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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Operations Analyst

💰 $ - $

🎯 Role Definition

An Operations Analyst is responsible for diagnosing operational issues, improving processes, and providing actionable insights through data analysis and stakeholder collaboration. The role combines quantitative analysis, project coordination, and continuous improvement to ensure efficient, scalable, and compliant operational workflows across functions such as finance, customer service, supply chain, or product operations. Strong candidates demonstrate technical fluency (SQL, Excel, analytics / BI tools), exceptional problem-solving, and the ability to translate data into prioritized execution plans that reduce cost, risk, and cycle times.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Operations Coordinator / Operations Associate
  • Business Analyst / Junior Data Analyst
  • Customer Support Analyst or Service Operations Representative

Advancement To:

  • Senior Operations Analyst
  • Operations Manager / Program Manager
  • Head of Operational Excellence or Director of Operations
  • Product Operations or Strategy Lead

Lateral Moves:

  • Data Analyst / Business Intelligence Analyst
  • Process Improvement Specialist (Lean / Six Sigma)
  • Risk & Compliance Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Analyze daily, weekly and monthly operational performance metrics, create accurate dashboards and KPIs, and present actionable insights to cross-functional stakeholders to drive continuous process improvement and meet SLA targets.
  • Design and maintain repeatable data pipelines and reporting templates (SQL queries, Excel models, BI dashboards) to ensure stakeholders receive timely, accurate, and context-rich operational information.
  • Conduct root cause analysis on operational incidents, outliers, and trends; produce clear remediation plans, implement corrective actions, and track results to close feedback loops and prevent recurrence.
  • Partner with product, engineering, customer success, finance, and compliance teams to translate business requirements into operational specifications, prioritizing initiatives that yield the highest impact on cost, quality, and speed.
  • Lead or coordinate end-to-end process improvement projects, using Lean, Six Sigma, or other continuous improvement frameworks to map current-state processes, identify waste, and implement standardized SOPs.
  • Develop, document, and update Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), playbooks, and training materials to raise operational consistency and reduce onboarding time for new team members.
  • Monitor and reconcile operational data across multiple systems (CRM, ERP, ticketing platforms), identifying discrepancies, data integrity issues, and recommending system or process changes to improve reliability.
  • Support forecasting and capacity planning by analyzing volume trends, throughput, and resource utilization; recommend staffing models, shift patterns, and automation to balance service levels with cost efficiency.
  • Build and maintain automated alerts and exception workflows to flag SLA breaches, compliance risks, and unusual activity, ensuring timely escalations and remediation by owners.
  • Evaluate and recommend tooling and automation opportunities (RPA, macros, integrations) that eliminate repetitive manual tasks and reduce error rates while documenting business cases and ROI.
  • Manage cross-functional projects, coordinate stakeholders, define success metrics, develop project plans, and communicate status and risks to senior leadership.
  • Conduct quality assurance and sampling programs to measure process adherence, accuracy, and customer impact; compile findings into executive-ready reports with prioritized recommendations.
  • Execute ad-hoc quantitative analyses (cohort, cohort retention, shrinkage, root cause) to answer strategic and tactical business questions and inform leadership decisions.
  • Implement and maintain operational controls to mitigate risk and ensure compliance with internal policies and external regulations (KYC, AML, SOX, GDPR) relevant to the business.
  • Provide subject-matter expertise during product launches, pricing changes, or policy rollouts to ensure operational readiness, optimal workflows, and minimized downstream support impact.
  • Facilitate cross-functional playbook rehearsals and incident response simulations to test and refine business continuity and operational recovery plans.
  • Lead vendor or partner performance assessments, monitor SLAs, and coordinate remediation to drive consistent third-party performance and contractual compliance.
  • Track and optimize cost drivers within operations (transactional costs, error rates, manual touchpoints), producing regular insights and optimization recommendations that improve unit economics.
  • Conduct stakeholder interviews and requirements gathering to translate qualitative feedback into measurable operational improvements and prioritized backlogs.
  • Prepare executive-level presentations that synthesize complex operational data into concise narratives, recommended actions, and clearly defined owner/timeframe for implementation.
  • Design, run, and interpret A/B or controlled experiments where applicable to validate operational changes or feature releases and quantify impact before broad roll-out.
  • Act as a concierge for data and process questions, mentoring junior analysts and operations staff to improve analytical capabilities and operational discipline across the organization.
  • Maintain operational readiness during peak periods and special events by running scenario analysis, contingency plans, surge staffing strategies, and rapid response playbooks.
  • Manage and participate in the continuous improvement of onboarding and training programs for operational team members to maintain a high-quality, consistent customer experience.

