idealist.org

Business Analyst – Staffing Initiatives
Flexible location

The New Teacher Project (TNTP) helps school districts and states fulfill the promise of public education by ensuring that all students—especially those from high-need communities—get excellent teachers. A national nonprofit organization founded by teachers, TNTP recognizes that although teachers matter more than any other school factor in student success, the nation’s education systems are not aligned with the goal of an effective teacher in every classroom. In response, TNTP develops customized programs and policy interventions that enable education leaders to diagnose their teacher quality challenges and find, develop and keep great teachers. Since its inception in 1997, TNTP has recruited or trained approximately 33,000 teachers—mainly through its highly selective Teaching Fellows™ programs—benefiting an estimated 4.8 million students. TNTP has also released a series of acclaimed studies of the policies and practices that affect the quality of the nation’s teacher workforce, most recently including The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in Teacher Effectiveness (2009). Today TNTP is active in more than 25 cities, including Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, New York, and Oakland, among others. For more information, please visit www.tntp.org.

We are currently seeking a Business Analyst to join our Staffing Initiatives central team. The Business Analyst may work from our central office in Brooklyn, NY or any home office based in the U.S. This position is available immediately.

Staffing Initiatives

The New Teacher Project delivers services through several core lines of business. In the Staffing Initiatives business line, TNTP addresses the staffing issues of the historically hardest-to-staff schools by building their capacity to make effective staffing decisions that will lead to increased student achievement in their schools. Additionally we deliver trainings to principals and school staff on successful strategies for attracting and selecting new teachers in a timely and strategic manner with the best possible new teacher candidates. The Staffing Initiatives business line currently has contracts in Baltimore, Chicago, Memphis, Nashville, New York, Oakland and San Francisco.

Role and Responsibilities

The Business Analyst collaborates and strategizes with site-based staff and the Staffing Initiatives business line management team to identify technology solutions that can systemically support innovation and collaboration, reduce inefficient processes, enhance project management and help site staff focus their efforts to improve teacher effectiveness.

The Business Analyst serves as the primary contact for user support for existing online systems including two online applicant tracking systems used with multiple program sites across the country. In addition, he/she works with external developers and the Technology team to ensure that they understand the technology needs of the business line and that technology requests are clearly defined and well-executed. In collaboration with the Technology team, the Business Analyst generates technology solutions or further develops ideas generated by the business line. Finally, the Business Analyst strategizes on larger scale improvements to existing systems while simultaneously planning for the development and implementation of a new platform for the applicant tracking system.

Specifically, the Business Analyst will

• Manage the launch and ongoing maintenance of existing technology systems
o Develop a deep and thorough knowledge of existing technology systems and how they are used by the site staff
o Work closely with members of the Technology team on user support issues including bug reporting, site updates, reduction of inefficiencies in the system and other system improvements
o Evaluate and process site generated help requests
o Create, implement and monitor comprehensive launch plan for all sites
o Clarify and track help requests
o Complete initial testing of new site features and updates
o Prioritize tasks and projects based on developer capacity and site needs and communicate prioritization rationale to staff
• Provide training and support to users
o Provide initial level of site support on technology errors or issues
o Train new and existing staff on existing systems, introduce new systems to all staff
o Maintain a wiki-based resource library with instructional documents and best practices
o Work with staff that have various levels of technology experience and diverse needs
• Generate technology solutions and gather requirements to implement these solutions
o Proactively anticipate technology needs and issues, analyze potential technology-related solutions against business line goals
o Conduct regular assessments of technology usage and user experience and synthesize results into recommended actionable items, including short term workarounds and long term systemic solutions
o Codify and share best practices and systems based on synthesis of site use
o Translate business requirements into user stories and other tools that can help the Technology team understand the business line needs
o Research current innovative technology solutions that might support business line goals
• Offer input and represent the Staffing Initiatives business line perspective during the development of a new technology platform
o Coordinate the business line input into new system features and the new platform development
o Develop related implementation plans that incorporate training and user support

We are seeking candidates who are fast learners, can succeed in a fast-paced environment, believe deeply in our organization's mission, thrive in an entrepreneurial and dynamic environment, and demonstrate a record of achievement. Successful candidates must have:
• At least 2 years of successful experience providing user support and training for online technology applications
• At least 2 years of successful experience working with web-based, database driven applications
• Prior experience working with the online product development lifecycle
• Experience with user interface design
• Experience managing multiple projects and responsibilities simultaneously and independently
• Excellent strategic and critical thinking in order to proactively identify challenges and thoughtful solutions
• Excellent organizational and project management skills with a record of meeting deadlines
• Extraordinary attention to detail
• Exceptional writing skills, especially with creating and editing instructional documents
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• The ability to synthesize feedback from multiple stakeholders and generate actionable next steps
• The ability to work well independently while collaborating with others to meet common goals
• The ability to produce quality work while meeting tight deadlines and managing competing priorities
• Successful prior experience working with rapidly changing priorities; ability to move a project forward through ambiguous circumstances
• A record of setting and achieving ambitious goals
• Strong comprehension of business processes and the ability to articulate them clearly
Preferred skills include:
• Familiarity with Jira, Agile and the waterfall development model as well as previous experience working with ASP.NET and SQL Server
• Experience writing SQL scripts
• Familiarity with authoring and/or reviewing business requirements, use cases, user stories, mock-ups, etc.
• Prior experience in leadership roles or successful management experience
• Prior experience providing technology support in a start-up environment or small organization
Compensation

The annual salary for this position is $70,000 or commensurate with experience in a similar position. We also offer a motivated team of colleagues, a collegial atmosphere that values professional development, a comprehensive benefits plan effective on the first day of employment – including medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, flexible spending account options, generous vacation time, and a 403(b) plan with matching – as well as the opportunity to impact the direction of a growing, mission-driven company that is committed to the success of our nation’s children.

Please submit your resume and cover letter online at http://tbe.taleo.net/NA5/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=THENEWTEACHERPROJECT&cws=1&rid=435

We review applications on a rolling basis – so it is to your advantage to apply as soon as possible. We will not consider applications without a cover letter tailored to this position, which can be addressed to the Human Capital Team. The New Teacher Project is committed to fostering and capitalizing on the diversity of our organization. We are an equal opportunity employer and seek individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to apply to this position. If you would like to learn more about our mission, please visit our web site at www.tntp.org.