IT Specialist, Business Intelligence Applications

Organisation Description
EMD Serono, Inc. is a leader in US biotechnology, focusing on reproductive health, metabolic endocrinology, and neurology. More than 500 people work in the world-class facilities in Rockland, MA, and approximately 250 work in the field.
Description

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE:The BI Applications Specialist plays the leading role in lifecycle management of the standard BI tools for the US business. The BI Applications Specialist will be responsible for maintaining EMD Serono's standard BI platform; configuring BI reporting servers and applications to enable necessary functionality for proper administration; maintaining the correct data models for all US applications within the US BI reporting architecture; and providing technical support to resolve US user issues with security, query design and query performance. MAIN INTERFACES:INTERNALLY: Commercial Planning & Operations, Finance, Supply Chain, Managed Markets, IT - Siebel and Oracle Financials support team, IT - Corporate ASP team, IT - Corporate Infrastructure teamEXTERNALLY: Software vendors of business intelligence and reporting tools. KEY TASKS & RESPONSIBILITIESApplication Management - 40%:Maintain the correct logical data models within the US BI reporting architecture for US users of systems such as Siebel KarMA, Oracle Financials, Revenue Management System and the US Data Warehouse Maintain semantic layer pre-defined calculations and filters according to business rules defined by data stewards Maintain accurate metadata of the semantic layer models, business rules and calculations within the metadata repositories of the BI application and US DW Create and maintain US user security roles, groups and access permissions based on business application owner requirements Assist in the planning and work effort of application lifecycle management for the US BI platform such as migrating from ReportNet to Cognos 8 or from Cognos to Oracle BI EE Work with IT colleagues to plan, test and implement BI tool software upgrades Production Support - 40%:Monitor US BI application server performance and terminate destabilizing processes to prevent production failures Provide root cause analysis of user performance issues and either resolve within BI application or escalate to appropriate IT team and facilitate resolution on behalf of US business Communicate with end users regarding software upgrades, system failures etc Provide technical support to report writers within US business community Coordinate and plan server maintenance with Corporate ASP team to minimize US user impact IT Governance - 20%:Respond to help desk tickets opened by US users for BI application support within SLA parameters Provide version control of changes to BI reporting for auditing Comply with the IT Request for Change (RFC) process for implementing modifications to US BI environment
EDUCATION/LANGUAGES BA/BS required PROFESSIONAL SKILLS & EXPERIENCEREQUIRED:5+ years experience in Cognos tools with background in Cognos Impromptu, Cognos Powerplay and Cognos ReportNet, Cognos 8 experience preferred 5+ years experience in data warehousing/business intelligence 3+ years experience with Oracle BI EE Strong knowledge of SQL; ability to validate application-generated SQL for query optimization. Understanding of best design principle for BI architecture and ability to implement changes within the BI semantic layer in accordance with those practices Able to communicate on a technical and business level.HIGHLY DESIRABLE:Previous experience with sales data, financial information and/or pharmaceutical data. Able to work as a team player and independently based on needs PERSONAL SKILLS & COMPETENCIESStrong interpersonal skills Ability to assess and communicate issues clearly Strong problem-solving skills Attention to detail Able to multi-taskADA ESSENTIAL DUTIES (i.e., normal office duties; must be able to push, lift, pull up to 30 pounds; travel demands, etc.) Some travel required, average of two weeks per year