Senior Staff Analyst - Data Analytics Specialization

SUMMARY

The Data & Analytics Unit is responsible for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting healthcare data to support decision-making across the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS). The unit manages patient care and operational data, using analytics to identify patterns, predict outcomes, and improve service delivery. The unit also ensures data integrity, security, and regulatory compliance.

The Senior Staff Analyst will be responsible for managing requirements gathering on 70 quality measures, tracking project status, maintaining project plans, meeting deadlines, and ensuring all action items are followed up on. This role operates in a fast-paced environment and requires continuous tracking, updating, prioritizing, and assignment of a large volume of tasks. Additionally, this role involves maintaining a detailed project plan in Smartsheet, ensuring timely completion of tasks.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Lead agile project and program management efforts, ensuring timely execution, alignment with department goals, and effective risk mitigation in a high-velocity environment.
• Manage business and technical requirements gathering, collaborating with stakeholders to define business rules and measures, ensuring alignment with SQL-based data structures where applicable.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to identify trends and perform root cause analysis, and to clearly communicate findings with clinical stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive project plans in Smartsheet, tracking tasks, dependencies, deadlines, and action items at a granular level with frequent updates.
• Facilitate Data & Analytics (D&A) meetings, ensuring stakeholder engagement through effective and timely communication, capturing key decisions, tracking follow-ups, and managing meeting documentation while actively driving closure on assigned action items.
• Prepare project status reports, executive updates, and performance metrics to communicate progress, risks, and key milestones.
• Develop and maintain data product roadmaps to support enterprise-wide data initiatives while balancing priorities and delivery timelines.
• Create clear, well-structured reports, policy documents, business cases, and stakeholder presentations for the D&A unit.
• Support hiring and talent development by drafting job descriptions, participating in interview panels, and contributing to onboarding activities.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders to promote data governance best practices and advance organizational objectives while ensuring accountability for assigned deliverables.
• Conduct research and provide strategic recommendations to management on program, policy, and operational improvements to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Track, coordinate, and continuously update daily tasks and action items, ensuring work is properly assigned, progress is visible, and bottlenecks are escalated and resolved.
• Manage and monitor multiple quality measures, maintaining a working understanding of each measure, its dependencies, and its assigned owners.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate for the Senior Staff Analyst should have a strong background in project and program management, business analysis, and agile methodologies, particularly within a Data & Analytics unit. The role requires exceptional organizational skills and the ability to manage significant task volume, complexity, and pace without loss of accuracy or follow-through.

The role requires excellent writing and communication skills to produce well-structured reports, policy documents, and strategic recommendations. Candidates should have experience leading requirements-gathering sessions, defining business rules and measures, and collaborating with technical teams to ensure data structures align with business needs.

Familiarity with Smartsheet, Jira, or other project management tools is essential for tracking and managing project deliverables in a real-time, execution-focused environment. This role demands strong leadership, problem-solving, and stakeholder management skills to facilitate cross-team collaboration, influence decision-making, and align initiatives with organizational priorities while managing constant task movement and updates.

Education/Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a quantitative field (e.g., Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline); advanced degree preferred.
• Five years of experience in business analysis, project management, or program management, including gathering and documenting requirements, managing projects, and coordinating stakeholders across multiple concurrent workstreams.
• Experience using agile methodologies, particularly in software and data product development within fast-paced delivery environments.
• Experience defining business rules and measures, with an understanding of how SQL-based data structures support these requirements and how those measures are operationally tracked and maintained.
• Experience using Smartsheet, Jira, or similar project management tools to track project status, action items, and dependencies at a detailed, task-level scale.
• Experience developing a variety of stakeholder materials, including concise presentations, training guides, and business case documents.

Certificates/Licenses/Clearances

• Successful clearing through the Live Scan process with the County of Los Angeles.

Other Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Advanced knowledge of Transact-SQL, including query optimization, performance tuning, and complex data modeling.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to identify root causes and translate findings into actionable solutions.
• Experience reviewing and implementing complex Business Requirement Documents (BRD) and technical specifications.
• Hands-on experience with Azure Synapse Analytics and/or Microsoft Fabric.
• Proficiency in cloud-based data processing using notebooks, PySpark, and ETL frameworks.
• Familiarity with medallion architecture (bronze, silver, gold data layers).
• Knowledge of object-oriented programming concepts, including experience with C# or similar languages.
• Exposure to data science, and AI/ML modeling concepts is a plus.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to work effectively across technical and non-technical teams.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and work independently in a fast-paced environment.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Stand: Not applicable

Walk: Not applicable

Sit: Frequently

Handling / Fingering: Constantly

Reach Outward: Constantly

Reach Above Shoulder: Not applicable

Climb, Crawl, Kneel, Bend: Not applicable

Lift / Carry: Occasionally - Not applicable

Push/Pull: Occasionally - Not applicable

See: Constantly

Taste/ Smell: Not Applicable

Not Applicable = Not required for essential functions

Occasionally = (0 - 2 hrs/day)

Frequently = (2 - 5 hrs/day)

Constantly = (5+ hrs/day)

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Hybrid

EEOC STATEMENT

It is the policy of Heluna Health to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants, without regard to age (40 and over), national origin or ancestry, race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy or perceived pregnancy, reproductive health decision making, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer or a record or history of cancer), AIDS or HIV, genetic information or characteristics, veteran status or military service.