience/in-depth knowledge of business operations and financial aid systems and processes. Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to establish and maintain relationships, networks, and alliances. Strong project management skills. Basic knowledge of business operations and systems requirements processes. Ability to work independently and as part of a team. Strong analytical and logical problem-solving skills. PS Query, SQL Database Systems.

Preferred: Masters degree; Three (3) or more years of higher education experience, experience within a university as a functional staff person providing support, coordination of, or direction for university processes related to the PeopleSoft financial aid module. Two years of experience with PeopleSoft 9.2 or above. Familiarity with financial aid PeopleSoft module, PS Query, and SQL Database Systems. Three years combined experience working with complex SQL in one or more of SQL Server, DB2, or Oracle including Data Warehousing technologies. Strong interpersonal communication, relational skills, and good organizational skills.

Qualified individuals should be able to articulate a strong commitment to diversity, and have the ability to work effectively with individuals from different backgrounds.

Offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of a criminal, education, and employment screening. The University conducts such screenings in compliance with applicable laws and with the objectives of evaluating risk and supporting a safe environment for students, faculty, staff, and guests; safeguarding key University assets including people, property, information, and the University’s reputation; and providing comprehensive job-related information to University leaders to enable them to make prudent hiring decisions. Qualified individuals with criminal histories will be considered for employment in compliance with applicable laws, including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance.

This is a Regular, Exempt, 40 hour per week position that is eligible for remote work in accordance with the University Policy Manual.

Expected Pay Range: $82,000 - $88,000 per year 

The above pay range reflects what Pepperdine University reasonably expects to pay for this position at time of posting. Actual compensation may vary based on relevant factors such as work experience, market conditions, education/training, and skill level. In addition to base pay, Pepperdine offers a robust and highly competitive benefits package.

Pepperdine is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of any status or condition protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.