Senior Information Analyst

Senior Information Analyst

Medical Research Council – Head Office

Salary: £36,650 annum 
Band: UKRI D
Team: Evaluation and Analysis Team
Reports to: MRC Lead Analyst
Hours: Full time or Part time (minimum 30 hours per week)
Contract Type: Open Ended.
Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire - Hybrid working available
Closing Date: Wednesday 2nd July

The overall purpose of this role is to provide effective reporting and analysis services to a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, utilising innovative and creative ways to analyse and present information.  Working within the Evaluation and Analysis Team and reporting to the Lead Analyst, the Senior Information Analyst will help manage the delivery of data and information as part of a planned programme of outputs and to respond to sometimes urgent ad-hoc requests. The role will also lead the data management and reporting processes in a specific area of MRC strategic focus, in this case, the evaluation and monitoring of scientific research outputs.

Responsibilities

Primary tasks

• Manage the delivery of data and information requests as part of a planned programme of outputs or to respond to ad-hoc requests.
• Manage the data and reporting processes involved in the evaluation and monitoring of scientific research outputs.
• Fully utilise the reporting and system tools as appropriate to extract and analyse the data to provide the requested information in an appropriate format. This may involve the use of SQL, Alteryx, Tableau, Google Big Query, Python, R and more basic Excel-based software tools.
• Maintain good and proactive stakeholder relations, promoting the use of management information to support decision making.
• Create guidance and provide insight for a non-technical audience to aid understanding of the data that MRC holds and how it can be utilised and interpreted.
• Undertake ad-hoc analysis as required and promoted by senior managers in the Evaluation and Analysis team.

Secondary tasks

• Management and planning of resources including supervising other staff that may report on specific projects / tasks.
• Engage at a UKRI level to share good practice and develop a consistent approach to management information.  Represent the MRC on cross-UKRI activities and projects where required.
• Understand changes and opportunities with new business intelligence and management information tools, making recommendations to improve and enhance analytical and reporting capability.
• Understand MRC’s data within UKRI’s source IT systems, the processes that generate and maintain this data to ensure consistency and accuracy of reporting.  Collaborating closely with the Data Programme to take remedial action as required.
• Understand Freedom of Information (FOI) and Data Protection policies so that these principles can be applied in business reporting and information provision activities.

Other Key information

• Post holder will be required to work early and/or late on occasion to meet business needs which may include travel and occasional overnight stays.

Person Specification

The below criteria will be assessed at Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I)

Essential skills required:

• Confident working with numbers and data and can work within a team or independently to prepare data that can be used as evidence to support decisions.  (S&I)
• Have strong communication and social skills to collect reporting requirements from a variety of internal customers before producing data outputs to meet the needs of the business. (S&I)
• Advanced expertise in Excel and experience or proven understanding of SQL, Alteryx and data visualisation tools including Tableau. (S)
• Organised and can prioritise workloads, have strong attention to detail and can produce clear, replicable data reports. (S&I)
• Capable of leading and running a focused area of work, taking ownership for when and how results will be achieved. (S&I)
• Committed to share knowledge, expertise and information to support team and organisational objectives.  (S)
• Understanding and experience of Data Protection and FOI with awareness of analysts personal responsibilities under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).  (S&I)
• Ability to adapt to change and promote opportunities for improving services.  (S)

Desirable skills:

• Understanding and knowledge of the UK Research Funding landscape.  (S)
• Biomedical science knowledge with a curiosity about the medical research landscape and the language used within the sector. (S)
• Educated to a minimum degree level, or offer equivalent experience with data analysis. (S)

Benefits

We recognise and value our employees as individuals and aim to provide a favourable pay and rewards package! We are committed to supporting employees' development and promote a culture of continuous learning!

A list of benefits below:

• An outstanding defined benefit pension scheme
• 30 days' annual leave in addition to 10.5 public and privilege days (full time equivalent)
• Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure activities
• Employee assistance programme, providing confidential help and advice
• Flexible working options

Plus many more benefits and wellbeing initiatives that enable our employees to have a great work life balance!

For further information on our benefits please see:

Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

UKRI is an Equal Opportunity & Disability Confident Employer.

Please apply online, if you experience any issue applying, please contact Recruitment@ukri.org

How to apply:

Please submit an application including your CV and a Cover Letter that showcases how your skills and experience align to the requirements of the role.  

A well thought through application providing evidence and examples of how you meet the advertised essential and desirable criteria for the post will be considered far more favourably than a generic covering letter and CV.