Sr Sales Operations Business Analyst

Position Summary

The Sr. Sales Operations Business Analyst serves as a strategic partner to Sales Leadership as well as the Product Management, Marketing, HR, & Finance teams by delivering actionable business insights that drive profitable growth across direct and distribution sales channels. This role is responsible for analyzing sales performance, identifying growth opportunities, developing executive dashboards, and supporting data-driven decision-making throughout the organization.

The ideal candidate combines strong analytical and business acumen with expertise in Microsoft Excel, business intelligence platforms, and emerging AI-powered analytics solutions. This individual will play a key role in advancing data visualization, forecasting accuracy, sales process improvement, and sales performance management within a fast-paced manufacturing and distribution environment.

Target Candidate Profile:

An analytically minded business professional with 5+ years of sales operations or data analytics experience who excels in Excel, enjoys transforming complex data into actionable insights, and is passionate about leveraging AI-powered business intelligence tools to improve commercial performance in a manufacturing and distribution environment.

Key Responsibilities

Sales Analytics & Reporting

• Develop, maintain, and enhance sales performance reporting and KPI dashboards.
• Analyze sales trends, pricing performance, product mix, customer profitability, and channel performance.
• Provide regular monthly reporting and quarterly business review insights to various teams, including but not limited to Sales Leadership, Senior Leadership, Product Management, & Finance.
• Monitor direct and distribution sales performance against budget, forecast, and strategic growth objectives.
• Identify risks and opportunities through proactive analysis and business intelligence reporting.

Business Intelligence & AI Analytics

• Design and deploy AI-enhanced dashboards and predictive analytics tools to improve visibility into sales performance and customer behavior.
• Leverage AI-powered analytics platforms, Microsoft Copilot, Power BI, machine learning models, and emerging technologies to automate reporting and generate actionable insights.
• Collaborate with IT and business stakeholders to integrate AI-driven forecasting, trend analysis, and sales opportunity identification.
• Evaluate and recommend new analytical tools and technologies that improve decision-making and operational efficiency.
• Develop self-service analytics capabilities that enable commercial teams to access critical business insights.

Sales Operations Support

• Support monthly, quarterly, & annual sales planning, forecasting, territory analysis, and quota development processes.
• Analyze customer segmentation, market opportunities, and sales coverage models.
• Partner with Sales Leaders to improve pipeline visibility and performance tracking.
• Assist with incentive compensation reporting and sales effectiveness initiatives.
• Support pricing strategy, margin improvement efforts, and contract performance analysis.

Data Management & Process Improvement

• Ensure data accuracy and consistency across CRM, ERP, and reporting systems.
• Identify opportunities to automate manual reporting and improve data governance.
• Create standardized reporting methodologies and documentation.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that increase efficiency and reduce reporting cycle times.
• Serve as a subject matter expert for sales data and business intelligence processes.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Sales, Finance, Marketing, Customer Service, and Supply Chain teams.
• Translate complex analytical findings into clear business recommendations for executive leadership.
• Support strategic projects, market expansion initiatives, and commercial excellence programs.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Statistics, Data Analytics, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in Sales Operations, Business Analytics, Commercial Analytics, Revenue Operations, or related analytical roles.
• Experience supporting B2B manufacturing, industrial products, paper packaging, packaging materials, distribution, or related industries preferred.
• Demonstrated experience analyzing sales performance across both direct and distribution sales channels.
• Strong understanding of sales metrics, forecasting, pricing analysis, profitability analysis, and pipeline management.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including:
  • Pivot Tables
  • Complex formulas
  • Data modeling
  • Scenario analysis
• Experience with Microsoft Power BI and/or similar reporting platforms.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with the ability to influence decision-makers.

Highly Desired Qualifications

• Hands-on experience developing, deploying, or supporting AI-based dashboarding, predictive analytics, and business intelligence solutions.
• Experience leveraging:
  • Microsoft Copilot
  • Power BI AI capabilities
  • Machine learning-assisted forecasting
  • Natural language query tools
  • Predictive analytics platforms
• Experience creating executive-level dashboards that combine operational, customer, pricing, and revenue performance metrics.
• Knowledge of ERP and CRM platforms, SAP and SugarCRM highly preferred.
• Experience automating reporting workflows and integrating multiple enterprise data sources.
• Familiarity data visualization best practices.
• Experience supporting commercial organizations with annual revenues exceeding $250 million.

Key Competencies

• Business Acumen
• Sales Analytics
• Strategic Thinking
• AI and Data Innovation
• Financial Analysis
• Forecasting & Planning
• Executive Communication
• Data Visualization
• Continuous Improvement
• Project Management
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Technical Agility