DescriptionSenior Manager, Business IntelligenceLocation: Wood Dale, IL (Open to Remote)
Department: Business Intelligence
Reports To: Senior Director of Business Intelligence and Data Governance
Position overview:The Senior Manager, Business Intelligence & Analytics is a critical leadership role responsible for shaping and delivering the organization's data and analytics capabilities. This role serves as both a strategic leader and hands-on practitioner, driving the development of scalable BI solutions while actively contributing to data modeling, reporting, and analytics execution.
This individual will partner closely with business leaders, IT, and cross-functional teams to deliver trusted, actionable insights, enable self-service analytics, and elevate data literacy across the organization. As a leader in a growing environment, this role requires a "player-coach" mindset. Comfortable setting vision while also rolling up sleeves to solve complex technical and analytical challenges.
Key ResponsibilitiesLeadership & Strategy- Lead, mentor, and develop a centralized BI team (analysts, developers, engineers), fostering a high-performance and accountable culture
- Define and execute a scalable BI and analytics roadmap aligned to business priorities
- Establish and enforce BI governance, standards, and best practices across data, reporting, and analytics
- Act as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, identifying opportunities to drive value through data
- Champion a data-driven culture, improving data literacy and adoption across the organization
- Build and govern a Tableau super user community, driving consistency and best practices
Data & Architecture- Actively contribute to the design, development, and optimization of data models, data marts, and reporting structures within SQL Server (on-prem)
- Write and optimize complex T-SQL queries and support performance tuning efforts
- Partner closely with data engineering and IT to design and improve ETL pipelines and data integration processes
- Ensure data integrity, consistency, and reliability across core reporting assets
- Influence the design and evolution of an AI-ready data warehouse architecture
- Troubleshoot and resolve complex data and performance issues as needed
Reporting & Visualization- Establish visualization standards, KPI definitions, and usability best practices
- Deliver intuitive, high-impact dashboards that translate data into clear, actionable insights
- Balance self-service enablement with strong governance and data accuracy controls
- Optimize dashboard performance and user experience
Stakeholder Engagement- Serve as the primary liaison between BI and business functions (Finance, Operations, Sales, etc.)
- Translate business needs into scalable technical solutions and analytics products
- Present insights, storytelling, and recommendations to senior leadership
- Manage and prioritize competing BI initiatives across functions with clarity and transparency
- Build strong cross-functional relationships to ensure alignment and adoption
Operations & Delivery- Establish SLAs and performance metrics for BI delivery and support
- Lead project planning, prioritization, and execution (Agile or hybrid methods)
- Ensure on-time, high-quality delivery of BI initiatives
- Continuously measure and improve BI adoption, user satisfaction, and business impact
QualificationsRequired- Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Data Analytics, Computer Science, business, or related field
- 8-12+ years of experience in business intelligence, analytics, data engineering, or related disciplines
- 4-6+ years of leadership experience, preferably within a centralized BI or shared services model
- Proven ability to balance hands-on technical work with strategic leadership in a resource-constrained environment
- Deep expertise in Microsoft SQL Server (on-prem), including:
- Advanced T-SQL development
- Data modeling and schema design
- Query optimization and performance tuning
- Strong hands-on experience with Tableau (or similar BI tools), including dashboard development (server experience a plus)
- Strong understanding of:
- Data warehousing concepts (star schema, ETL, data marts)
- Data structuring and transformation techniques
- Demonstrated business acumen and ability to align analytics to operational and financial KPIs
- Exceptional communication, prioritization, and stakeholder management skills
Preferred- Experience with Tableau Server administration
- Familiarity with data governance frameworks and data quality tools
- Exposure to legacy and modern BI environments (hybrid ecosystems)
- Experience scaling BI functions in mid-to-large organizations
- Prior use of NetSuite
Key Competencies- Strategic thinking and business acumen
- Strong leadership and team development skills
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management
- Data storytelling and visualization expertise
- Problem-solving and analytical mindset
- Ability to balance hands-on technical work with leadership responsibilities
- Ability to bring clarity and simplification
- Outside the box thinking to creatively solve business problems with system driven solutions
Success Metrics- Adoption and usage of BI tools and dashboards
- Data accuracy and reporting reliability
- Time-to-delivery for BI requests
- Stakeholder satisfaction and engagement
- Performance and scalability of BI solutions
- BI team development and growth
