Business Systems Analyst

Equity Residential is an S&P 500 real estate company and an industry leading multi-family REIT, headquartered in downtown Chicago.  Our portfolio of high-quality properties in urban growth markets – New York City, Boston, Washington DC, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles – provides homes where people most want to live, work and play. We've got the best people in the business, and our experience shows in our dedication to our residents and in how much we value each other as colleagues. That’s why our employees say they are proud to work at Equity, a company that gives our residents a place where they can Live Remarkably, and offers a culture where our employees have the opportunity to make their mark.

As a Business Systems Analyst on the Information Technology team, you will be responsible for aligning technology for the Finance, Accounting, and Investments teams to business strategy.  Your role is to work closely with leaders to understand business technology objectives, determine where improvements can be made, and help develop systems and processes that benefit those business improvement goals. Therefore, core responsibilities include: gathering and translating business requirements into functional and technical design documents/mockups, as well as drafting and executing software test scripts. You will have an opportunity to serve as the technical subject-matter expert and provide guidance to cross-functional teams and internal business partners in order to effectively deliver technology initiatives. Each day will be unique, requiring an ability to think strategically, take initiative, and employ a diverse set of skills. Above all, you’ll have a direct hand in delivering quality tools that meet business objectives and enable your Finance, Accounting, and Investments business partners to be most successful in driving the organization forward to achieve day-to-day goals.

• Knowledgeable & Analytical. Your background includes a combination of business and information technology, which you’ve built through both educational and professional experiences.  You’re comfortable with information gathering, data collection, and data analysis, in addition to problem solving with a customer focus in mind.  You also have a broad-based familiarity with building data models, evaluating trends, and identifying areas for improvement. Without a doubt, you’ve got strong analytical skills and you know how to apply them accordingly across a variety of data-related activities.
• Technologically Savvy. You’re knowledgeable about the Google (G Suite) platform and how it can enable collaboration and productivity. You’ve got a solid proficiency in writing SQL queries. You’re also comfortable working with relational database concepts and have a knack for quickly mastering new software.  In other words, technology is one of your closest friends!
• Business Liaison. When it comes to integrating business process with systems you enjoy being the conduit with your business partners to lead the project execution and train affected users. You work closely with business partners to gather needs systematically, review viable solutions, test new functionality along the way, and track post-implementation results. Data helps you schedule work, implement agreed-upon changes, and complete assigned projects timely.
• Strong Communicator. Your writing and speaking skills are clear, articulate, and effective, demonstrating your ability to interact with all levels and various teams within the organization and be understood.  In addition, you’re skilled in compiling and delivering presentations that help to coordinate efforts between business partners and IT.  By delivering clear communication, you help to ensure that projects stay on time, deliverables meet budget, and key stakeholders are aware of project statuses.
• Passionate. Motivated. Eager to Learn.  You are resourceful, ask smart questions, challenge the status quo, and regularly seek to understand. You invest extra energy to reach your goals. And when a special project arises, you volunteer!

• Analyze and document business requirements for projects and software customizations or configurations, you will work hand in hand with business partners and development staff to translate requirements into deliverables.
• Conduct vendor software analyses to compare and evaluate products and determine which solutions best meet our needs.  You will also perform build-vs-buy assessments and present recommendations to leaders.  
• Review and present software upgrades to business partners; once new or enhanced functionality has been released, you will analyze and test new features and help guide your business partners on using new functionality. 
• Identify opportunities to leverage the Google (G Suite) platform in order to support and enhance business partner collaboration and productivity needs; work directly with business partners to understand and define needs, then research and present potential G Suite solutions.
• Write SQL statements in order to analyze and compare datasets, looking for trends, issues, or areas for improvement.
• Implement and manage standard testing procedures for system changes, which may include creating, reviewing, executing, and tracking test plans and results.  You will also be responsible for validating testing procedures to ensure they meet both business and technical requirements.
• Provide assistance to IT Support team by reviewing issues reported from end users, determining and reconciling discrepancies, solving for root cause of errors, and establishing procedures to correct them.
• Perform additional analysis, special projects, and other duties, as needed.

• Bachelor's degree preferred, with an emphasis in business or information technology desired.
• 3+ years relevant business analysis and/or consulting work experience required. 
• Strong analytical skills, problem solving capabilities, as well as project management experience desired.
• Strong communication and presentation skills – able to speak and write in a clear and articulate manner to all levels of the organization.
• Experience utilizing Google G Suite products a plus!
• Solid experience utilizing Agile solution delivery lifecycle methodologies.
• Must be proficient in documenting use cases and experienced in software quality assurance and technology testing practices. 
• Proven strong work ethic, ability to make decisions, and adaptable to changing priorities in a fast-paced environment, without sacrificing quality of work product. Detail-oriented and well-organized, with an exceptional ability to multitask.
• Team player that demonstrates flexibility and the ability to integrate and work well with others.
• Motivated to succeed with capacity to assume increasing responsibility.