CEMI Senior IT Business Analyst

Cornell University • City of Ithaca, NY

1d • Remote

About The Position

The Cornell Experience Modernization Initiative (CEMI) is a multi-year program designed to improve the experience of students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, patients, and partners by unifying and enhancing administrative systems and processes across all Cornell University locations. Its name CEMI is said as “See Me” because the focus is on you: the people who use Cornell’s systems and data to accomplish your goals.
The CEMI Senior IT Business Analyst is responsible for providing high level of business analysis for the CEMI project. This role operates with a high degree of independence and is expected to provide expert‑level business analysis, guidance, and leadership throughout the project lifecycle.
This role requires a combination of business process knowledge, system analysis/support, and ERP implementation experience to be successful. The CEMI Senior IT Business Analyst will act as a bridge between business stakeholders and various IT teams, ensuring business requirements are understood, accurately captured, and translated into various functional and technical specifications.
In addition, this role collaborates across related initiatives where business processes and supporting systems intersect, helping ensure alignment and coordination beyond a single functional domain.
The CEMI Senior IT Business Analyst collaborates with stakeholders to evaluate complex business processes, lead the development of refined future‑state workflows, define and validate system requirements, and shape solution design in alignment with university‑wide strategic goals. A major responsibility is driving the establishment of common, best‑practice business processes across diverse advancement organizations and contributing to governance structures that will oversee the new enterprise technology environment.
The CEMI Senior IT Business Analyst leads requirements development activities, facilitates process mapping and cross‑functional workshops, performs advanced data analysis, and contributes to system design and integration planning. The analyst produces high‑quality documentation, leads testing strategy and execution efforts, and plays a significant role in change management and stakeholder communication. With strong analytical capabilities and a continuous‑improvement mindset, the senior analyst ensures that technology solutions meet complex operational, technical, and strategic needs across multiple platforms, units, and initiatives.
Throughout the implementation of the ERP, the analyst serves as a significant contributor in requirements analysis, process optimization, system configuration support, testing oversight, data validation, and readiness planning. The CEMI Senior IT Business Analyst will provide critical expertise to support the transition and to ensure long‑term system sustainability and functional continuity.
This is a 3 year term appointment which may be ended or extended based on organizational needs, funding availability, and performance.
While position responsibilities vary, every member of our community is expected to foster a culture of belonging and a healthy work environment by communicating across differences; being cooperative, collaborative, open, and welcoming; showing respect, compassion, and empathy; engaging and supporting others regardless of background or perspective; speaking up when others are being excluded or treated inappropriately; and supporting work/life integration of oneself and others.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Business, Finance, HR, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5–7+ years of progressively responsible experience in business analysis, systems analysis, or IT project delivery, preferably in a complex, multi‑unit environment.
• Demonstrated expertise in leading requirements gathering, facilitating workshops, and translating complex business needs into clear, actionable system requirements.
• Proven experience in business process analysis and redesign, including mapping current‑state and future‑state processes for large, cross‑functional initiatives.
• Strong skills in data analysis, data validation, and supporting data‑centric decision‑making for system implementations.
• Experience translating program-level or strategic decisions into actionable execution plans.
• Experience working across multiple efforts that span business, technical, and program teams in complex organizational environments
• Demonstrated success contributing to or leading components of enterprise system implementations (ERP, CRM, advancement systems, or similarly complex platforms).
• Ability to work effectively with stakeholders at all levels—executive leadership, end users, functional subject‑matter experts, and technical teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey complex information clearly to non‑technical audiences.
• Experience supporting or leading testing activities, including test planning, test case development, execution, and defect triage.
• Strong organizational and time‑management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced, evolving project environment.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and operate as a trusted partner and advisor on high‑visibility initiatives.
• Ability to cultivate and develop inclusive working relationships with students, faculty, staff, and community members.

Nice To Haves

• Hands-on experience in HR and Finance ERP modules (e.g., Payroll, General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Compensation, Talent Management, Benefits Administration).
• Experience in SAP, SuccessFactors, Workday, Oracle Fusion, or similar ERP platforms.
• Prior experience in ERP implementation, process reengineering, and system integration.
• Advanced knowledge of business analysis methodologies, such as BABOK standards, process modeling, and requirements management best practices.
• Experience working in Agile, hybrid Agile, or iterative project environments.
• Certifications in ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, Workday, etc.), business analysis, or project management are a plus.
• Professional certification(s), such as: CBAP, CCBA, PMI‑PBA Scrum Master PMP
• Experience contributing to enterprise‑level governance frameworks, standards, or decision‑making bodies.
• Experience designing or supporting change management, training, or user‑adoption activities for major system transitions.

Benefits

• Cornell receives national recognition as an award-winning workplace for our health, wellbeing, and sustainability. Our benefits programs include comprehensive health care options, generous retirement contributions, access to wellness programs, and employee discounts with local and national retail brands. We invite you to follow this link to get more information about our benefits: Understand Your Benefits | Working at Cornell.
• Our leave provisions include health and personal leave, three weeks of vacation and 13 holidays: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the day after, and an end of the year winter break from December 25-January 1. To offer greater flexibility for observing faiths and traditions we also offer two additional floating holidays. Learn more about our generous leave provisions: Holiday and Accrued Time Off | Working at Cornell
• Cornell's impressive educational benefits include tuition-free Extramural Study and Employee Degree Program, tuition aid for external education, and Cornell Children's Tuition Assistance Program. Learn more about our extensive educational benefits: Education Benefits | Working at Cornell
• Follow this link to learn more about the Total Rewards of Working at Cornell: Total Rewards | Working at Cornell.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees