Job Family: Management

Level: M8

Lead Analyst – Information Management

Role Profile: / Senior Manager
Grade: / Hay B
Accountable to: / Business Solutions Manager
Accountable for: / Usually direct line management of staff in team (approx 4 – 20 staff) and/or indirect responsibility for others within assigned groups
Role Context
The Lead Analyst role is a key role which defines the requirements for business projects and provides expertise and professional leadership in solutions analysis.
The role will make a significant contribution to the delivery of West Sussex County Council’s vision of new ways of working and achieving value for money from our IT assets. In particular, the Lead Analyst will help realise business benefits from Information Technology for the whole organisation through delivery of the business and system requirements for agreed business change projects.
The Lead Analyst role is key to ensuring the timely delivery of solutions for any change/transformational projects from their initial stages and handing over to colleagues for the development stage, which will realise significant business benefits for the organisation.
In addition, the role will be responsible for the development of the Analyst professional community within WSCC ensuring we have a robust way of working that will deliver sustainable and cost effective solutions.
Purpose
To manage a large team and resources or a large scale activity providing a service, either operational or strategic support in nature, often requiring co-ordination with other teams closely related functions.This will includethe performance management of the service and/or people responsible for and the development of the future shape of service provision. To build relationships and influence activities, including working across and outside of the organisation to improve services.
Key Accountabilities
The specific accountabilities of this flexible role may alter from time to time in order to meet the needs of the business/client, but accountabilities will include (or be equivalent in nature to) those listed below:
  • Delivery of a challenging customer focusedservice, managing a large team or large scale activity to meet defined performance indicators and business strategies.
  • Formulation and development of policies, processes and guidance, taking into account views of stakeholders, and gaining appropriate ownership and approvals. Applying complex theories and detailed technical knowledge to devise approaches from first principles.
  • Contribution to the successful implementation of policies, processes & guidance, including interpreting procedures/practices to satisfy short and medium term operational requirements.
  • Providing expert advice and guidance on complex issues verbally and/or through written reports. Providing professional advice/support across the department and/or organisation and tackling difficult problems of a technical, professional, resource or people related nature.
  • Analysis and evaluation of complex information and identification of innovative solutions through the detailed grasp of involved procedures and practices.
  • Direct responsibility for a budget (typically around £2 million), and/or advisory impact on projects relating to the role’s specialism/other externalised expenditure of up to £8m.
  • Developing the shape of future service provision and budgets, typically planning on a time horizon of around a year. This will include reviewing and recommending changes to systems, processes, procedures and practices; the implications of which will likely extend beyond own service.
  • Contribution to the realisation of service, group or team service improvements through the identification, design and implementation of developed solutions which enable the organisation to be successful.
  • Effective and efficient management of resources, including staff where applicable.Operational resource deployment and recommending future resource needs over the short term.
  • Management of service delivery or specific reviews, projects and programmes on service/directorate provision through the use of effectively managed resources, within appropriate constraints.
  • The development of effective relationships with managers or partners across the wider directorate, other parts of the organisation and external organisations. Working with, advising and influencing key stakeholders in specialist field including Members, Chief Executive and board, senior managers and other key partners. Maintaining national and local networks and partnerships.
  • Meeting statutory, national, regional and local obligations in service delivery through own work and managed staff.
  • Supports equality and diversity and respects customers, clients and other members of staff regardless of gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or ethnic origin.
  • Remains up to date and compliant with all relevant legislation, organisational procedures, policies and professional codes of conduct in order to uphold standards of best practice.

Lead Analyst – Information Management

Person Specification

Level of Knowledge
  • Expert specialist, theoretical knowledge relating to the service specialism.
  • Detailed practical knowledge of complex theories including relevant technical knowledge to formulate and develop policies, processes and guidance.
  • Sound practical and theoretical knowledge of the political environment of local government and partner organisations.
  • Sound and accurate IT knowledge eg Microsoft Office.

Qualifications and Professional Membership
  • Post graduate professional qualification relevant either to management or to the professional service specialism; or equivalent level ofsignificant experience demonstrating comprehensive application of the above levels of knowledge in a relevant setting.
  • Relevantchartered status of a professional body such as the British Computer Society or Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or equivalent high level experience of involved practices e.g. ITIL.

Experience
  • Expert relevant experience in specialist area, including sound relevant operational experience, the role will be expected to gain a sound understanding of the County Council business and services, while engaging in effective client management.
  • Significant post qualification experience in dealing with significant and complex issues, specifically demonstrating robust analysis of complex business issues and the production of innovative IT design solutions which are both cost effective and customer focused.
  • Experience of delivering or co-ordinating a quality service to others, including robust resource management and performance management.
  • Experience of managing/leading staff.
  • Experience of managing a budget and contributing to financially related decisions on high level spending.
  • Exposure to shaping and supporting initiatives in a political environment – desirable.

Skills
  • Ability to make sound pragmatic problem solving decisions, which will have a wider service impact. The ability to analyse and make judgements based on principles to tackle difficult problems of a technical, professional, resource or people related nature. Key skill
  • Sound partnership working skills including thesuccessful co-ordination of partners to deliver objectives, particularly as the organisation will be increasingly engaging with third parties to provide services. Key skill
  • Ability to challenge existing practices and identify innovative solutions. Key skill
  • Effective research, evaluation and interpretation skills to derive conclusions and plan over the short to medium term. Key skill
  • Excellent communication skills with ability to successfully influence and persuade others and negotiate effective business solutions together with building and maintaining effectiverelationshjps with business and project managers.Key skill
  • Effective people management and performance management skills with the ability to provide direction, leadership and support to individuals and teams.
  • Ability to set timescales and objectives and review effectiveness of service delivery.
  • Project management skills including the ability to apply project management principles and practices to complex issues.
  • Sound and accurate IT and keyboard skills, for general office duties for example producing reports and monitoring budgets.

