Business Data & Reporting Specialist

Job Description

Job Description

Position: Business Data & Reporting Specialist

Reports To:  Controller

Compensation: $55,000 DOE

Why Utah? 

Utah is home to five national parks, world-class skiing and snowboarding, hundreds of miles of hiking and biking trails, and stunning deserts, mountains, and lakes, all within easy driving distance. Outdoor adventure is part of everyday life. The Salt Lake Valley consistently ranks high for safety, clean communities, short commute times, and family-friendly amenities. Draper offers a balance of suburban comfort and urban access, with downtown Salt Lake City just 15 minutes away. Enjoy all four seasons without extremes—sunny summers, colorful falls, snowy winters, and mild springs, perfect for both outdoor recreation and city living. Utah’s communities are known for being engaged, supportive, and service-oriented, making it easy for newcomers to feel at home.

About Loveland Living Planet Aquarium: 

Loveland Living Planet Aquarium (LLPA) is a mission-driven institution dedicated to inspiring people to explore, discover, and learn about Earth’s diverse ecosystems. Founded in 1997, the Aquarium provides impactful educational experiences for guests of all ages and backgrounds.

Since opening its Draper, Utah facility in 2014, LLPA has welcomed more than 10 million visitors and delivered over 650,000 educational experiences to students. Home to over 4,000 animals representing 650 species, the Aquarium features immersive habitats from around the world, including coral reefs, kelp forests, the deep ocean, Antarctic waters, tropical rainforests, Asian cloud forests, and Utah’s freshwater ecosystems.

Accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) since 2019, LLPA is in an exciting phase of growth. With the opening of the Sam and Aline Skaggs Science Learning Center, the Aquarium became the largest in the Mountain West and the fifth largest aquarium in the continental United States, offering expanded opportunities for education, research, and professional impact.

Position Summary:

The Business Data & Reporting Specialist is a mid-level individual contributor responsible for organizing, validating, and connecting business data and independently developing reliable reports for LLPA leaders. Reporting to the Controller, this position works with Finance, Development, and other departments to compile and reconcile information from Salesforce, Galaxy, accounting software, and other designated systems. Reporting and donor database duties are both core responsibilities and shared priorities of this position. The Specialist prepares reliable reports and maintains accurate customer, member, and donor records. The Controller coordinates priorities and deadlines across these responsibilities in collaboration with Development and other departments. 

The Specialist independently designs and maintains assigned dashboards, recurring reports, data models, queries, refresh processes, and reconciliations using approved definitions and documented validation procedures. The position investigates data discrepancies and coordinates complex system integrations, platform configuration, and access changes with IT or vendors. The position presents accurate information and flags data quality issues; the CFO, Controller, and department leaders interpret results, draw business conclusions, and make decisions. The CFO and Controller approve accounting treatment and final financial statements. Donor-facing service and event logistics remain with the Development Coordinator. This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Qualifications:

• A bachelor’s degree in Data Analytics, Information Systems, Computer Science, Business, Finance, Accounting, Economics, Statistics, or a related field is preferred; equivalent education and experience are accepted
• 1–3 years of relevant experience working with business data, reporting, and reconciliation, including demonstrated ability to independently develop and maintain BI reports or dashboards
• Experience working in a non-profit, attraction, hospitality, retail, cultural institution, or other mission-driven organization is desirable

Critical Skills/Competencies:  

• Intermediate to advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including formulas, lookups, PivotTables, data validation, and charting

• Proficiency in SQL, including the ability to independently query, join, filter, aggregate, and validate data and troubleshoot reporting queries

• Experience with data entry, data imports and exports, reconciliation, data cleaning, and quality-control procedures

• Demonstrated professional proficiency in Power BI or a comparable BI tool, including independently preparing data, building and maintaining dashboards and reports, developing data models and calculated fields or measures, and managing data refresh processes with validation checks

• Strong attention to detail, organization, documentation, and follow-through when working with data from multiple systems

• Ability to clarify stakeholder requests, prepare reporting outputs using agreed requirements, and explain data definitions and limitations clearly; interpretation of results and business recommendations remain with leadership

• Professional judgment in handling confidential financial, donor, customer, employee, and organizational information

• Familiarity with Galaxy point-of-sale software, QuickBooks Enterprise Desktop, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, or comparable ERP and CRM systems is preferred; direct experience with every system is not required

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:  

Business Intelligence and Financial Reporting

• Independently design, build, and maintain BI dashboards and recurring reports using Power BI or LLPA-approved reporting tools and agreed requirements; develop data models, calculations, queries, and refresh processes with documented definitions and validation checks. Coordinate platform deployment, configuration, and infrastructure needs with IT or vendors as appropriate.

