Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for a Records Analyst

🎯 Role Definition

As a Records Analyst, you are the steward of our organization's information. You will play a pivotal role in developing, implementing, and maintaining our enterprise-wide Records and Information Management (RIM) program. This position requires a sharp, detail-oriented professional who can ensure the integrity, accessibility, and defensibility of our corporate records, from creation to final disposition. You will collaborate closely with Legal, IT, Compliance, and various business units to embed sound information governance principles into our daily operations, safeguarding our most critical assets and supporting our strategic objectives.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Records Coordinator
Administrative Specialist or Executive Assistant
Paralegal or Legal Assistant
Library Technician

Advancement To:

Senior Records Analyst
Records Manager
Information Governance Manager
eDiscovery and Litigation Support Specialist

Lateral Moves:

Compliance Analyst
Data Governance Analyst
Business Analyst (with a focus on information systems)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Manage the complete lifecycle of both physical and electronic records in accordance with established policies, retention schedules, and legal requirements.
Develop, review, and update records retention schedules by researching and interpreting legal and regulatory obligations and consulting with business and legal stakeholders.
Conduct comprehensive records inventories and audits across departments to ensure compliance with the corporate RIM program and identify areas for improvement.
Administer the organization's Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS), including user support, system configuration, and data integrity checks.
Process and coordinate responses to internal and external requests for information, including those related to audits, litigation, and subject access requests.
Execute and monitor legal holds (litigation holds), ensuring potentially relevant information is preserved and protected from destruction in a defensible manner.
Oversee the secure and documented destruction of records that have met their retention requirements, coordinating with approved vendors as necessary.
Provide expert advice, training, and ongoing support to all employees on records management best practices, policies, and procedures.
Classify, index, and apply appropriate metadata to electronic and physical records to ensure they are discoverable, accurate, and reliable.
Manage relationships with off-site records storage vendors, including monitoring service level agreements (SLAs), auditing invoices, and coordinating record transfers and retrievals.
Participate in the evaluation, selection, and implementation of new records management technologies and software to enhance program efficiency and effectiveness.
Author and maintain detailed documentation for RIM policies, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and user-guides.
Assist in the digitization and imaging of physical records, performing quality control to ensure legibility and accurate indexing of scanned documents.
Collaborate with the IT department on data migration projects to ensure records are properly managed and preserved during system transitions or upgrades.
Generate and present regular reports to management on RIM program health, compliance metrics, storage costs, and project status.
Support the Privacy Office in identifying and managing personal and sensitive information within company records to ensure compliance with data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).
Perform quality assurance on record-keeping practices across the organization, providing constructive feedback and remediation plans to business units.
Coordinate the systematic transfer of inactive and semi-active records from business units to designated central repositories or off-site storage facilities.
Ensure the preservation and security of vital records that are critical for business continuity and disaster recovery.
Act as a subject matter expert on records management during internal and external audits, providing evidence and explanation of program controls.

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 the development of data maps to track the flow of information across the organization.
Support privacy-related initiatives, such as Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs), by locating and retrieving relevant records.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Deep knowledge of records and information management (RIM) principles, standards, and best practices.
Proficiency with Electronic Document and Records Management Systems (EDRMS), such as SharePoint, OpenText, M-Files, or similar platforms.
Comprehensive understanding of legal and regulatory requirements for records retention (e.g., SOX, HIPAA, GDPR, industry-specific rules).
Experience in developing, implementing, and maintaining records retention schedules.
Familiarity with the eDiscovery (EDRM) model and experience managing legal hold processes and technologies.
Expertise in information classification, taxonomy development, and metadata application.
Experience with physical records management, including inventory, boxing, and off-site storage vendor management.
Competency in using document imaging/scanning hardware and software (e.g., Kofax, ABBYY).
Strong proficiency in the Microsoft Office 365 suite, especially Excel for tracking, reporting, and analysis.
Ability to conduct formal records inventories and compliance audits.
Basic understanding of database principles; SQL query skills are a significant plus.

Soft Skills

Exceptional attention to detail and a high degree of accuracy in all work.
Strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex concepts to non-technical audiences.
High level of integrity, discretion, and the ability to handle sensitive and confidential information professionally.
Proven ability to work independently with minimal supervision and collaboratively as part of a team.
Strong organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.
Customer-service oriented mindset with strong interpersonal skills for advising and training staff.
Adaptability and a proactive approach to learning and implementing new technologies and processes.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Library and Information Science (MLIS), Archives and Records Administration, or Information Governance.
Certified Records Analyst (CRA) or Certified Records Manager (CRM) designation is highly desirable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Information Management
Library and Information Science
Business Administration
History or Archival Studies
Legal Studies or Paralegal Studies

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

3-5 years of progressive experience in a dedicated records management, information governance, or a directly related role.

Preferred:

Experience working in a regulated industry, such as financial services, legal, healthcare, pharmaceutical, or energy.
Demonstrated experience managing both physical and complex electronic records management programs.
Proven project management experience related to RIM initiatives (e.g., system implementation, policy rollout, clean-up projects).