Analytics Consultant- SAS Deve

Analytics Consultant- SAS Deve

Job Title Analytics Consultant- SAS Deve

Job Location Chicago, IL

Job Type Full-Time Regular

Position Id 2012-144

Job Description

The Company:
Originally founded in 1979 as Information Resources, Inc.(IRI), SymphonyIRI Group is the world's leading innovative partner that helps clients transform insights into impact at every level of their organization. SymphonyIRI Group enables consumer packaged goods, retail and healthcare companies to drive growth by better understanding their business, their consumers, and the market. We do this by combining decades of professional experience with rich data sources, predictive analytics capabilities and a revolutionary technology platform called Liquid Data: />
Currently privately held, SymphonyIRI Group, Inc. serves as a holding company for the equity interests of SymphonyIRI shareholders. With our majority owner, New Mountain Capital LLC, we have secured the growth capital necessary to continue our transformational momentum. New Mountain Capital is a New York-based private equity firm that is committed to SymphonyIRI's long-term investment philosophy and supports the company's growth strategy. SymphonyIRI consists of seasoned, senior advisors who provide subject matter expertise to both CPG and retail firms.

As the originator and innovator of marketing insights, SymphonyIRI is evolving into a global provider of predictive, on-demand business insights applications. If you are driven to solve real world problems, are a dynamic leader and enjoy cultivating lasting partnerships with top executives from Fortune 500 companies, we want to speak with you. Please visit our website to view all of our opportunities.

Analytics at SymphonyIRI:
Industry-renowned analytic experts at SymphonyIRI provide and support leading-edge solutions that address critical business issues. Solutions range from syndicated analytics to custom analysis to analytic consulting all aimed at improving future decision-making through the analysis of historical data. Areas of focus include: understanding return on marketing investment, shopper insight, transferred demand, new product performance, knowledge management and more.

Solutions at SymphonyIRI are organized into areas that capture holistic industry issues: Market Performance and Brand Building, Consumer and Shopper Relationship Management, Consumer Centric Retailer Execution and Product Innovation and Launch. Analytics Research and Development, Product Management are responsible for the creation, strategic direction, marketing and P&L of SympyhonyIRI solutions leading the way in defining, creating and supporting solutions that maximize ROI for manufacturer and retailer clients. The Director, Systems Developer will be responsible for re-tooling our data factory.


Reporting Relationship:
The Consultant, SAS Systems Developer will report to a Principal of Delivery and Product Development in Symphony Analytics who reports to the Senior Vice President of Analytics, our chief analytics officer.

Responsibilities:
The Consultant, SAS Systems Developer will be responsible for re-tooling our analytics engine and tool kit for IRI's Automated Modeling System(AMS) ina highly entrepreneurial position within SymphonyIRI's Symphony Analytics group. Core to overall SymphonyIRI's growth strategy, the mission is to develop and test our analytical approaches and tools for the Automated Modeling System(AMS).

The Consultant, SAS Systems Developer will work with a team in a highly matrixed organization. Key points of internal interface will include: The Technology Group and Research and Development, our modeling team in Athens Greece(ACE) and our team at our Global Operations Center in Bangalore, India.

While activities will vary, it is expected that the Consultant, SAS Systems Developer will leverage a strong technical foundation, in regards to a hands-on role relative to building, writing and testing SAS applications of statistical methods embedded in AMS. You will be focused against developing an AMS as a backroom production model. This will involve working with large amounts of data. From the first day, the Consultant, SAS Systems Developer role will step into a visible role and will need to exhibit exceptional leadership, confidence and poise. Included in this role is determining how the system is running, that it works, plans are in place and the requirements are accurate. At first the role will be purely working with internal clients but eventually the role could have external client exposure.

Success will be measured by the strength of the model and the depth, breadth and relevance of the new Automated System's offerings and their extensions and by the achievement of commitments.

Key Position Requirements include:
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Managing and developing a new automated system for SymphonyIRI by re-tolling our current offerings
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Proficiency in a statistical computing language, SAS, plus R and C(++)
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Overall accountability for the development/implementation of specific models, programs, and/or production systems
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Ability to work with large data sets of at least one gigabyte in size or a million records in the Consumer Packaged Goods Industry.
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Producing models in an automated system
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Experience building models from large databases
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Experience building systems such as "decision support systems"; i.e. analytics which fuel an application which guides managers in making business decisions.
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Experience building models using advanced statistical techniques. Advanced statistical techniques" would include logistic regression, Bayesian shrinkage / random coefficients / mixed models, analysis of covariance, censored regressions(life testing), multivariate models which consider at least ten variables, non-linear regression, and systems of linear models. It would not include "time series", "regression"(alone), analysis of variance.
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Masters in Applied Statistics, Econometrics or Marketing Science strongly preferred; M.S. with strong analytical background will be considered
* 7+ years relevant experience
* Experience in applied statistical methods with extensive application of advanced statistical procedures is a must
* Proficiency in SAS for building models on large datasets efficiently, and exploratory data analysis skills needed to diagnose modeling issues
* Experience developing and managing requirements
* Minimum five years experience modeling sales response volume, marketing mix, regression, predictive models, choice models and Multiplicative and linear models using syndicated scanner data or other standardized sales data
* Experience generating and evaluating large numbers of models at once and being able to work thru automated models





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