HR DATA ANALYTICS SPECIALIST (HYBRID)

At McMaster University, our people are our most valuable asset.  We strive to attract, develop, and retain talented faculty and staff, and to foster inclusive excellence which values the strengths, perspectives, and contributions of each individual.  McMaster’s profile and stature has evolved to one of the Top 100 Universities in the World and recognition as Canada’s Most Research Intense University.  McMaster is a diverse and complex institution, home to almost 30,000 graduate and undergraduate students who study across six faculties and employing approximately 14,000 individuals annually in more than 20 unique employee groups. McMaster has been continuously recognized as one of the top employers in the Hamilton/Niagara region, and one of Canada’s Top Diversity employers.

About Human Resources

McMaster University is multi-faceted with multiple locations and constituencies. As a result, Human Resources support and services at McMaster have developed over time to meet a spectrum of stakeholder needs. The Human Resources Services team consists of functional units such as the HR Operations (Payroll Services, Client Advisory Services, Data Management, People Analytics, HR Technology and Process Optimization) Talent Equity and Development, Employee & Labour Relations, Total Rewards, Employee Health & Wellness, Environmental & Occupational Health & Safety; who enable the delivery of comprehensive Human Resources programs and services in collaboration with leaders, HR area offices and HR practitioners across our community. Human Resources at McMaster is on a journey to improve the processes, technologies and methodologies used in HR data analysis to better leverage the available HR data assets in support of data-based insights and decision making at the University.

The Role

As a key member of the HR Systems Strategy and Analytics team, the HR Data Analytics Specialist will be accountable for the production, analysis and interpretation of employee data used for operational and tactical decision making and strategic workforce planning.  The Specialist will bring problem-solving and lean thinking to deliver analytics supporting HR goals and objectives, and products for department managers and senior leaders across the organization. Experience with HR ERP and information systems (ideally PeopleSoft), query building and SQL, business intelligence (BI) software, data models and data visualization tools would be an asset.

In a collaborative team environment, which embraces the values of teamwork, respect, accountability, inclusiveness and service, the Specialist will:

• Play a key role in advancing the development of HR analytics and reporting capabilities, tools, and methodologies via various platforms (e.g.: PeopleSoft; Microsoft Excel and Power BI; Oracle BI).
• Leverage available and emerging technologies, to provide enhanced self-service reporting to the broader HR community by designing and implementing queries, reports, data visualizations, and dashboards, working collaboratively with HR team members, University Technology Services (UTS) and other partners.
• Work with HR leaders to develop effective and meaningful measures, metrics, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Conduct data exploration and deep-dive analysis leveraging employee workforce lifecycle, time and absence, recruiting, benefits, and payroll datasets for McMaster’s more than 14,000 employees across 20 employee groups, and effectively interpret the story behind information being analyzed.
• Work with the HR Strategic Implementation Team to deliver data analysis in support of projects adoption and benefits realization analysis, including process metrics and project benefit realization measures.
• Provide data analysis reports and cost modeling to support various HR and University-wide initiatives (e.g.: HR budget; UniForum benchmarking surveys; cyclical reporting needs; HR operational, client support and business partner needs; employment equity and diversity; data audits)
• Be a champion for data governance, data management best practices and data quality, including supporting University-wide data governance initiatives and maintenance of HR's contributions to the Data Cookbook software
• Provide general support and guidance on utilizing available data analysis tools to HR team members and partners.

This role requires a professional knowledge leader that has demonstrated the ability to balance their data analytics expertise with the strong ability to build partnerships in support of achieving collaborative goals and outcomes. You will bring superb critical thinking, problem-solving, storytelling and consulting skills to not only manipulate data but also derive meaningful interpretations from data with the ability to articulate key themes in an effective and impactful way.

Minimum Qualifications and Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree in business, human resources management, a quantitative discipline, or a related field.
• Minimum of 3 years experience in HRIS and ERP systems (PeopleSoft experience preferred), Business Intelligence, Data Analytics and/or related fields.
• Ability to understand HR processes, data and reporting needs in areas such as workforce data, payroll, benefits, and recruitment to develop creative analysis approaches to provide key data-driven insights and tell a compelling story.
• Expertise in SQL, Microsoft Excel and Power BI, and relational databases.
• Knowledge of reporting tools within PeopleSoft or similar ERP system (e.g.: SQL, Query Manager; Simplified Analytics; Kibana Analytics) and Oracle Business Intelligence Suite Enterprise Edition (OBIEE) would be an asset.
• Data literacy regarding data sources, data quality, definitions, analysis concepts, and visualizations

As part of McMaster’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusivity, applicants will be invited to complete McMaster's confidential diversity survey.