• Act as the main data liaison for department leaders (your primary stakeholders) to understand and clarify their unique reporting needs. Translate those needs into financial, sales, attendance, fundraising, and operational reports, using the standardized definitions and calculations provided directly by the CFO and Controller

• Prepare and maintain assigned schedules and supporting workbooks for the monthly financial package, including actual-to-budget and prior-period comparisons, revenue and gift reconciliations, and operating metrics; submit outputs for Controller review without responsibility for accounting judgments or final financial statement approval

• Compare source systems, reporting datasets, and general ledger information using established reconciliation procedures; document differences, research routine data issues, and escalate unexplained or complex discrepancies to the Controller before reports are finalized

• Provide validated datasets, reports, and supporting documentation for Board materials, budgets, forecasts, grants, and audits; accurately display factual trends and exceptions for leadership review. Leadership is responsible for interpreting results, explaining business drivers, and determining recommendations

Database Records and Data Quality

• Enter and maintain assigned customer, donor, member, partner, and prospect records; record gifts, pledges, communications, and related activities from documentation supplied by Development and other departments, following established procedures and Controller-set priorities

• Independently complete routine record validation, duplicate review, and approved cleanup using documented procedures; retain documentation of significant changes and escalate ambiguous records or changes outside established rules for review

• Create and maintain queries, imports, exports, and repeatable data-transfer processes across Salesforce, Galaxy, accounting software, and other designated systems; independently reconcile record counts and totals, investigate and resolve transfer exceptions, and validate new mappings. Coordinate complex integrations and system changes with IT or vendors

System Support and Department Coordination

• Maintain data dictionaries, field definitions, source mappings, report instructions, refresh schedules, and process documentation; identify and implement approved improvements that reduce manual work and strengthen reporting accuracy

• Support the transition from QuickBooks Enterprise Desktop to a new ERP and other system projects through data cleanup, mapping, testing, validation, documentation, and reporting. Independently troubleshoot data and reporting issues; coordinate complex system issues, platform configuration, access changes, and integrations with the Controller, IT, or vendors as appropriate

• Coordinate information handoffs and reporting and donor database deadlines with Development, Finance, Guest Services, and other departments; raise competing requests with the Controller so both responsibilities receive appropriate attention and priorities can be coordinated. The Development Coordinator handles donor communications and service logistics and supplies documentation for database entry

• Protect confidential information, work within authorized access, and follow LLPA policies for data retention, privacy, and security

• Other duties as assigned

Physical Demands of the Job:   

• This position will be primarily in an office environment
• Periodic evening and weekend work may be expected 
• May be required to lift up to 50 pounds

Benefits & Perks

• Comprehensive benefits package for full-time employees including:
  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance, plus optional FSA/HSA accounts
  • Paid time off & 12 paid holidays per year
  • Paid bereavement leave and paid new child leave (birth, adoption, or placement) 
  • Employer-paid short-term disability; optional long-term disability coverage
  • Convenient onsite childcare (employees pay approximately 20% of the cost)
• 401(k) with match up to 4% - fully vested from day 1 of contribution
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Free Aquarium membership
• Discounts on tickets, gift shop, and café purchases
• Free and discounted animal encounters
• Pet insurance and discounts
• Footwear discounts
• Entertainment, travel, and retail savings through Tickets at Work

While this job description attempts to describe the essential functions of the position, it does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned. It does not restrict management’s right to assign or reassign duties or responsibilities to this job at any time. The overall work environment while performing this job includes exposure to weather conditions and the noise level is usually moderate. The employee is expected to adhere to all policies and to act as a role model in the adherence to the policies.  

The Living Planet Aquarium is proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive environment for all. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, creed, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or military status. The Living Planet Aquarium is committed to ensuring individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in t