Business Analyst/User Experience Manager | Req #238993 Job at University of Wash

BUSINESS ANALYST/USER EXPERIENCE MANAGER BUSINESS ANALYST/USER EXPERIENCE MANAGER Benefits: As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life programs. For a complete description of our benefits for this position, please visit our website. The Business Analyst and User Experience (BA/UX) Manager will foster the development of standards of practice for the Business Analyst and User Experience functional groups and will manage and mentor staff to expand skills and expertise that supports the delivery of high-quality software products. The position will contribute to building a strong community of practice for Business Analysts and User Experience staff and will take part in initiatives to advance ORIS’ ways of working and a positive work culture. This position is charged with collaborating closely with other managers and functional leads to ensure project processes run smoothly, collaboration is optimized, product quality is maintained, and communications are well coordinated. The role works closely with Product Management during the discovery phase to ensure the highest value candidates are put forward for roadmap consideration, and that business and user needs are well balanced in the portfolio. The role oversees the BA and UX efforts to ensure that requirements, design and user research/testing support a viable solution to meet the intended goals and outcomes. Responsibilities: Product Planning & Strategy Maintain deep understanding of the research life cycle, research team experience, and systems involved, including other applications in the research administration space, in order to inform requirements analysis, design and high-level solution approach and scope. Collaborate with product managers to bring forward research insights to inform business case development, product visioning, and roadmaps. Ensure that project implementation plans align with product vision and strategy. Own the user experience strategy that provides strategic design thinking for shaping the product roadmaps and influencing backlog prioritization. Contribute toward solutions for tracking and managing the high volume of user input, for actionable use in identifying themes, opportunities, and backlog items. Advise on the impact of novel, developing, and mature applications of IT solutions as they relate to research at the University of Washington. Advance and champion the use of data analytics in product planning to expand understanding of the user behavior and experience to inform feature prioritization. Team Management Duties Manage, mentor and train other Program Team members, and guide their efforts to maintain alignment with organizational, team and UW goals. Promote best practices and standards for assigned area(s) of focus in program work, and encourage involvement in communities of practice within ORIS and broader UW for BA/UX work. Work closely with other ORIS’ functional leads and managers in implementing and maintaining standard SDLC and agile scrum practices, and in promoting a positive and supportive work culture. Partner with the Customer Experience Manager to ensure help desk reports, volumes, and suggestions are incorporated into the repository of customer input, that data analytics are advanced across disciplines, and all inputs are informing product planning. Ensure project teams have adequate resources, skills and support to successfully deliver on prioritized efforts. Implement continuous improvement processes with the functional team. Keep team members informed and in adherence to ORIS policies and procedures, and contribute to clear and open channels of communication across the organization. Advocate for growth and necessary training for members of the team. Escalate issues, risks, and concerns to leadership, on behalf of the functional unit or as part of the broader Leads Team. Analysis and Design Directly contribute in 1-2 of the following areas, based on expertise and defined team needs, to support the flow of work and a healthy work-life balance for team members: Business Analysis Facilitate discussions with stakeholders and subject matter experts to develop a shared understanding of needs and build consensus on priorities and requirements. Analyze problems and risks, formulate conclusions and recommendations for high value features. User Interface Design Create prototypes to support requirements gathering, concept validation, and usability testing. Build, manage and synthesize multiple channels of feedback to inform the design process. User Research Utilize a variety of research methodologies to better understand user needs, behavior, and preferences. Synthesize and communicate research findings for use in product planning and prioritization. Collect and analyze quantitative data to inform product planning. Other Duties as Assigned Experience Required: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Human Centered Design, Computer Science, Information Science, or related field. Minimum 4 years’ experience managing, leading and participating in progressively more complex projects/product development. Demonstrated experience with business analysis and user experience methodologies and best practices. Background in Scrum/Agile practice and techniques. Ability to balance execution (unblocking efforts) with diplomacy (fostering collaboration). Background in product planning and prioritization techniques. Experience recruiting passionate and competent individuals, and supporting their professional development. Excellent verbal, written, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills. Demonstrated ability to work with and support cross-functional project teams. Strong customer focus and excellence in relationship management with key partners. Creative problem-solver with the ability to work with a blank slate. Ability to work collaboratively with technical and non-technical staff to elicit requirements and appropriate solutions. Ability to excel and adapt to a demanding, constantly changing environment. Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team in a cooperative effort. Strong knowledge and experience in Microsoft products including Word, Excel, Visio, PowerPoint. Experience Desired: Experience managing organizational change in coordination with implementing technical improvements. Experience in higher education especially with a large, complex research university. Program Management experience. Working Conditions: This position contributes to a collaborative teamwork environment. Collaboration among ORIS staff is supported through online and in-person working sessions, ad hoc meetings focused on problem-solving, and the use of synchronous and asynchronous communication tools. Inflexible deadlines and non-standard working hours are required on occasion. The Office of Research shares President Cauce’s commitment to combat inequities and racism. The values of diversity, equity and inclusion are integral to the success of our research enterprise and are embedded in the culture of who we are as an institution and employer. To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu. Committed to attracting and retaining a diverse staff, the University of Washington will honor your experiences, perspectives and unique identity. #J-18808-Ljbffr