Business Systems Analyst

Sonoran Desert Institute is seeking a Business Systems Analyst to design, deliver, and maintain enterprise business systems and process solutions. The role enhances enterprise applications, supports technology projects, and bridges business and technology teams through system configuration, workflow automation, data analysis, and stakeholder collaboration.

Responsibilities:

• Identifies business systems solution requirements in collaboration with business stakeholders and end users
• Analyzes business processes and operations to establish solution objectives that ensure alignment with business needs and project outcomes
• Evaluates and applies system functionality to determine impact to business operations across multiple departments
• Maintains business system standards by applying tools, technology, and processes that are best practice and align with business objectives
• Designs high-quality business systems by identifying and evaluating solution options, preparing functional specifications, and resolving solution issues
• Maintains effective relationships with key business stakeholders and end users across all business areas
• Assists in developing solution test plans and oversight of user acceptance testing and integration validation
• Assists in developing resources, training guides, and process flows to support solution design specifications
• Delivers end-user training and support for new and changed system functionality, helping business units adopt new tools and processes with confidence
• Develops cross-functional expertise in all business areas and applicable business technologies
• Acts as SME for business systems functionality
• Acts as a key member of policy and implementation
• Works within SDI's technology and project governance models, including project intake, prioritization, and change management, and helps refine those practices as they mature
• Configures, maintains, and supports enterprise applications (e.g., student information system, CRM, LMS), including system setup, user roles and permissions, business rules, and workflow automation, in partnership with IT team members and vendors
• Designs, builds, tests, and maintains automated workflows and system integrations, and troubleshoots data flows, import/export errors, and failed jobs
• Writes and runs SQL queries to extract, validate, and reconcile data, and supports ad hoc reporting, data clean-up, and data integrity audits
• Serves as a functional support resource for business system issues, triaging tickets, diagnosing root causes, and escalating to IT, developers, or vendors as appropriate
• Performs system “smoke” testing, including regression testing for upgrades, patches, and configuration changes
• Maintains system documentation, including configuration records, integration and workflow maps, and change logs
• Ensure solutions maintain appropriate compliance and meet regulatory requirements
• Other tasks as assigned

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in information systems, business, or a related field
• Minimum of three years of higher education experience, with knowledge of business processes and enterprise technologies including learning management systems, customer relationship management, faculty management systems, and other higher education solutions
• Prior experience in usage, analysis and configuration for business processes and systems in one or more of the following solutions: Anthology Student, Ellucian, Canvas, APL Next Ed, or similar types of information systems
• Demonstrated experience applying technical skills in a production environment, such as SQL-based reporting and data validation, workflow automation, or system integrations
• Strong understanding of business operations, workflows, industry practices, and applicable regulations, with the ability to evaluate existing processes and identify opportunities for improvement, automation, and increased efficiency
• Proven ability to gather, document, and analyze stakeholder requirements and translate business needs into functional specifications, system solutions, and actionable recommendations
• Strong technical proficiency with relational databases and SQL, system integrations and APIs, data exchange formats, workflow automation tools such as Power Automate, and reporting platforms such as Power BI, SSRS, and advanced Excel
• Excellent analytical, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to evaluate complex issues, identify root causes, interpret data, and develop practical, data-driven solutions
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to bridge business and technical teams, manage changing priorities, support project governance and change management, and develop clear documentation and end-user training
• Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time
• Experience with IT service management/ticketing tools (e.g., Freshservice) and process documentation tools (e.g., Visio, Miro) a plus