Data Analyst at The National Student Financial Aid Scheme(NSFAS)

POSITION OVERVIEW:

• Responsible for collecting, processing, and performing statistical analysis on large data sets to identify trends patterns and correlations that can inform organizational decision-making and performing root cause analysis. The responsibilities include data collection and cleaning, statistical analysis, creating reports and visualizations for non-technical audiences, collaborating across departments to support data driven decisions and ensuring data quality.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
Data Analysis and Interpretation

• Gather data from primary and secondary sources, then reorganise this data in a format that can be easily analysed.
• Collect and analyse complex data sets to identify trends, patterns, and insights.
• Translate business requirements from stakeholders into measurable and actionable KPIs.
• Provide clear and concise reports to stakeholders, highlighting key findings and recommendations
• Review and ensure integrity of data, performing data profiling and data modelling to understand and identify anomalies.
• Responsible for data analysis activities including data mining, trend analysis, extracting actionable insights that support decision making.
• Contribute to the development of strategies to improve data collection, analysis and reporting processed within across departments/stakeholders.

Data warehousing

• Design and develop Datawarehouse dimensions and facts.
• Ensures integrity of the data received.
• Design, build and deploy solutions to automate monotonous data management tasks and help others get the most out of data management systems by providing support and advice.
• Build and manage extract, transform and lLoad (ETL) jobs in support of interfaces between the organization's business application systems and data warehouses.

Reporting and Dashboard Development

• Build Interactive dashboards and reports using BI tools (e.g. Power BI) to facilitate data-driven decision-making.
• Design and develop reports.
• Create compelling data visualizations that effectively communicate insights to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Develop and maintain data models to support reporting and analysis needs.
• Support collection of business requirements using a variety of methods such as interviews, document analysis, and workflow analysis to express requirements clearly and succinctly.
• Participation in organizational AI efforts

Collaboration and Communication

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand business requirements and ensure BI solutions align with organizational goals.
• Communicate findings and insights in a clear and understandable manner to stakeholders at various levels.
• Train end-users on basic functionality

Continuous Improvement.

• Stay abreast of industry trends and best practices in data analytics.
• Identify opportunities for process improvements and automation to enhance efficiency.
• Continuous learning and research of best practice development in data modelling, profiling, validation, integration, match & merge solutions and/or packages.

Risk and Compliance

• Ensure data accuracy, integrity, and security by implementing and adhering to data governance policies and procedures.
• Evaluate internal processes for efficiency, problems, and inaccuracies.
• Responsible for the handling, processing, and cleansing of data.
• Support the implementation of identified key controls and established risk mitigation procedures.
• Work closely with IT and other relevant teams to address data quality issues.
• Assist with policies and procedures for the collection and analysis of data.

DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
Minimum requirements:

• NQF Level 7 in data science, Engineering, Project Management or related.
• 4-6 Years’ experience in the ICT Domain of which at least 3 should be focused on Data Analysis
• Advanced knowledge of SQL/Python/BI.
• Technical proficiency regarding database design, data models, techniques for data mining and segmentation.
• Proficiency in statistics and statistical packages like Excel
• Advanced experience in database management.

Preferred

• NQF Level 8 in Data Science Engineering or related Degree.
• Data Engineering Certifications
• Cloud Computing Certifications
• Project management Skills
• Knowledge of the higher education sector
• Knowledge of SSSIS
• Knowledge of data warehousing
• In depth knowledge of automation, database querying and stored procedure.

Skills and Competencies:

• Problem-solving skills
• Planning skills
• Organising skills
• Communication skills
• Analytical thinking