Data & Insights Analyst (JHB) at Datafin Recruitment

ENVIRONMENT:

• ESTABLISH a central business intelligence capability for the organization, translating raw data into actionable insights that drive better business outcomes as the next Data & Insights Analyst sought by a Leading Retailer.
• This role contributes to building data-driven decision-making capability by improving visibility into business performance and strengthening the reliability and quality of organisational data.
• The successful incumbent must possess a relevant tertiary qualification in Data Science/Statistics/Mathematics/Business Analytics or related field with foundational to solid experience in Data Analysis, Business Intelligence, or reporting, including hands-on work with data visualization tools, SQL, and business reporting.

DUTIES:

Value to the business –

• Provides visibility into business performance across retail, commercial, supply chain, and digital channels, enabling leadership to identify trends, opportunities, and risks quickly.
• Enables data-driven decision-making by delivering timely, accurate insights and reports that support strategic and operational choices across the organization.
• Improves reliability and quality of organisational data by identifying inconsistencies, validating data sources, and working with system owners to enhance data accuracy.
• Supports operational and commercial improvement initiatives by analysing sales, inventory, customer, and operational data to uncover performance patterns and improvement opportunities.
• Reduces decision-making risk by providing evidence-based analysis that validates assumptions and highlights potential issues before they become problems.
• Builds organizational capability by establishing reporting structures, dashboards, and analytics practices that can scale as the business grows.

Business Insight Generation –

• Analyse data across retail, commercial, supply chain, and digital channels to identify trends, patterns, and performance drivers.
• Translate complex data into clear, actionable insights for decision-makers at all levels.
• Conduct ad-hoc analysis to answer specific business questions and support strategic initiatives.
• Monitor key business metrics and proactively flag anomalies, risks, or opportunities.

Decision Support & Reporting –

• Develop and maintain executive dashboards and management reports that provide visibility into business performance.
• Prepare regular performance reports for leadership covering sales, inventory, operations, and customer metrics.
• Support forecasting and planning activities with data-driven analysis and trend projections.
• Present insights and recommendations to stakeholders in clear, non-technical language.

Data Quality & Visibility –

• Identify inconsistencies, gaps, and quality issues in data sources across systems.
• Work with IT, Finance, and operational teams to improve data accuracy and reliability.
• Validate data integrity and ensure reporting systems reflect accurate business performance.
• Document data definitions, sources, and methodologies to improve organizational data literacy.

Cross-Functional Collaboration –

• Partner with Retail, Commercial, Supply Chain, Finance, and Marketing teams to understand their data needs.
• Collaborate with system owners to improve data extraction, transformation, and reporting processes.
• Support business units with data requests, analysis, and interpretation.
• Act as a central point of contact for data-related questions and insights across the organization.

REQUIREMENTS:

Qualifications –

• A relevant tertiary qualification in Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Business Analytics, Information Systems, Finance, Economics, or a related field is typically expected for this role.

Experience/Skills –

• The role typically requires foundational to solid experience in Data Analysis, Business Intelligence, or reporting, including hands-on work with data visualization tools, SQL, and business reporting.
• Experience working with Retail, Commercial, or Supply Chain data is important, particularly in multi-company environments.
• Exposure to office supplies, retail, wholesale, or B2B distribution environments is particularly relevant.
• Building dashboards and reports using QlikView or Qlik Sense, with experience in Power BI, Tableau, or similar tools being advantageous.
• Writing SQL queries to extract and transform data from databases.
• Analysing sales, inventory, or operational data to identify trends and insights.
• Working with stakeholders to understand their data needs and translate them into reports.
• Validating data quality and identifying inconsistencies across systems.
• Supporting business decision-making through data-driven analysis and recommendations.
• Data Analysis and Statistical Analysis.
• SQL and database querying.
• Python or similar Data Analysis tools.
• Data visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau).
• Communication of insights to non-technical stakeholders.
• Advanced Excel and spreadsheet modelling.
• Data storytelling.
• Data extraction and transformation.
• Business Intelligence and reporting tools.
• Translating data into actionable insights.
• Data quality and validation processes.

Advantageous –

• Postgraduate qualifications in Data Analytics, Business Intelligence, or related fields may be advantageous but are not essential.
• Professional Certifications in Data Analytics or Business Intelligence may also be beneficial where relevant.
• Using AI /Machine Learning to gain predictive insights.

ATTRIBUTES:

• Analytical thinking.
• Problem solving.
• Attention to detail.
• Curiosity and investigative thinking.
• Cross-functional collaboration.