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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Business Systems Specialist

💰 $ - $

Business SystemsITOperationsERPCRM

🎯 Role Definition

The Business Systems Specialist acts as the primary liaison between business stakeholders and IT/engineering teams to design, implement, support, and continuously improve enterprise applications and integrations. Responsible for end-to-end delivery of system changes—from requirements gathering, solution design, configuration, testing and training, to post-deployment support—this role ensures systems enable business processes, maintain data integrity, support reporting needs, and scale with organizational growth. Typical systems include ERP (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite), CRM (Salesforce, Dynamics), HRIS (Workday), and integration platforms (MuleSoft, Dell Boomi).

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Business Systems Analyst / Junior Systems Analyst
  • Functional Analyst or Operations Analyst with system experience
  • Technical Support Analyst or Application Support Specialist

Advancement To:

  • Senior Business Systems Specialist or Lead Systems Analyst
  • ERP/CRM Solutions Architect
  • IT Business Partner / Manager of Business Systems
  • Program Manager / Director of Applications

Lateral Moves:

  • Project Manager (IT/Business Projects)
  • Data Analyst / BI Developer
  • Process Improvement / Lean Six Sigma Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Serve as the primary business-IT liaison to gather, document, and validate detailed business requirements, use cases, and acceptance criteria for system enhancements, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and regulatory requirements.
  • Translate functional requirements into technical specifications and configuration plans for ERP/CRM/HRIS systems, including field mappings, workflows, custom objects, and security roles.
  • Lead and execute system configuration, parameterization, and administration tasks in enterprise applications (e.g., creating workflows, setting up approval chains, defining master data structures) while adhering to governance and change control.
  • Design, develop, and manage end-to-end integrations between core systems using APIs, middleware (MuleSoft, Dell Boomi, Informatica), flat-file processes, or custom connectors; coordinate with integration engineers to validate data integrity and throughput.
  • Perform complex data analysis, data mapping, ETL transformations, and data cleansing activities to support migrations, system updates, and reconciliations while ensuring accuracy and completeness of master and transactional data.
  • Build, maintain, and optimize reports, dashboards, and KPIs in BI tools (Power BI, Tableau, Looker) and native system reporting modules to provide actionable insights to business stakeholders and leadership.
  • Lead the functional design and execution of testing efforts: develop test plans, create test scripts, coordinate and manage system, integration, regression, and user acceptance testing (UAT) with cross-functional teams.
  • Drive deployment and release activities for system changes, document cutover plans, coordinate rollback strategies, and perform post-deployment validation and hypercare support to minimize business disruption.
  • Provide Tier 2/3 production support for assigned applications—investigate incidents, perform root cause analysis, implement fixes or workarounds, and coordinate vendor/escalation paths for resolution.
  • Develop and maintain comprehensive system documentation, run books, configuration logs, and standard operating procedures to support knowledge transfer and auditability.
  • Design and deliver end-user training materials, run training sessions and workshops, and create job aids and user guides to increase adoption and reduce support tickets.
  • Facilitate process mapping and business process re-engineering workshops to identify system-enabled process improvements, automation opportunities, and eliminate manual workarounds.
  • Manage and prioritize backlog of enhancement requests and defects using agile practices; participate in sprint planning, grooming sessions, and provide estimates for change requests.
  • Collaborate with security and compliance teams to implement role-based access controls, segregation of duties controls, and data protection measures to ensure regulatory and internal audit compliance.
  • Partner with vendors and third-party solution providers for system implementations, module upgrades, patching, and support contracts; manage SLAs and validate vendor deliverables.
  • Monitor system performance, availability, and usage metrics; recommend capacity planning, performance tuning, and optimization activities to maintain system health.
  • Create and execute data migration strategies and cutover plans for new implementations or consolidations, including reconciliation scripts and validation procedures to ensure zero-loss migrations.
  • Analyze change impacts across upstream/downstream systems, coordinate cross-system regression testing, and maintain a comprehensive impact matrix for complex changes.
  • Implement and support automation solutions (workflow automation, RPA handoffs, scheduled batch processes) to improve transaction processing speed and reduce manual interventions.
