Business Applications Specialist

Harvard University • Cambridge, MA

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

Harvard University's Central Administration (CADM) is a 5,000+ employee organization that supports the university's overall excellence by understanding and serving the needs of its schools, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and surrounding communities. Through dynamic and collaborative partnerships, CADM provides high-quality and efficient services to the schools to help them achieve their goals.

Harvard University Housing & Real Estate (HUHRE) is a department within Harvard Campus Services, a multi-department organization within Harvard’s Central Administration. HUHRE supports the University’s educational and research efforts by offering Harvard affiliates a wide array of housing and real estate services in University-owned properties which are conveniently located, competitively priced, and professionally managed to residents and tenants alike. HUHRE serves as the asset manager for Harvard’s portfolio of commercial spaces and centrally stewarded institutional assets, overseeing the leasing and operations of University-owned institutional space for Harvard affiliates and commercial spaces for rent by private retail tenants within the Cambridge, and Greater Boston area.

HUHRE manages a broad range of initiatives and assets to help support the Harvard community. These include, but are not limited to:
Leasing, managing, and renewing Harvard-owned housing as well as Harvard offices/institutional spaces, and commercial real estate portfolios
Leading community engagement and programming opportunities
Managing relationships with external partners and vendors
Working within the larger University community to develop and coordinate University-wide policies and strategies
Supporting new University housing and real estate development projects across the Cambridge and Greater Boston area
Harvard University Housing & Real Estate and Harvard Campus Services are committed to cultivating an organization that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Business Administration, or related field
• 5+ years of experience supporting business applications, preferably in property management or real estate
• Hands-on experience with property management software (e.g., Yardi, MRI, RealPage OneSite, Entrata, AppFolio)
• Experience managing project tasks and deliverables within established project management frameworks
• Experience with system integrations (APIs, middleware platforms)
• Knowledge of data governance and compliance practices
• Solid understanding of accounting principles related to property management
• Experience with reporting tools (e.g., SQL, Power BI, Excel advanced functions)
• Experience providing tech support and performing user acceptance testing.
• Experience managing a technical support team.
• Strong communications skills, verbal and written, across all media: phone, email, in-person, and documentation.
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external customers, vendors and other stakeholders.
• Ability to liaise between technical and non-technical personalities.
• Ability to meet deadlines and maintain a positive attitude while balancing competing priorities
• Ability to effectively multi-task and triage support requests arising from multiple fronts.
• Teamwork mentality, service mindset approach, and the ability to act as a trusted advisor.
• Experience utilizing project management methodologies and tools.
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to translate business needs into technical solutions
• Completion of Harvard IT Academy specified foundational courses (or external equivalent) preferred

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Yardi property management software highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Administer and support systems and applications used for daily property management operations, including overseeing related projects, upgrades and software/hardware maintenance and installations.
• Oversee application support and serve as a level-2 point of contact for application-related issues, troubleshooting, and escalation.
• Manage system configurations, user access, roles, and security settings.
• Analyze current workflows across leasing, maintenance, accounting, and tenant services and identify opportunities to improve efficiencies through system enhancements and automation.
• Partner with stakeholders to define business requirements, design processes and implement best practices.
• Oversee integrations between property management systems and third-party tools.
• Ensure data accuracy, consistency, and integrity across systems.
• Develop and maintain reports, dashboards, and data extracts for business insights.
• Assume a supporting role in system implementation / upgrade / migration projects, and a leading role in small projects.
• Collaborate with vendors and internal teams to deliver projects on time and within scope.
• Document requirements, test solutions, and manage change control processes.
• Develop and maintain user guides, SOPs, and training materials.
• Conduct training sessions for staff on new features, systems, and best practices.
• Act as a subject matter expert for business applications.
• Liaise with software vendors to resolve issues and evaluate new features.
• Work closely with property managers, finance teams, leasing, community programming team, and other Harvard teams to align systems with business needs.

Benefits

• Generous paid time off including parental leave
• Medical, dental, and vision health insurance coverage starting on day one
• Retirement plans with university contributions
• Wellbeing and mental health resources
• Support for families and caregivers
• Professional development opportunities including tuition assistance and reimbursement
• Commuter benefits, discounts and campus perks

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level