The Boston Retirement Board seeks to provide accurate, timely, and consistent guidance and benefits to its members. Reporting to the Director of Technology, the IT Business Analyst supports all aspects of technology that enable the Boston Retirement System to achieve its goals related to productivity and quality of service for its members. The IT Business Analyst is a liaison between business users, the City of Boston Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT), the Boston Redevelopment Authority d/b/a Boston Planning & Development Agency, the Boston Public Health Commission, the Boston Housing Authority, the Boston Water & Sewer Commission and the vendor technical support team, focusing on the Vitech - BRS benefit pension benefit software (V3). The primary role of this position is to ensure business needs are well-understood and documented, then tested thoroughly before moving them into production, as well as acting as the tester for all changes, upgrades, and fixes.

• Troubleshoot any BRS benefit software application-related issues reported by users or detected by other technical staff (including autonomous agencies, other City departments, vendors, and third parties). Identifies short- and long-term solutions.
• Helps with system updates (may require on-site work outside of regular business hours), including primary responsibility for post-change testing to identify and address any issues as soon as possible.
• Executes data imports that run on a weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly basis between outside parties and the BRS benefit software application software. Ensures that imports are completed in an accurate and timely manner and communicates with end users once updates are complete. Reviews errors and resolves issues; requests updates from employers as necessary for new updates, e.g., job codes, and then updates factor tables and re-runs the import. Review errors and exceptions with members of the department to determine if messages are no longer relevant and can be removed.
• Schedules all batch processes, including, but not limited to Refunds, Deduction import, Demographic import, and Payroll to generate weekly reports for multiple audiences. Actively checks Exception Reports for errors and takes appropriate action to mitigate those errors by contacting employers, internal departments, and BRS staff.
• Produces and/or works with Vitech to produce on-demand data queries and verifies data before disseminating to the requestor(s). Documents all requests and coordinates the development of recurring database queries with vendors. Works with staff to clarify on-demand data queries and verifies data before disseminating to the requestor(s).
• Manages third-party deduction updates. Coordinates updates with third parties, including timing, format, and error corrections. Answers simple data requests from third parties as needed. Disseminates reports to end audiences.
• Participates in all User Acceptance Testing to make sure requirements have been met; participates in other testing as needed as part of the end-to-end testing team, including testing of difficult cases.
• Assists when requested by staff and management to help process a member’s case, including functions typically performed by members of the Operations Group (Member Services, Compliance and QA, and Disability processing).
• Participates in all cross-team system design sessions for BRS benefit software application enhancements, including, but not limited to, Pension Report functionality, Excel card features, CRM, and Member Self-Service.
• Creates and verifies Weekly/Monthly Payroll batch jobs in BRS benefit software application, along with verifying completion; notifies personnel of completion and distributes monthly reports internally/externally.
• Makes corrections on the physical file when necessary on a limited basis so as not to change original data.
• Maintains a log of all demographic & deduction files that have been imported electronically.
• Contact agencies to rectify errors on the files that prevent importing of the data into the BRS benefit software application. Correct exceptions that are identified weekly in the files. Maintains a log and ensures that all is rectified in a timely manner.
• Communicates weekly when deduction files have been imported to all interested parties within the office.
• Assists with special projects as assigned by senior management.
• Identifies technology and V3 training needs.
• Performs related work as required.

• At least three to four (3-4) years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, experience as a quality assurance specialist or other software testing role.
• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Information Technology, Computer Science, Data Management, or a related field is highly preferred and may be substituted for two (2) years of the required experience. A master’s degree from an accredited college or university in the above-listed fields may be substituted for an additional year of experience.
• Experience in a business-technology role is highly preferred. Preferred experience includes business analyst and project manager.
• Experience providing technology support to a non-technical group of users is highly preferred, and experience in the public sector is highly desired.
• Knowledge of hardware platforms, MS applications, outsourcing, and hosting.
• Working knowledge of BRS benefit software application (V3) is strongly preferred. Good understanding of relational databases; database concepts, how applications tie into the databases, and the technical relationships of a variety of database products. Familiarity with the City of Boston - DoIT department is beneficial but not required.
• Ability to work effectively in a team-oriented, multi-cultural environment; to work in cross-functional teams; to work independently with little direct oversight; to communicate accurate and useful status updates; to analyze business processes; to produce data queries and verify data; and to perform documentation, presentation, and testing.
• Working knowledge and experience with PC hardware, printers, scanners, Apple products, and relevant software applications is strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of cybersecurity principles is a plus.
• Working knowledge of computer networking concepts and protocols, as well as network security methodologies.
• Candidates must demonstrate strong interpersonal skills, presentation abilities, and effective problem-solving skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication and organizational skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft applications and Google Suite.
• Ability to exercise good judgment and focus on detail as required by the job.

BOSTON RESIDENCY REQUIRED

Terms:
Union/Salary Plan/Grade: SENA/MM1-8
Hours per week: 35