Senior Information Analyst (XN06)

Job responsibilities

Information Management, Analysis and Evaluation

• Take responsibility for ensuring information systems and processes are in place to track and monitor NIHR Academy awards, this includes tracking financial and workforce information, individual awards and institute awards, interim and final reports.
• Take a lead in ensuring adherence of NIHR Academy to data standards and quality including accurate coding and classification of NIHR Academy awards and compliance with agreed Data Standards across NIHR including management of the Standard Application Form.
• The post holder will be required to deal with complex enquiries, all of which will involve the extraction and analysis of a variety of datasets for NIHR awards, ensuring the results are accurate, fit-for-purpose and presented to a high standard, including the interpretation of results.
• Manage the completion and approval of daily information requests in agreed deadlines from a variety of different sources including Parliamentary Questions, requests for data feeds for the NIHR Centre of Business Intelligence and external stakeholders. Prepare detailed and accurate data reports and statistics on NIHR awards; these may be required at short notice and will require development of the data search strategy.
• Take a leading role in streamlining processes, developing data visualisations, and coding queries for acquiring data for information requests and evaluations
• Verify, capture and analyse data from disparate external sources eg organisational data, UKCRC classification and Equality and Diversity reporting systems.
• Prepare data for reports and papers for strategic and policy meetings and publication including annual reporting.
• Produce data visualisation to be transposed into presentation materials including slide and web format to meet the needs of all levels of stakeholders.
• Work with the Business Intelligence Analyst to provide advice and develop and build Qlikview systems and other data visualisations in PowerBI or QlikSense (based on the post-holders experience of interrogating the data sources via SQL or DAX).
• Code and classify NIHR Academy awards to established UKCRC classifications of Health Category and Research Activity Codes and maintain up to date knowledge of these systems.
• Ensure that all information is subject to standard quality and checking procedures, maintaining and enhancing the relevant documentation to contribute to the knowledge management and sharing within the team.

Information Resources

• Assist in the management and development of the information systems, databases, application forms, systems and procedures required to accurately track and monitor trainees and programmes supported by NIHR, ensuring data completeness, quality and accuracy and identifying areas of modification for the data sets and information systems.
• Provide technical advice and support to NIHR Academy staff members and external stakeholders including applicants, award holders, business managers at NHS trusts and Universities, Post-Graduate Deaneries and University staff, in the use of NIHR information systems, spreadsheets, data visualisations and application forms ensuring data quality.

Communication and Engagement

• The post-holder will be expected to provide advice and guidance to stakeholders at all levels and will need to apply excellent relationship management skills to gather the information that is required to populate the NIHR Academy information systems.
• Liaise with award holders, and host organisations to collect monitoring information for day to day records maintenance and in response to specific studies and requests for information.
• Research, analyse, compile and presents complex information utilising appropriate equipment/software packages to a variety of stakeholders.
• Liaise with external contacts/organisations including the NIHR Centre for Business Intelligence and with internal departments/colleagues to access appropriate information/advice as required to fulfil the role.
• Works in close liaison and support of other members of the team ensuring NIHR Academy's business coverage requirements are met.

Planning and Organisation

• Deliver the NIHR Academy information, review and evaluation service alongside the Information and Evaluation Manager.
• Lead on streamlining processes and the management of additional projects as required.

Staff Management and Supervision

• The Senior Information Analyst will supervise the Information Analyst in addition to administrative support. The post holder will take responsibility for the supervision of day to day administrative staff workloads as appropriate.

The job description provides a framework for the role and should not be regarded as a definitive list of duties and responsibilities. You may at times be expected to carry out work in other areas across the programme. All duties/tasks allocated to the post holder will be commensurate with their grade and level of responsibility.

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree (or equivalent extensive experience) in a social science, health science, mathematics or other relevant research methodology discipline

Desirable

• Masters Degree (or equivalent extensive experience) in a social science, health science, mathematics or other relevant research methodology discipline

Experience

Essential

• Experience in use of data analysis and visualisation tools such as Qlikview or Excel
• Experience of project management
• Ability to manipulate, model and analyse data using Excel, SQL, QlikView
• Experience developing reports using data visualisation tools such as QlikView, Tableau or Power BI
• Experience creating ad hoc SQL queries
• Extensive experience using databases and spreadsheets holding complex information.

Desirable

• Postgraduate research and/or research management experience
• Experience drafting reports/papers

Skills & Behaviours

Essential

• Excellent IT skills
• Advanced skills in producing and communicating complex written, tabular and graphical information
• Experience prioritising, scheduling and managing delivery of a complex, wide-ranging, time-critical and unpredictable workload
• Good interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with staff and external stakeholders.
• Assimilate information quickly, and apply knowledge quickly and effectively to new problems
• Ability to work flexibly as part of a team, building and maintaining good working relationships
• Ability to tackle complex problems, identify solutions and implement them
• Deliver work on time, to anticipate fresh demands
• Effective liaison skills with the ability to deal tactfully with colleagues, senior academics, NHS managers, members of the public and various stakeholders
• Excellent knowledge of Windows operating systems and MS Office applications specifically Excel
• Working knowledge of Qlikview / SQL queries
• Willingness to keep abreast of and having a keen interest in IT developments which can be introduced in a research management setting
• Ability to analyse, interpret and present complex data and policy information in an easy to use and understandable manner for different audiences
• Ability to maintain confidentiality

Desirable

• An understanding of health research capacity development
• Knowledge of scientific classification systems and their uses

Other

Essential

• Understanding of information management systems and analysis tools
• An understanding of public sector health research and its management
• An understanding of data protection and information governance including GDPR