The analyst position plays a critical role in providing senior management with valuable information and insights that influence business decisions. Whether it's business analytics or data analysis, failing to attract top talent for this role can result in management making the wrong decisions or failing to act altogether. Therefore, it is crucial to use a well-crafted business or data analyst job description to advertise your vacancy and gain an edge over your competition.
When crafting a job description for a business or data analyst role, it's essential to consider the type of data analysis involved (business, financial, compliance, healthcare, etc.) and the job's responsibilities, duties, required skills, and education. With so much to take into account, employers often rely on our job description templates to create a solid foundation. Using an analyst job description template will help you attract experienced data analysts who are aligned with your business objectives.
What Do Analysts Do?
It can be argued that all analysts are, in essence, data analysts because their work involves collecting data, conducting research and analysis, and identifying areas for improvement within a business. They may gather data by conducting surveys, running tests, or analyzing data from different areas of the organization. The data they work with could encompass a wide range of information, such as customer demographics, employment figures, or sales statistics.
Subsequently, data analysts use their expertise to interpret the data, run queries, create visualizations, and provide meaningful insights that support business decision-making.
Analysts Positions and Titles
The demand for data analysts is high across various industries, making it a sought-after profession. The success of a data analyst depends on their analytical skills, knowledge of statistical techniques, and familiarity with the nature of the data they are analyzing. For instance, marketing agencies may look for a data analyst with a background in consumer research and customer demographics, while finance companies may prefer candidates with statistical efficiency in handling complex financial data.
Some of the common types of analyst roles, include:
- Business Analysts
- Data Analysts
- Financial Analysts
- IT Analysts
- Marketing Analysts
- Risk Analysts
- Systems Analysts
Analysts Responsibilities and Duties
When creating a job description for a data analyst role, it's important to outline the objectives, responsibilities, tasks, and duties of the position. Although the raw data being analyzed may vary, typical duties and responsibilities include:
- Developing policies, procedures, and techniques for data mining and data cleansing
- Conducting database design and development
- Setting up automated data analysis processes
- Designing and analyzing survey data
- Utilizing data analysis tools and software, such as Microsoft Access
- Identifying trends and changes in data
- Tracking key performance indicators
- Using existing data models to create forecasts
- Collaborating with internal and external clients
- Using relevant data to recommend changes and improvements
- Updating and presenting ongoing reports using reporting packages
- Creating data visualizations, graphs, and dashboards
- Preparing competitor benchmarking
- Ensuring ethical information management and compliance with data protection laws
Essential Analysts Skills
When crafting a data analyst job description, it's important to clearly outline the soft skills required for the role. Employers can use these skills to filter resumes and structure interview questions and basic competency tests. Some of the top data analysis skills to look for include:
- Strong numeracy and statistical analysis skills
- Experience using statistical techniques and methodologies
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate effectively
- Strong problem-solving skills
- Ability to create compelling presentations
- Familiarity with programming languages and data analysis tools
- Experience working with relational databases, such as Microsoft Access
- Proficiency using Google Analytics and conducting keyword analysis
- Business administration skills
- Ability to document workflows and processes
- Proficiency in validating data and conducting quality control, including identifying reliable and unreliable data
- Knowledge of data protection laws
- Ability to create clear data visualizations and graphical representations
- Strong attention to detail
Analysts Education and Qualifications
Typically, data analysts possess an undergraduate degree, and any degree related to your business sector can be advantageous. Your industry and the type of data your company deals with may dictate specific degree requirements, such as Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Computer Science, Business Information Systems, or Information Management.
While not always necessary, many data analysts pursue a graduate degree in Data Science, which can include a Master's degree in Big Data, Business Analytics, or Data Science and Analytics. Holding such a degree would indicate that you are a competent data analyst with advanced skills and education.
To demonstrate their data analysis abilities, highly skilled analysts may obtain certification from organizations such as BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT or pursue qualifications accredited by The Operational Research Society or Royal Statistical Society.
For systems analysts, a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology Management for Business accredited by Tech Industry Gold is a valuable qualification. Marketing agencies may require qualifications from organizations such as The Market Research Society or The Chartered Institute of Marketing.
In the case of financial or investment data analyst jobs, a CFA Society UK Investment Management Certificate and Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment Investment Advice Diploma may be mandatory.
Analysts Training and Experience
While certain data analyst roles necessitate accumulating years of hands-on experience and acquiring valuable industry expertise, many other data analysts begin their careers as junior data analysts by completing a Data Technician Apprenticeship program.
Frequently Asked Questions about Analysts Job Descriptions
Here we answer your FAQs on analysts job descriptions.