Automation Analyst

IDEA’s Automation Analyst - Compensation and Benefits is responsible for analyzing, designing, and implementing automated solutions to increase efficiency, improve transparency in secure ways, and reduce operational costs across our compensation and benefits programs and processes. Under management and support of the Director of Special Payments and Projects, the Automation Analyst is able to bring a combination of technical expertise and talent function expertise to deliver streamlined workflows and scalable systems., · Process Analysis and Optimization: Collaborate across Compensation and Benefits team to evaluate existing processes and identify prioritized opportunities for automation and efficiency improvements; Work closely with stakeholders to gather requirements and understand workflow inefficiencies; Document processes and workflows, including current-state and future-state diagrams.

· Solution Design: Design automation solutions in alignment with highest priorities and organizational goals; Create detailed specifications, guidelines, and documentation for automation tools and systems to enable others to maintain and leverage solutions.

· Implementation and Development: Work across system experts to build and test automated solutions; perform end-to-end testing to ensure reliability, accuracy, and performance of automated workflows; provide training to process owners to broaden expertise across the team.

· Monitoring and Maintenance: Monitor the performance of automated systems and processes to identify errors, inefficiencies, or opportunities for improvement; Provide customer service to process owners to troubleshoot and resolve issues with automation tools and workflows; Perform regular updates and maintenance to ensure compatibility and optimal performance.

· Continuous Innovation: Stay informed about emerging automation technologies, tools, and trends; Evaluate and recommend new technologies that could improve efficiency or scalability; Advocate for innovation and continuous improvement in processes across the organization.

Additional Duties and Responsibilities:

· Provide leaders with guidance related to employee systems adoption and impact on key process improvement opportunities

· Share lessons learned and success stories to encourage automation adoption across the organization

· Additional duties as assigned

Knowledge and Skills - Competencies

• Make Strategic Decisions: This team member fosters an inclusive decision-making environment by encouraging diverse perspectives, managing disagreements constructively, and creating space for all voices to be heard. They clearly communicate final decisions, providing context and anticipated impact-even when choices are difficult or unpopular.

• Manage Work and Teams: This team member ensures their direct reports have clear, measurable goals with defined benchmarks and success criteria. They actively monitor progress, intervening as needed to keep work on track, while balancing leadership responsibilities with their own individual contributions through effective scheduling.

• Grow Self and Others: This team member regularly offers affirming and adjusting feedback, maintaining a positive balance that reinforces growth and motivation. They provide transparent, candid performance insights and offer consistent coaching and development aligned with individual goals, supporting both direct reports and cross-functional partners.

• Build a Culture of Trust: This team member proactively builds strong personal and professional relationships with individual stakeholders and regularly seeks feedback to improve their work experience. They create a supportive environment where others feel safe to take risks and learn from mistakes without fear of retribution.

• Communicate Deliberately: This team member communicates thoughtfully by anticipating potential misunderstandings and providing necessary context to ensure clarity. They leverage structured communication channels to address challenges, ask meaningful questions, and guide conversations toward solutions, while actively listening to the concerns of others.

· Analytical and problem-solving skills

· Identify or collect data that is relevant to the problem/task/project

· Experience with BI and dashboarding tools like PowerBI or Tableau

· Experience with programming or scripting languages

· Experience handling large data sets and querying relational databases

· Basic familiarity with computational languages such as R, Python, Julia, STATA, SQL, Matlab.

· Basic familiarity with data visualization tools like ggplot2, Shiny, matplotlib, D3.js/Observable.js, PowerBI, Tableau

· Ability to work collaboratively in a group environment as well as independently

· Excellent customer service skills, both written and oral, and maintain confidentiality in all matter

· Ability to work in high-pressure situations

· Ability to set and meet deadlines

· Ability to backwards plan a project given a goal

· Excellent attention to detail

Required Education and Experience:

· Education: Associates or Bachelors Degree or Relevant Certification

· Experience: Minimum of 3 years of experience.

Preferred Education and Experience:

· Education: Bachelor’s degree in related field preferred. Relevant certification or significant equivalent combination of education and experience is also acceptable.

· Experience: High preference with those who have worked in school systems and/or are familiar with common education sector compensation practices.

Physical Requirements:

· Keyboarding: Entering text or data using a traditional keyboard.

· Alternate Sitting or Standing at Will: Flexibility to choose between sitting and standing as needed.

· Gross Manipulation: Compensation team members use their hands for tasks like typing and handling paperwork.

Salaries for people entering this role typically fall between $74,700 and $87,100, commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications and in alignment with internal equity. This role is also eligible for performance pay based on organizational performance and goal attainment.