  • Maintain continuous improvement mindset: run retrospectives, capture lessons learned from projects and incidents, and propose scalable solutions that reduce technical debt.
  • Coordinate with finance, HR, sales, supply chain, and operations stakeholders to align system configurations with evolving business processes and seasonal demands.
  • Ensure documentation and system setups support internal and external audit requests; prepare evidence of controls, configurations, and testing performed for compliance reviews.
  • Support ad-hoc analytics requests and exploratory data analysis to answer business questions, validate hypotheses, and support decision-making with accurate, timely information.
  • Participate in product roadmap discussions and contribute system-level requirements to the organization’s data and application strategy, advocating for scalable and maintainable solutions.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Enterprise systems expertise: hands-on configuration and administration experience with ERP (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite) and/or CRM (Salesforce, Dynamics 365) platforms.
  • Integration knowledge: experience designing and troubleshooting integrations using APIs, REST/SOAP, middleware platforms (MuleSoft, Dell Boomi, Informatica) or custom ETL processes.
  • Strong SQL proficiency: write complex queries for data pulls, reconciliation, joins, window functions, and performance-aware database interrogation.
  • Reporting & BI tools: ability to author dashboards and reports in Power BI, Tableau, Looker, or native system report builders to deliver executive and operational metrics.
  • Data migration & ETL: experience designing mappings, transformation logic, validation scripts, and migration execution for system implementations.
  • Testing & QA: develop test plans, create test scripts, manage UAT, and execute regression testing across integrated systems.
  • Business process modeling: map, analyze, and optimize processes using BPMN, Visio, or similar tools to define system requirements and workflow automation.
  • Security & compliance: configure role-based access, SOD controls, and understand general data privacy and regulatory requirements (GDPR, SOX basics).
  • Scripting and automation: familiarity with scripting languages (Python, JavaScript) or RPA tools to automate routine tasks and integrations.
  • Agile & project collaboration: practical experience working in Agile/Scrum teams, using JIRA, Azure DevOps, or similar tools to manage requirements and deliverables.
  • System administration: user provisioning, security group management, environment refreshes, and release deployment processes.
  • Vendor management: coordinate with external suppliers, manage support tickets, and validate delivered changes during managed services engagements.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional stakeholder management: ability to influence, negotiate, and align cross-functional teams including business leaders, product owners, and engineers.
  • Analytical problem solving: strong root cause analysis skills and the ability to synthesize complex information into pragmatic, low-risk solutions.
  • Clear communicator: translate technical concepts into business language; excellent written documentation and presentation skills.
  • Prioritization and time management: balance competing demands, manage a backlog, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
  • Customer service orientation: provide timely, courteous support and follow-through to ensure high user satisfaction and adoption.
  • Adaptability and resilience: comfortable with ambiguity, changing priorities, and continuous improvement cycles.
  • Collaboration and teamwork: thrive in cross-functional teams, mentoring junior staff and facilitating consensus across stakeholders.
  • Attention to detail: meticulous in testing, configuration, and documentation to minimize operational risk.
  • Strategic thinking: connect system-level changes to broader business outcomes and ROI.
  • Leadership: lead small projects or workstreams, coordinate cross-functional resources, and drive delivery without direct authority.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Business Administration, Finance, Supply Chain, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree in Information Systems, Business Analytics, MBA, or equivalent advanced degree.
  • Professional certifications such as Salesforce Administrator/Platform, SAP Functional certification, PMP, CBAP, ITIL Foundation, or relevant integration/platform certifications.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Information Systems / Computer Science
  • Business Administration / Management
  • Finance / Accounting
  • Supply Chain / Operations Management
  • Data Analytics / Business Intelligence

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3–7 years of progressive experience supporting, configuring, or implementing enterprise systems (ERP/CRM/HRIS) in medium to large organizations.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years of experience with at least one major ERP or CRM platform and demonstrable experience leading integrations, data migrations, and multi-stakeholder deployments.
  • Proven track record in system implementations or major releases, with references or documented outcomes showing process improvements, reduced support volumes, or measurable efficiency gains.
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