Business Analyst and Policy Advisor - Library

Invitation to Compete #33-26: Business Analyst & Policy Advisor

Division of Institutional Strategy & Advancement  – Central Library

Regular, FLSA-exempt, benefitted full-time position (80 hour per pay period)

Salary Range: 108,784.80 - $132,233.04 annually

This recruitment is open to the public and to The Seattle Public Library’s employees and will remain open continuously. Candidates wishing to be considered in the first review should submit their application, cover letter, and resume in NEOGOV by 5:00 p.m. on June 12, 2026. Please note that the application period may close at any time after the first consideration date.

The first round of interviews is tentatively scheduled for June 24^th and 25^th with an anticipated start date by or before August 3^st, 2026. Please read the How to Apply section of this bulletin for more information. 

Overview

The Seattle Public Library’s mission is to bring people, information and ideas together to enrich lives and build community. We view Seattle as a city where imagination and opportunity continue to thrive. Since 1891, we have grown from a single reading room in Pioneer Square to a world-class library system with 27 locations.  

The Library works every day to foster and support a healthy city and a healthy democracy. We do this work guided by the principles of intellectual freedom, literacy and the love of learning, racial equity, privacy and confidentiality, respect for the community, strong partnerships and innovation. We are an active and committed partner in the City of Seattle's Race and Social Justice Initiative.

Library employees are highly regarded by the public for their knowledge, quality of service and caring. As a workplace, we value respectful and transparent communication, partnership and engagement. We are enriched individually and organizationally because of our diversity and growth mindset. We take time to recognize and celebrate the achievements of others.

The responsibilities of this position include developing reproducible analysis, reporting tools, dashboards, data workflows, and policy/process recommendations that help Library leadership and internal teams make evidence-informed decisions. The position supports ongoing and ad hoc analytical needs, maintains selected non-enterprise data flows, and translates operational data into clear findings, visualizations, narratives, and recommendations. The successful candidate may lead cross divisional teams in accomplishing the work.

This position serves as a bridge between business owners, Library leadership, IT, and operational teams by helping define data requirements, clean and transform data, document methods, automate repeatable workflows where appropriate, and ensure that reports and dashboards are accurate, interpretable, and sustainable.

This is professional work in the planning, analysis and coordination of activities within the Institutional Strategy and Advancement Division. This role serves as a data analyst and strategic advisor to senior officials and makes recommendations which help shape significant SPL policies and programs. 

This position researches and studies a variety of operational, procedural, and policy issues with the objective of improving business and management effectiveness. Work includes leading a team or independently analyzing business requirements to determine program or system needs, developing and recommending solutions to problems, and implementing and evaluating new methods.

Any of the following duties may be performed. These examples are not necessarily performed by all incumbents, however, and do not include all specific tasks an incumbent may be expected to perform.

Operational Policy and Procedure Analysis

• Analyze policies and recommend updates to processes or systems to increase efficiency and cost effectiveness, while centering equity to improve belonging for internal and external communities. 
• ·Research, study and analyze a variety of Library operational, service, policy, and other issues identified by leadership.
• Identify patterns, risks, service impacts, and opportunities for improvement; and recommend solutions aligned with Library priorities and best practices.
• Provide input on policies related to operations or services; provide recommendations on policy options of an operational or short-term nature.
• Develop and implement process improvement tools to ensure systems and practices comply with laws, codes, policies, contracts and agreements.
• Design performance feedback systems and visual management tools to assess the resolution of business process deficiencies. 
• Facilitate groups and lead project teams in data analysis/visualization and process improvement activities.

Service Delivery and Evaluation

• Plan and perform assessment surveys, evaluation projects, public accountability reporting, and internal research projects; develop reports and presentations that communicate findings to diverse audiences.
• Identify and develop measurement tools and indicators; collect, analyze and evaluate data to determine inefficiencies or weaknesses; provide recommendations for corrective measures.
• ·Maintain and improve reporting workflows related to program, outreach, partnership, and CRM data, including data quality review, compliance monitoring, staff follow-up processes, and dashboards or audit tools that help departments understand and improve data completeness.
• Develop, maintain, and improve business intelligence products and documentation that supports reliable use by managers, leadership, and staff.
• Prepare reports, dashboards, charts, maps, briefing materials, data stories, and other visualizations that summarize findings and recommendations for executive leadership, managers, staff teams, public accountability reporting, and external stakeholders
• Make program recommendations and provide support to program managers or coordinators to establish and develop specific phases of program(s).

Data Analysis and Interpretation

• Regularly deal with technically complex data, reporting, and business process analysis to resolve problems and produce actionable findings.
• Develop reproducible analyses for recurring and ad hoc requests 
• Ability to learn or apply programming, scripting, query, and business intelligence tools to clean, transform, analyze, visualize, and document data.
• Facilitate groups and participate in qualitative data gathering and mixed-methods analysis 

Internal Leadership and Technical Expertise

• Support the Library’s Data Governance framework development, including the internal coordination and ongoing management of the data governance structure.
• Provide technical expertise for ad hoc and non-enterprise Extract-Transform-Load (ETL) processes that improve Library reporting, evaluation, compliance, and operational efficiency, including workflows that may fall outside the scope or capacity of Library IT.
• ·Provide consultation to internal teams on applying data analysis, evaluation, visualization, and process improvement methods to issues such as service delivery, staffing and resource utilization, workload planning, scheduling, program outcomes, outreach, partnerships, work processes, and organizational structure.
• Support the education and training of multidisciplinary team members, front line staff and leaders in data analysis that can lead to process improvement to achieve business goals and to identify solutions to problems of significance to Library operations.
• Participate in professional activities (training, workshops, etc.) to improve the delivery of Library service, including but not limited to open data initiatives at the City, State, and Regional level. 
• May provide lead direction to other staff.