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.
  • Assist in month-end close activities and reconciliations where operational metrics feed into financial reporting.
  • Help maintain the data governance catalog by documenting data definitions, owners, and lineage for operational KPIs.
  • Provide operational input to product requirement documents (PRDs) to ensure features meet serviceability and supportability requirements.
  • Support audit requests by preparing evidence, process maps, and control results to demonstrate compliance and remediation progress.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • SQL querying and optimization — extract, join, and aggregate data from multiple sources to generate repeatable operational reports and ad-hoc analysis.
  • Advanced Excel (pivot tables, INDEX/MATCH, Power Query, macros) — build robust financial and operational models, reconciliations, and what-if analyses.
  • Data visualization & BI tools (Tableau, Looker, Power BI) — design dashboards that communicate KPIs, trends, and recommendations to technical and non-technical audiences.
  • Process mapping and improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen) — define current-state, identify waste, and implement measurable process changes.
  • Scripting and automation basics (Python, R, VBA, or RPA tools) — automate repetitive tasks, data transformations, and build proof-of-concepts for scaling manual workflows.
  • Ticketing and workflow systems (Zendesk, Jira, ServiceNow) — manage operational queues, SLAs, and workflow optimizations.
  • Reporting and monitoring frameworks — build and maintain alerting for SLA breaches, anomaly detection, and operational health.
  • Statistical analysis and experimentation design — run A/B tests, hypothesis testing, and impact analysis to measure the effect of operational changes.
  • Financial acumen — understand unit economics, cost drivers, and P&L implications of operational decisions.
  • Compliance and risk management — apply policy controls, documentation standards, and compliance monitoring to reduce operational risk.
  • ERPs and CRM familiarity (Salesforce, Netsuite, SAP) — reconcile and validate operational data across core systems.
  • Project management skills — manage cross-functional deliverables, timelines, dependency tracking, and stakeholder communication.

Soft Skills

  • Strong problem-solving and analytical thinking — break down ambiguous problems, prioritize root causes, and recommend pragmatic solutions.
  • Clear written and verbal communication — translate complex analyses into concise recommendations and executive-ready presentations.
  • Stakeholder management and influence — build trust across teams, negotiate tradeoffs, and secure alignment for operational change.
  • Attention to detail and quality orientation — ensure accuracy in reporting and process execution, minimizing rework and customer impact.
  • Time management and prioritization — handle multiple concurrent requests and projects, meeting deadlines with stable quality.
  • Adaptability and resilience — respond to fast-paced change, operational incidents, and shifting business priorities with composure.
  • Coaching and mentoring — develop junior team members’ analytical skills and operational discipline.
  • Critical thinking and business judgment — combine data insights with strategic context to recommend high-impact priorities.
  • Collaborative team player — work cross-functionally and facilitate consensus to implement process improvements.
  • Proactive mindset — anticipate issues, design preventative controls, and propose long-term improvements rather than only firefighting.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Industrial Engineering, Statistics, Data Science, or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's or master’s degree in Analytics, Operations Research, MBA, or related advanced degree.
  • Certifications such as Lean/Six Sigma (Green/Black Belt), PMP, or relevant analytics certificates (Google Data Analytics, Tableau) are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration
  • Operations Management
  • Finance / Accounting
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Data Science / Statistics
  • Economics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 1–5 years of experience in operations, business analysis, data analysis, or similar roles; varies by company and seniority.

Preferred:

  • 2–4+ years as an operations analyst, business analyst, or in a role with heavy process ownership and cross-functional project experience.
  • Demonstrated experience building SQL-based reports, dashboards, and operational playbooks; track record of delivering measurable process improvements.
  • Experience with stakeholder management in fast-paced environments (startups, scale-ups, or complex matrix organizations) and familiarity with compliance-driven industries is advantageous.
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