Operations Analyst - Dimension Architecture at Information Resources, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois

Job Description:

What will I do as an Operations Analyst - Dimension Architecture?

The ILD Dimension Architect will engage new Advantage application (proprietary technology) clients along with the rest of the implementation team and provide technical and design consulting both internally and with the client. It is a heavily client-facing position, but will also require technical expertise, coordination and team work across multiple internal teams. It is also a high-profile position as the expert who will be making recommendations and key decisions to both internal and client project leads.

The role includes several major contributions to the project, with the goal of delivering a usable, efficient, valuable solution at rollout. These roles include: custom product attribute design and build, item placement, the model build, and client engagement. This role will require discovering and understanding how clients view and segment their data. You will then translate these client needs into technical requirements in order to build a data model that supports the end needs of the client user. You will use a consultative approach to leverage ILD Advantage solution capabilities to meet the needs of the client organization and user base. This role is crucial to ensuring a successful implementation and to demonstrate the power and value of the Advantage applications.

The right candidate must be someone who can lead themselves, as well as those around them. They must enjoy and excel being client facing, but also be willing to work independently to complete technical components of the role. You should enjoy working in a fast-paced environment within a role that is highly visible to internal leadership and client stakeholders. It is important to note that much of the interaction with the internal and external partners will be through a virtual environment, and that portions of the IRI team are global. Overall, it is critical that you have the ability and desire to act as a consultant to our internal and external partners by providing recommendations throughout the implementation process.

Strong listening, observational, consultative and interpretive skills are a must. You will be required to effectively and confidently communicate with clients in high-level positions. You will need to be able to set and manage expectations both with the client and internally, and coordinate with a cross-functional team in order to execute and deliver on time and above expectations. You will be communicating with an overseas support team and be responsible for the ultimate success of the deliverable. Approximately 30% travel is expected in this role.

Executing successfully in this role directly contributes to engagement, adoption and usage by the application end users, as well as value and ROI for the client stakeholder.

Operations Analyst - Dimension Architecture: Role/Responsibilities
- Effectively and efficiently design, build, and implement custom product attributes (and the related design components) that satisfy the client's business needs, while staying within the contracted scope and delivering on time
- Effectively and efficiently lead the item placement process to satisfy the client's business needs, while staying within the contracted scope and delivering on time
- Effectively and efficiently execute the various model build, deployment, and update steps that are related to your portion of the overall project
- Effectively and efficiently lead the transition process from the Implementation Team to the Production Team at project closure
- Effectively and efficiently manage the timeline, risks, inputs, and outputs related to your portion of the overall project
- Effectively and efficiently serve as a subject matter expert on custom product attributes, item placement, IRI's Liquid Data (ILD), and the overall implementation process. Consult our internal and external partners to provide guidance and recommendations throughout the project
- Effectively and efficiently coordinate, plan, lead, and recap internal and external meetings related to your portion of the overall project
- Effectively and efficiently communicate with our internal and external partners through all mediums (email, webex, phone, in-person) of communication. This entails communicating with confidence, clarity, and precision in a professional and timely manner
- Effectively and efficiently problem solve issues as they arise in regards to your portion of the overall project to ensure a timely resolution
- Effectively and efficiently manage your time and overall workload, as you will be responsible for managing multiple client and internal projects simultaneously
- Effectively and efficiently manage IRI's profitability through the adherence to the travel and expense guidelines
- Actively participate in all internal and external meetings and trainings
- Actively participate in the team development culture by providing feedback and recognition across the Dimension Architecture and cross-functional teams

Operations Analyst - Dimension Architecture: Skills/Requirements
- Bachelor's degree required
- Project management experience
- Demonstrated leadership experience
- Excellent written, verbal, and virtual communication skills
- Must be a self-starter with a desire to further your knowledge by seeking out information/guidance
- Strong time-management skills and the ability to manage multiple clients, projects, and deliverables
- Ability to independently problem solve, adapt to change, and course correct potential issues/problems with confidence and composure
- Ability to become a subject matter expert with IRI's technology and capabilities, and to use this knowledge to provide consultation to our internal and external partners
- Ability to recognize the opportunity for process improvement/standardization and to work with cross-functional teams to drive change/standardization.
- Proficiency in all MS applications, especially Excel (must know v-lookups and pivot tables)
- A strong background in the CPG industry, specifically from the manufacturer or retailer perspective, is preferred
- 2 - 5 years relevant work experience in project management, operations, and/or in a leadership position
- Previous experience working with a global and/or virtual team preferred

Operations Analyst - Dimension Architecture Requirements
Client Focus
- Develops and maintains a deep understanding of customer needs and requirements.
- Demonstrates a partnership approach and maintains long-term mutually beneficial relationships with client-facing teams

Problem Solving
- Asks meaningful and relevant questions to understand problems and potential causes of complex problems
- Creatively comes at problems in new and different ways that lead to innovative solutions
- Analyzes costs, benefits, risks and chances for success of potential solutions

Planning and Organizing
- Manages complex data delivery and requests across U.S. and GOC operations teams
- Ensures client requests are thoroughly understood by the project team and that solutions meet the client's needs

Quality Control
- Demonstrates well-developed efficiency, accuracy, and detail orientation techniques
- Identifies and communicates potential modifications of one process on other processes

About Us
As one of the original innovators in Big Data, IRI integrates the world's largest set of otherwise disconnected purchase, media, social, causal and loyalty data to help CPG, retail, over-the-counter health care and media companies grow their businesses. We combine this data with predictive analytics to uncover new consumer insights and integrate them on the most technologically-advanced, cloud-based visualization platform. Learn more about us here and on YouTube.

Our Benefits
We offer a comprehensive benefit package (health, paid time off, 401(k), etc.) with additional unconventional offerings such as volunteer time off, flexible work arrangements, virtual doctor access, etc., along with the unrivaled benefit of working with our people - the best in the business.

Our Culture
We're thrilled we get to work on the most interesting business challenges facing the CPG and retail industries. We regularly uncover new "aha moments!" by closely collaborating with our colleagues and developing competencies centered around the following values: Collaboration, Personal development, Executional excellence, Client growth, Innovation and creativity.

IRI is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. The EEO is the Law poster is available here: DOL Poster. IRI is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please send an e-mail to Talent.Acquisition@iriworldwide.com and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.