Position: Senior / Business Modelling Analyst (Tiered)

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Position: Senior / Business Modelling Analyst (Tiered)

Children’s Worker: No

Location: National Office

Business Unit: Insights MSD

Group: Insights and Investment

Reporting to: Team Manager Client and Business Intelligence

Issue Date: November 2017

Delegated Authority: Nil

Staff Responsibility: Nil

Our Role

The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) is the lead agency for the social sector. We help the Government to set priorities across the sector, co-ordinate the actions of other social sector agencies and track changes in the social wellbeing of New Zealanders.

The Ministry provides policy advice, and delivers social services and assistance to young people, working age people, older people, and families, whānau and communities. We work directly with New Zealanders of all ages to improve their social wellbeing.

We serve over a million people, working out of more than 250 centres around the country. It is likely that every New Zealander will come into contact with the Ministry at some point in their life.

Our work, together with our social sector partners, is essential to achieving a sustainable and prosperous future, where all New Zealanders are able to take responsibility for themselves, be successful in their lives and participate in their communities.

Our Purpose

We help New Zealanders to help themselves to be safe, strong and independent.

Ko ta mātou he whakamana tangata kia tū haumaru, kia tū kaha, kia tū motuhake.

Our Principles

MSD people: All own what we all do | Take responsibility for what we do | Understand our role in the big picture, who can help us and who we can help | Navigate through ambiguity and the opportunity it brings to create better ways of doing things | Act with integrity, courage and transparency | Celebrate our achievements and those of our clients.

Position Description Approved By:

______
Deputy Chief Executive, Insights and Investment
Date: ……/……/……
Insights and Investment
The Insights and Investment group combines the Ministry’s insights and analytics, strategy, Chief Policy Advisors and actuarial functions. The main role of this group is to help decide and manage our social investment portfolio to deliver the best value for New Zealand. We need to focus on the right things, delivered in the right way. We need to be confident that we are generating results and using learning to make adjustments in what we do. The new group took effect from 1 April 2017.
The Insights and Investment group supports better decisions by driving strong insights and analytics. More specifically it:
·  curates the Ministry’s data, so that MSD and others in the system have relevant, accurate, accessible data
·  produces high value insights and tools to support a range of strategic and operational decisions and focus areas, so that decision-making on strategy, investment, policy, service design and operations is informed by relevant and robust evidence and analysis
·  advises on what mix of interventions is likely to work best for whom and where the priorities lie, so that investments across the system are aligned, targeted and designed in a way that will make the biggest difference
·  leads and advises on the Ministry’s strategies, priorities, investment portfolio and overall performance, so that the Ministry’s work is aligned with its strategy and integrated well across groups
·  analyses and models liability across the Ministry’s services and clients, so that services for clients are effectively targeted to minimise vulnerability and liability.
Insights MSD
Insights MSD (iMSD) isa group within Insights and Investment and is the Ministry’s centre of expertise for research, evaluation, reporting and analytics. iMSD is responsible for generating insights fromthe Ministry’s significant information assets. iMSD ensures the Ministry'sadministrative data and other information sourcesare fully explored to improve strategic and business decision making, thereby:
·  providing a richer way ofanalysingpolicy options, enabling us to make the right decisions at the right time
·  enabling the Ministry to have a more sophisticated way of targeting, ensuring our clients receive the right level and intensity of service appropriate to their needs
·  providing frontline staff with information about how services are working, helping them make decisions about what are the right services.
Client and Business Intelligence Unit
The Client and Business Intelligence Unit provides actionable insight to improve decision-making and assess operational needs across the Ministry through advanced analytical methods. This includes providing GIS services across the Ministry.
The unit is responsible for the design of innovative solutions to complex analytical problems, using and supporting the latest tools and methods required to undertake analytics, then translating this into practical real-world solutions for frontline staff and senior management.

Purpose of Position:

The primary purpose of the role of the Senior/ Business Modelling Analyst is to be a key technical leader within the team. This will include assisting with the design of innovative solutions to complex analytical problems and recommending, using and supporting the latest tools and methods required to undertake advanced analytics, then translating this into practical real-world solutions for frontline staff and senior management. Your thought leadership and analytic excellence will help to build a new capability within the Ministry of Social Development that will help to transform the support we can provide to ensure the Ministry meets it’s obligations to the people of New Zealand.
The Senior/ Business Modelling Analyst will assist the Lead Analyst to build and deploy high-value solutions to support the Ministry. You will be able to scan and identify the most appropriate analytical methods and tools required to solve the many challenges we face. You will then know how to use these tools and methods safely in a highly operational and practical setting.
You will help to develop other members of the team to achieve their potential by applying data mining operations research solutions in a real-world environment.
You will be a champion who can simply and clearly communicate the value of the solutions you have designed to senior management, Ministers and to workers on the front line.

Working Relationships

Internal:

·  Team Manager Client and Business Intelligence

·  Manager Client and Business Intelligence

·  Manager Data Warehouse and the Information Analysis Platform team

·  Insights MSD, IT and Insights and Investment management and staff across all levels

·  Other Ministry staff as appropriate, including Operations staff

External:

·  Relevant Ministers and their staff

·  Central agencies and other government organisations

·  Non-government organisations and groups

·  Researchers and universities

Key Accountabilities:

