A stellar job description ensures that you hire the right person for your company much earlier in the hiring process. Instead of looking through and deleting hundreds of resumes from people who are not qualified for your position, you can sort through resumes knowing that the majority of them have come from applicants who truly will be both qualified and excellent fits for the job. There are a few key elements that you should include in your job description for the best chance of success. What you’ll find below is an Operations Analyst job description sample so that you can see how these elements work together to create a winning job description. This is a template that you may use to craft your own job description.
Operations Analyst Job Summary
You will be charged with overseeing operation workflow, processing customer information, providing customer service and supporting system functions. You will work closely with management and may occasionally meet with clients outside of the office.
Operations Analyst Job Responsibilities
- Interview employees, advisors and clients to identify system requirements
- Analyze operations and record results
- Conduct training to prepare employees to use new systems
- Develop solutions through diagrams, writing programs, analyzing system capabilities and studying other alternatives
- Establish and maintain company’s standards to ensure clients receive quality service
- Provide written documentation to clients
- Maintain company’s systems by resolving problems
- Analyze and summarize information for company reports
- Preserve technical knowledge through conferences and professional publications
Operations Analyst Skills and Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s preferred
- 3-5 years of experience in customer service and finances
- Experience with portfolio and data software and other new technology systems
- Ability to predict clients’ and advisors’ customer service needs
- Project management and consulting skills
- Excellent multitasking and time management skills
- Written and verbal communication skills
Company Profile
Southeastern Financial has been in business for over 10 years and is one of the largest investment advising centers in the American Southeast. We aim to work closely with our customers to manage their finances based on their long-term objectives and needs. We emphasize relationships, both with our co-workers and clients and also with our community.
Writing a Job Description: Dos and Don’ts
- While the Operations Analyst job description sample above provides an outline to follow, sometimes the ins and outs of writing your own job description aren’t so clear. For those cases, you’ll find below a few best practices to follow and some dos and don’ts to make crafting your own job description that much easier.
- Do write your job description with your candidates in mind. Think about what they will want to know about the position and your company and take some time to emphasize what is unique or different. Share information that will interest them.
- Do use a writing style that matches your company’s personality. If your company has a casual business culture, a business-like, firm tone may not be the style to choose. Candidates will form an impression of your company based on the tone of your job description; write accordingly.
- Do include clear contact information for your hiring manager. Include anything applicants will need to know, such as a name, email address or phone number. Also specify what kind of materials you want applicants to send, like their cover letter and resume or references.
- Do include any specific skills you are looking for, especially if they are not negotiable in this position. You can also list skills or qualities that are preferred but not required.
- Do see what your company policy says about including benefits and salaries in job postings. You’ll want to adhere to this for all job descriptions.
- Don’t overload your job description with keywords. Put only the most important ones in the job title and save everything else for qualifications.
- Don’t be vague in your description of job responsibilities. Give a clear idea of what a typical day with your company might look like so that only serious jobseekers send you their resumes.
The Operations Analyst job description sample given above is a good example of what to strive for in your own job description so that you attract only the best analysts to your company. The time put into crafting a quality job description brings you results later when, instead of sorting through applicants who aren’t qualified, you sort through only the ones who want to be at your company, allowing you to have the best people in the industry.
Operations Analyst Job Responsibilities
The key to finding good people to hire is a well-written job description, and the part of the operations analyst job description applicants generally focus on the most is the list of responsibilities. Your goal should be to create a clear and concise summary of the position’s duties. Aim to write a list of responsibilities that represent the highest demands of this job and show how the position can help push your company to success.
In most job descriptions, the list of responsibilities should include 6-8 details. If you go outside of those recommendations, you run the risk of being too vague or overly detailed. Organize your duties in an easily read bulleted list. Action verbs are a good choice to use for the start of each point for the operations analyst job description. This can help the job applicants visualize themselves in the position and understand what the demands of your company are.
Here are some example operations analyst job responsibilities:
- Solve highly technical organizational problems by reviewing data and performance related to operational procedures
- Evaluate the existing infrastructure and procedures of the organization to determine the next best steps for making progress
- Review findings and observations with upper management and discuss possible next steps that lead to an effective solution
- Analyze data using a variety of tools, such as modeling, statistics and experiments, to get more information about company performance
Operations Analyst Job Specifications
An effective operations analyst job description also needs to define the perfect candidate. Besides a complete list of required responsibilities, your job description needs to include the ideal amount of job qualifications and skills your candidate should demonstrate. Most companies collaborate to decide on the essential required skills, such as education level, experience, credentials and top character traits. Doing so can help your company recruit the person best suited to the job and your organization.
In most cases, you’ll want to separate your list of qualifications and skills into two different types, required and preferred. Ideally, candidates without the required skills from the operations analyst job description won’t send in their resumes. The preferred skills tend to be qualities only the top talented overachievers in this role have. As you review credentials, you can push candidates possessing the preferred skills to the top of your list. You can also eliminate those few candidates who don’t have what you’re looking for.
Here are some example operations analyst job specifications to help you generate your own ideas:
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, operations research, mathematics or a related subject
- At least four or more years of experience as an operations analyst
- Security clearance or the ability to acquire this
- Top problem-solving skills and logical thinking