Era Systems & Analytics, Analyst

Department

Provost URA: Reporting and Analytics

About the Department

University Research Administration has the responsibility to review and provide institutional endorsement for all proposals to federal and other external sponsors (excluding gifts), assuring compliance with University policies and sponsor terms and conditions. URA is the institutional authority for the negotiation and acceptance of financial support or other contractually-binding obligations in the form of a contract, grant, or agreement, including material transfer agreements and clinical trials.

Job Summary

The job liaises between the IT group and business to support the development and implementation of new systems and enhancements of existing systems. With moderate guidance, evaluates and analyzes new IT developments and evolving business requirements, using experience and expanded conceptual knowledge of university systems to recommend appropriate next steps to meet the desired outcome.

Understands key business (and university drivers) in research administration and uses this understanding to accomplish their work. Works within established guidelines and policies to positively impact the user community working in these systems, and reporting on the data created, across campus.

Provides guidance to staff/faculty using the new/enhanced systems via one-to-one meetings or larger campus presentations. Must explain complex information and concepts in a simple, straightforward manner easily understood by broad audience types. Builds knowledge of the organization, processes, and customers.

The eRA Systems and Analytics, Analyst position is a professional position at the University of Chicago University Research Administration (URA) office. Primarily, this position will address the eRA needs of the URA Office, and broader campus community, with special emphasis placed on the AURA (Automating University Research Administration) applications of which there are currently six (6): Prime, Grants, Agreements, IRB, COI-COC, IBC. These AURA applications are part of Huron's Research Software Suite.

A primary responsibility of this position comes in managing the eRA & AURA Help Desk, fielding requests from the research community across campus. These requests come from sponsored programs administrators within the central URA Office, department administrators, as well as faculty members engaged in research. The requests are managed in a ticketing system (currently Service-Now) and prioritized according to need and urgency.

The ability to quickly assess and address user requests is essential to this role, immediately addressing the need directly or through additional coordination with other help desk support staff (IT, Data Warehouse, Website). Being readily available and immediately responsive during business hours is crucial, especially in support of proposal submissions on major deadline days.

Responsibilities

• Manage the eRA & AURA Help Desk, fielding requests from the research community across campus. Requests are managed in a ticketing system (currently Service-Now) and prioritized according to need and urgency.
• Responsible for assigning appropriate data points (owner, queue, module, application, priority, etc.) to tickets for reporting purposes and ensuring proper follow-up with end-users until tickets are resolved. For complex requests, this position coordinates conference calls and leads discussions to arrive at appropriate resolutions for requestors. This includes contacting vendors directly when necessary.
• Ensures and assesses whether users across campus have the proper roles and permissions to work in eRA applications, both internal to the university and external (sponsor systems).
• Manages requests from the campus community, serves as webmaster for sites maintained by URA (including an internal SharePoint Knowledge Base) provides guidance to the campus community for agency-specific electronic systems/portals, and helps support educational activities for research administrators on campus.
• Ensures the stability of the systems supported and maintains the integrity of the security provisions and data within these systems. This position holds site admin permissions.
• Documents user and system issues in JIRA (the preferred ticketing system of IT), suggests resolutions based on expert knowledge and research, and test fixes released by supporting technical team(s).
• Solves standard problems by analyzing possible solutions using experience, judgment and precedents.
• Help Desk Support/Coverage/Management - triages requests from the research community across campus.
• Applies high-level knowledge and understanding of research administration eRA systems to quickly resolve issues. Coordinates escalation of significant issues to other parties, as needed, and provides creative workarounds until the resolution is delivered.
• System testing - coordinates (and participates) in system testing for future application enhancements, including upcoming patches and UAT (User Acceptance Testing).
• Coordinates Website Updates and Migrations - URA, AURA, SharePoint Knowledge Base.
• Liaison - connecting with technical teams on behalf of URA and the broader research community to implement functional, system, and program specifications.
• Leads revision of existing system logic difficulties after consultation with other experienced colleagues.
• Special one-time projects, system-wide updates, or new campus initiatives as directed by the Associate VP for Research Administration, or URA Assistant Director for eRA & Analytics.
• Supports campus users in external research admin systems, such as: eRA Commons, NSF Research.gov, Sam.gov, Login.gov, My NCBI (for publication management), NIH Manuscript System, ProQuest Pivot amongst many others.
• Provides expert support for S2S (System-to-System) submissions, specifically SF424 applications through Grants.gov. Troubleshooting in real time to resolve submission errors prior to deadlines.
• With moderate direction from others, conducts business process analyses, needs assessments, and preliminary cost/benefits analyses. Uses advanced understanding of applicable business processes, systems, and industry requirements.
• Supports the IT development group in building new systems and enhance existing systems. Leads efforts to code, test, debug, and implement software solutions. Prepares documentation on system enhancements and/or alternatives.
• Administers new IT developments, keeps up with evolving business requirements, and uses knowledge of University systems to recommend appropriate systems alternatives and/or enhancements to current systems.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:
Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
---
Work Experience:
Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
---
Certifications:

---

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's degree, in related field of study.
• Advanced degree.

Experience:

• Experience in information system.
• Experience working in a sponsored programs research administration office, or in an academic environment.
• Experience with University of Chicago systems.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Strong technical skills including the ability to work in research administration systems, sponsor system portals, and help desk ticketing systems. Ability to keep composure during stressful situations and creatively troubleshoot technical issues to timely resolutions.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel (VlookUps, Index Match, Pivot Tables, custom formulas, etc.) along with Huron Research Suite (or similar).
• Experience and advanced level proficiency working in Business Objects. Able to quickly comprehend current reporting practices, troubleshoot issues, develop/create complex reports, and translate data once exported.

Preferred Competencies

• Work independently while being able to prioritize and accomplish objectives in a timely manner.
• Manage detail-oriented workload, organize, and prioritize during high-pressure, high-volume periods and manage stress.
• Excellent organizational skills with demonstrated ability to prioritize and efficiently manage multiple tasks.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Pay close attention to detail and provide reports with essentially no errors.
• Must be mature, self-motivated, responsible individual who is able to initiate and complete routine and non-routine tasks unassisted.
• Work effectively with individuals at various organizational levels, using tact, courtesy, and maintaining confidentiality.
• Handle multiple, concurrent tasks.
• Exhibit proper customer service in all interactions (civility and professionalism).
• Develop and manage interpersonal relationships.

Working Conditions

• Interact by phone, email, online meetings or in-person with faculty and administrative staff at the University and occasionally with staff of federal government, non-federal sponsors, and other institutions and organizations.
• Sit for 4 hours or more.
• Use computers extensively for 4 hours or more.
• Use standard office equipment.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter (required)
• References Contact Information (3) (preferred)

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family

Information Technology

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

FLSA Status

Exempt

Pay Frequency

Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5

Benefits Eligible

Yes

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Posting Statement

Employees must comply with the University's COVID-19 vaccination requirements. More information about the requirements can be found on the University of Chicago Vaccination GoForward.

The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.