Business Analyst

Special Instructions to Applicants: All interested applicants should attach a resume and cover letter in the Supporting Documents section of the application, preferably in PDF format to avoid any formatting issues.

About Rice

Boasting a 300-acre, tree-lined campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio and a residential college system, which supports students intellectually, emotionally, and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lecture series, courses, and student government. Developing close-knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities.

Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty, staff, and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. Those values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rice's culture. They come through in the way we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name - RICE - Responsibility, Integrity, Community, and Excellence.

Technology Solutions & Services (TS&S)

TS&S provides excellent constituent service, acting as a strategic partner to advance Rice University's priorities and mission of "pathbreaking research, unsurpassed teaching, and contribution to the betterment of our world." We fuel innovation at speed across the university by building a culture of trust, using an effective operating model, driving seamless experiences, and providing core IT capabilities. TS&S is service-oriented and team-enabling. We seek applicants who will contribute to our mission.

Trust Building and Stakeholder Engagement - Foster trust across the campus by being transparent, reliable, consistent, and solution-oriented in communication and execution. Ensure clear, consistent, and timely communication with all constituents, maintaining a service-oriented mindset and addressing challenges with integrity.

Collaboration and Cross-functional Commitment - Work effectively with colleagues across teams, departments, and roles to support shared goals and a positive work environment. Communicate clearly and professionally with team members throughout TS&S and across the campus to ensure smooth coordination of tasks and projects. Build and maintain positive relationships by being approachable, reliable, and responsive. Proactively share relevant information and follow up to ensure alignment and efficiency in team efforts.

Agility and Responsiveness - Adapt quickly to evolving needs, technologies, and priorities, ensuring efficiency and relevance. Identify potential challenges in advance and take proactive steps to minimize disruption to end users. Approach unexpected changes with a problem-solving mindset, balancing speed with thoughtful engagement. Prioritize user experience by delivering seamless, timely, and effective support and solutions. Maintain a culture of continuous learning-asking questions from a place of curiosity and possibility to enhance agility and service outcomes.

Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement - Maintain a culture of continuous improvement in all IT operations to ensure efficient and effective service delivery. Regularly assess and optimize processes, systems, and technologies to enhance performance, scalability, and user satisfaction.

Position Summary

The Project Management Office (PMO), a division of the Office of Technology Solutions & Services, is seeking a Business Analyst who plays a key role in enabling informed decision-making, strategic alignment, and operational efficiency for IT projects at Rice University. This position supports a structured and transparent project intake and prioritization process, working closely with university departments, governance committees, and IT teams to evaluate project proposals, assess resource needs, and align initiatives with institutional goals.

The Business Analyst helps define project scope, gather and analyze requirements, build business cases, and facilitate cross-functional collaboration to ensure the successful intake, prioritization, and scheduling of IT projects.

The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker with strong analytical skills and a deep understanding of how technology supports institutional goals. They are detail-oriented and organized, capable of defining complex workflows and documentation with precision. An excellent communicator, they can translate business and technical concepts for diverse audiences and foster collaboration across departments. They bring a data-driven mindset to decision-making, embrace change, and maintain a customer-centric approach to enhance service delivery and the user experience.

Working Requirements

This position is exclusively on-site, requiring all duties to be performed in person. Per Rice policy 440, work arrangements may be subject to change.

Hiring Range

This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position, and the hiring salary is $80,000 to 100,000 annually, depending on experience and skills. Exempt (salaried) positions under FLSA are not eligible for overtime.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree
• 3+ years of experience with business case development, ROI analysis, and resource planning

Skills:

• Complex problem-solving skills to identify complex problems and review related information, develop and evaluate options, and implement solutions
• Excellent analytical skills to arrange information or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules
• Active listening skills to give full attention to what is being said, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including report preparation and presentations, to gather information and share recommendations and outcomes
• Excellent critical thinking skills to use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems
• Deductive reasoning skills to apply general rules to specific problems to produce logical answers
• Strong knowledge of business analysis methodologies and tools (e.g., process modeling, use case analysis, functional requirements analysis, gap analysis, impact analysis, stakeholder analysis)
• Proficiency in tools such as Asana, Smartsheet, Excel, or other project/portfolio management platforms
• Skills in process mapping, stakeholder facilitation, and requirements gathering
• Ability to synthesize data into actionable insights and visual reports for executive audiences
• Understanding of IT governance structures, escalation pathways, and committee-driven decision-making

Preferences

• Master's degree or MBA highly preferred
• Familiarity with higher education environments
• Five (5) years of experience in business analysis and process design
• Two (2) years of experience in portfolio/project definition, planning, and estimating
• Experience in process design in at least 2-3 relevant business processes (HCM, P2P, Finance/Accounting, Research Administration, Capital Projects/Maintenance, Enrollment, Registration, etc.)
• Six Sigma or similar process improvement experience
• Experience working with or supporting IT governance, portfolio management, or project intake processes
• Knowledge of change management practices

Essential Functions

• Plan and manage analyses and studies of business processes, functions, organizations, and teams
• Provide consultation and expert advice to supervisors, managers, and other business stakeholders on system- or process-related topics
• Design and develop models and practices to support sound business decisions
• Determine best practices and recommend improvements to current practices
• Identify, analyze, create, and recommend solutions to improve business processes and operations
• Participate in the design and modification of business and IT systems
• Guide stakeholders through the intake process, ensuring well-defined scope, impacts, resource requirements, value propositions, cost ranges, and business cases
• Validate proposals for completeness and alignment with strategic priorities
• Elicit, document, and validate business and technical requirements
• Develop process flows, use cases, and other artifacts to support solution design and implementation
• Analyze workflows and identify opportunities for efficiency or automation
• Support TS&S resource capacity information gathering and analysis as part of job responsibilities
• Engage with subject matter experts, functional leads, and IT teams to define resource needs
• Collect and analyze data to evaluate the feasibility, cost-benefit, and scheduling of proposed projects
• Identify opportunities to streamline the intake and prioritization process
• Gather stakeholder feedback and iterate on tools and templates (e.g., intake form, scoring matrix)
• Perform all other duties as assigned

Rice University HR | Benefits: https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits

Rice Mission and Values: Mission and Values | Rice University

Rice University is committed to ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity and welcoming the fullness of diversity into our candidate pools. Rice considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status. Rice also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities. If an applicant requires a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please contact Rice University's Human Resources Office via email at facstaffada@rice.edu for support.

If you have any additional questions, please email us at jobs@rice.edu. Thank you for your interest in employment with Rice University.