Key Result Area / Accountabilities
Analysis / ·  Participate in the design of new performance indicators, front-line focused indicators and reports tools to support frontline decision-making at a case level
·  Use innovative modelling and data mining methods to investigate the ministry’s client base to identify opportunities to better target services
·  Assist with the design of solutions for targeted campaigns to undertake quality assurance or for early access to services campaigns
·  Confirm the suitability of proposed solutions with front line and business knowledge experts to ensure safe interpretation of the analysis provide to them
Senior Analyst will also:
·  Assist the Lead Analyst with the design of new performance indicators
·  Assist the Lead Analyst with the development and use of innovative methods of data mining to investigate the ministry’s client base to identify opportunities to better target services, and the design of a range of front-line focused indicators and reports tools to support frontline decision-making at a case level
·  Assist the Lead Analyst with the design of solutions for targeted campaigns to undertake quality assurance or for early access to services campaigns
·  Ensure that appropriate processes are in place to collect, document, and confirm new and changed requirements from the business in a structured manner
·  Confirm with stakeholders the suitability of proposed solutions.
·  Manage the sign off process
Leadership/
Mentoring / ·  Assist other team members
·  Consider links between own work and the teams over all work program.
·  Contribute positively to the team environment to allow individual and team goals to be meet
·  Share responsibility for outputs, standards and improvements
Senior Analyst will also:
·  Facilitate and support change and team capability within the Social Sector Insights
·  Provide coaching and mentoring to other team members as well as support and advice as necessary
·  Represent the Ministry on Interagency forums including taking part in inter-departmental working groups
Advice and Support / ·  Building understanding of new methods by responding to enquiries from internal and external sources
§  Understanding the limitations of data held in Ministry systems, providing advice on its reliability and reflection of operational practice
·  Providing advice on the use of available data to address different business issues
·  Presenting results to a range of internal and external stakeholders
Senior Analyst will also:
·  Providing support and mentoring for other team members to help develop their capability to use innovative methods and a highly practical setting.
·  Providing advice on the effective integration of evidence and practice
Data Management and Systems / ·  Build data management systems that can inform, in real time, how well targeted campaigns and decision support tools have been utilised
·  Construct management information to utilise sophisticated modelling methods on a self-service basis
·  Develop innovative uses of our existing data to turn data into high-value business information
Senior Analyst will also:
·  Provide pro-active advice around the development and implementation of data management systems that can inform in real time how well targeted campaigns and decision support tools have been utilised
·  Complete the construction of better access to management information that can be used on a self-service basis, yet utilises sophisticated modelling methods that are used to generate this information
·  Trans-formation of data and knowledge: The development of innovative uses of our existing data to provide enriched variables that help to turn data into high-value information that in turn can be presented in context with the decision at hand and other information to become knowledge
Report Writing / ·  Writing clear reports that synthesise complex results and focus on the business value proposition from the findings of your analysis and research
·  Adjusting language and content of reports based on the audience groups
·  Helping business knowledge experts to integrate your results into their reports
Communication / ·  Effectively communicate with business users to ensure the IAP and SSI teams support their business needs
·  Act as a point of contact for business unit enquiries regarding the use of business analytics
·  Work effectively and communicate with staff throughout the ministry by making complex issues understandable
·  Sets out arguments clearly and logically; persuades and influences others
Senior Analyst will also:
·  Superior communication skills that allow you to engage with audience groups of all levels within the Ministry – both technical and business.
·  Uses different ways of conveying a message to add clarity and meaning to communications.
·  Adapts communications to the views and level of knowledge of the audience.
·  Prepares and structures communication well. Is able to make complex issues understandable.
Management of Projects/Work Streams / ·  Self manage own work load to meet agreed deadlines
·  Tracks progress on own work items
·  Manages a variety of task concurrently and show flexibility of work patterns in order to meet timeframes for delivery
·  Contribute to planning, including project plans, schedules and budget
Senior Analyst will also:
·  Maintain oversight of the progress of work items and assist the Principal analyst to track progress on work items
Work Programme / ·  Contributing to other areas of the work programme as agreed with your Team Leader in accordance with the needs of the Ministry, your professional areas of expertise, and your personal development plan.

Technical/Professional Knowledge and Experience

§  Relevant tertiary qualification (particularly, Computer Science, Maths, Physics, Statistics, or Operations Research) or equivalent experience
§  Technical computer and data manipulation skills and the ability to analyse data using the appropriate tools (MS Excel, MS Word, SAS enterprise guide and SAS Enterprise Miner, or Weka or R or Rattle or SPSS modelling tools, web based applications and publication skills). Other programming languages may be an advantage.
§  Demonstrated capability to use data mining methods such as propensity modelling, survival analysis, predictive modelling, profiling, segmentation, Association and network analysis to provide solutions across a range of real-world contexts.
§  Experience in analysis of business and market data and public sector data.
§  Knowledge of mining free text and linking together a wide range of data to support models.
§  Ability to translate information and analysis into outputs which are readily interpreted by highly operational areas and non-technical person's.
§  The design and deployment of innovative performance indicators and in particular outcomes indicators.
§  Experience in investigating and analysing complex problems, and reaching sound conclusions
§  Demonstrated ability to write to a high standard (clear, accurate, concise, appropriate to the audience).
Senior Analysts will also:
§  A depth of experience in analysis of business and market data and public sector data.
§  Knowledge and experience in analysing information in large databases and demonstrate ability to manipulate data. In particular, demonstrated knowledge of the need to clean data, how to manage sparse data, and experience in developing longitudinal client focused datasets.
Attributes/Success Factors
§  Rigorous intellectual, analytical ability and able to think strategically
§  Sound judgement and political sensitivity
§  Passion to provide useful high quality information to stakeholders in a way that is timely, meaningful and accessible for them
§  Highly effective communication skills
§  Strong client focus
§  Team player
§  Welcomes and values diversity, and contributes to an inclusive working environment where differences are acknowledged and respected.
Other Requirements
§  Willing to travel to fulfil job requirements
§  Holds current drivers licence and is prepared to drive the Ministry’s vehicles if required.
Senior / Business Modelling Analyst (tiered) / 6