Communication

• Communicate program and procedural information, and policies of an operational nature, to internal and external audiences.
• Communicate to internal and external audiences on behalf of Library official(s) and/or department head(s) of the Library on a variety of significant issues.
• Act on behalf of and represent the priorities and interests of Library official(s) and/or department head(s) on a variety of cross functional, departmental or jurisdictional teams.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Desired Qualifications

Education and Experience

A Bachelor’s degree in humanities, social sciences, business, public administration or related field

AND 

at least two (2) years business process analysis and improvement experience, which includes data analysis, policy analysis, outcome based evaluations and facilitation experience.

OR 

A minimum of two (3) years experience working in the public sector or libraries and any combination of experience/education/training that provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the work.

Required Knowledge and Skills/Competencies

• Knowledge of public libraries and their role within a community.
• Commitment to the principles of intellectual freedom, equity and confidentiality.
• Ability to work with sensitive, confidential, or operationally complex data while applying appropriate privacy, equity, and data governance principles.
• Knowledge of analysis, design, and development of a variety of business systems.
• Knowledge of performance auditing and quality assurance management concepts and tools.
• Knowledge of process improvement methods and techniques.
• Knowledge of project management techniques and methodologies.
• Knowledge of group dynamics and change management.
• Knowledge of statistical concepts and theories.
• Ability to persuade, negotiate and engage in effective problem-solving with library leadership, staff and volunteers as well as community leaders and library leaders of systems across the region and country.
• Ability to analyze complex and sensitive organizational and governmental issues, develop and make recommendations to senior level staff, implement decisions in compliance with Library policies.
• Ability to solicit ideas and thoughts from various sectors and/or individuals and to conceptualize these thoughts into actions that may include operational and communication practices and plans.
• Skill in working effectively with senior teams and make positive contributions that further team production goals and team cohesion.
• Skill in conducting research and analyzing data, policies, rules, specialized or technical work processes and systems.
• Skill in analyzing information, resolving complex analytical challenges, and making recommendations based on analysis.
• Skill in communication, including preparing clear, concise reports and making presentations to diverse audiences.
• Skill in working with a variety of individuals from diverse backgrounds and maintaining collaborative relationships.
• Skill in using current office software programs including word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation, and email.

Additional Desired Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of statistical analysis, descriptive statistics, trend analysis, data visualization principles, and appropriate interpretation of incomplete or imperfect operational data.
• Tools such as R, Python, or similar scripting platforms to support data cleaning, analysis, visualization, and documentation.
• Experience using, or demonstrated ability to learn, business intelligence and data modeling tools such as Power BI, DAX, Power Query/M, SQL, Excel, or similar tools.
• Skill developing dashboards, recurring reports, automated or semi-automated workflows, and data visualizations 
• Skill translating business questions into analytical approaches, identifying appropriate data sources, explaining assumptions and limitations, and communicating findings to non-technical audiences.
• Skill troubleshooting data pipelines, report refreshes, source-system changes, data quality issues, and inconsistencies across systems.

How to Apply

This recruitment will be open until the position is filled. Application materials that have been submitted in NEOGOV by 5:00 p.m. on June 12, 2026 will receive first consideration.  The following application materials are required to be considered for this position:

1. Online application with complete responses to the supplemental questions. Answers submitted with ‘see application’ will be considered incomplete. 
2. A cover letter (1 page maximum) that describes how your qualifications and experience meet those required for the position.
3. Current resume (2 page maximum) that summarizes relevant education, professional experience, training and skills.
4. Supplemental Questions regarding your skills, tools, and experience MUST be clearly reflected in your resume and/or cover letter, or your application will be considered incomplete.
5. Any embedded links or attachments beyond the cover letter (1 page) and resume (2 pages) will not be considered as part of the application.

Applications that do not include a cover letter, resume, and complete online application including supplemental questions will not be considered. 

Applicants will be screened for competitiveness, completeness, and written communication skills. Initial screening will be based on a review of application materials. The employment history detailed in your application materials MUST validate/support your responses to the supplemental questions. If your responses cannot be validated, you will not proceed to the next steps of the review/selection process. The most competitive candidates will be invited to participate in a series of one or more interviews.

Benefits and Salary Information

The full salary range for this position is 108,784.80 - $132,233.04 annually

The City of Seattle offers a comprehensive benefits package including vacation, holiday, and sick leave as well as medical, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability insurance for employees and their dependents. More information about employee benefits is available on the City's website at: https://www.seattle.gov/human-resources/benefits/employees-and-covered-family-members/most-employees-plans

Information about retirement plans can be found at: https://www.seattle.gov/retirement

Additional Information

If you have questions regarding this bulletin or employment at The Seattle Public Library, please send an email to job.applications@spl.org. The Library promotes diversity and inclusion in employment. If accommodations are needed during the selection process, please contact us.

Please keep in mind that job offers are contingent on a review of criminal history, affirmative professional reference checks, as well as verification of any and all information provided by the candidate as part of the application process.