Lead Analyst – Information Management

Competencies
Corporate management competencies have been developed and the below show the area and level descriptors for this level of role. Competent performance within this management set will be considered to be accumulative, therefore competent performance at the lower levels descriptors is assumed.
Customer Management
Area / Descriptor
Identifying customer needs / Uses customer insight in order to understand the diverse needs of the community.
Customer Service design / Provides appropriate information and resources to enable services to be designed. Effectively uses customer information to determine service design.
Customer service delivery / Manages scarce resources to meet the needs of priority customer/community groups. Manages delivery of service in line with agreed corporate strategy priorities.
Assessment & Monitoring service delivery / Monitors standards of service delivery on a regular basis. Identifies trends in complaints and establishes root causes. Establishes systems that effectively capture customer feedback.
Performance Management
Area / Descriptor
Understanding Organisational context / Investigates service linkages and the impact of performance outcomes on different areas. Keeps abreast of social, political and economic factors affecting the organisation.
Service and Change Planning / Develops plans underpinned by SMART objectives for own team over a 1-3 year period showing dependencies to other plans, services and partners.
Service delivery improvements / Agrees SMART objectives with all those needed to achieve the plan, focuses others’ efforts on achievement of the plan.
Checking progress against plans / Monitors team performance on a monthly basis using an appropriate range of measures. Investigates what is going well, what isn’t, what else needs to be done and adjusts plans as necessary.
Driving continuous improvements / Recognises achievements of individuals and teams. Tackles performance issues as soon as they arise in a direct and focused manner, then follows through.
Business Management
Area / Descriptor
People Management / Ensures team has the right skills, knowledge and experience to deliver customer requirements. Uses workforce planning and PDR processes to build organisation and individual capacity and capability.
Financial Management / Authorises expenditure where there is sufficient agreed budget. Considers the financial implications of decisions. Seeks value for money through economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
Delivering Change / Monitors and evaluates critical success factors and risk. Ensures business benefits and processes are tracked, measured and achieved.
Health Safety & Well Being / Ensures the health, safety and well-being of individuals by providing appropriate information, training and supervision. Effectively monitors and manages absence processes. Works to ensure risk management processes are complied with and to alleviate any identified risk.
Resource Management / Ensures team members and others are working in line with corporate sustainability guidelines. Assesses the impacts on resource sustainability of business as usual and change plan activity.
Leading People
Area / Descriptor
Transforming Services / Builds shared visions with own team and develops clear plans for the improvement of services. Engages others in new ways of working to ensure they are involved in making it happen, understand and accept the reasons.
Developing Potential / Uses personal development planning as a means to help others understand their strengths and develop in other areas. Coaches people and provides regular objective feedback on performance and behaviour.
Valuing People / Understands and acts in relation to others personal motivations and how these change over time and the events that trigger specific behaviours. Challenges behaviour that is contrary to the values and standards expected within WSCC or its partners.
Working Collaboratively / Builds team performance in line with short to medium-term goals. Develops processes and systems that enable teams to meet customer needs.

Lead Analyst – Information Management

Examples:

This is a key role in Information Management which provides expertise and professional leadership in solutions analysis.

  1. The Lead Analyst will be responsible for establishing an ‘analyst professional community’ to fully understand future requirements of Solution and System Analyst roles within the IT environment. We are a ‘buy not build’ IM/IT organisation so the analysis is very much focussed on delivering complex requirements that we can procure solutions against.
  1. The Lead Analyst is responsible for ensuring that the Analyst team resources and staff are most effectively deployed to deliver sustainable and cost effective solutions for the organisation. This will involve gaining a detailed knowledge of our current way of working followed by a review and a future design.
  1. The postholder will have the ability to quickly understand business issues/requirements and data challenges of a diverse organisation and undertake the complex analysis of sensitive/high profile requests in a political environment. Working across all projects to gain a good understanding of the business priorities, the role will be expected to deliver a consistent approach that meets the needs of our business.
  1. Analytical skills and evaluative judgement is required to identify the organisations IT strengths and weaknesses and provide innovative solutions to business critical issues. For example, the procurement and implementation of significant new solutions including Adults, Children’s and CRM over the next three years. Many of these systems will require structured analysis of the current business process and associated technology prior to delivering the ‘to be’ model. The ‘to be’ model will require delivery of both functional and non functional requirements to a level that Architectural design and onward procurement can commence.
  1. The postholder will be required to develop and create a detailed rolling forward plan for 12 months and more generalised forward planning beyond that period. These plans will be used to ensure that known and anticipated demand can be met be available or acquired resources and so that IM Management can make decisions about the organisational design, sills and competencies of the IM function to meet future demand.
  1. The Lead Analyst will be responsible for making a significant contribution to the delivery of WSCC’s vision of new ways of working, ensuring that a commissioning model for third parties to deliver the IT service is achieved and becomes a reality. This will require the postholder to have significant analytical experience to a high standard as this role will form the basis of any contract to deliver the service.

21 September 2009

Senior Manager Role Profile 1st April 2008