Digital Solutions Analyst – Trusted Research and Secure Innovation

Role: Digital Solutions Analyst-Trusted Research and Secure Innovation

Grade and Salary: Grade 7, £37,694 - £47,389 per annum

FTE and working pattern: Full-time, 35hrs per week

Contract: Fixed Term until 31 July 2027 (part-time or job sharing arrangements will be considered)

Holiday Entitlement: 33 days annual leaveplus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday)

Department: Information Services

Reporting to: Academic Technology Support Manager

Heriot-Watt University: Heriot-Watt University is a global institution with campuses in the UK, Dubai, and Malaysia. We are known for our strong industry links and research that drives real-world impact. Our collaborative culture and international outlook make us a leader in innovation and education. Learn more about our values and opportunities at Careers at Heriot-Watt.

Heriot-Watt University is leading a collaborative project involving universities across Scotland to develop a shared Trusted Research Toolkit and establish the foundations of a potential national digital shared service for Trusted Research and Secure Innovation.

Working with partners across the Scottish higher education sector, the project aims to improve how institutions manage due diligence, risk assessment, trusted research processes, information sharing, training and compliance activities. The ambition extends beyond the creation of guidance and templates, seeking to develop sustainable digital capabilities that can be adopted and shared across the sector.

We are seeking a Digital Solutions Analyst who will work at the intersection of stakeholder engagement, business analysis, technology innovation and solution design. The successful candidate will collaborate closely with the project Business Analyst, sector partners and technical specialists to understand user needs, develop technical requirements and help shape the future direction of the service.

This is a unique opportunity to contribute to a nationally significant initiative and influence how emerging technologies including cloud services, workflow automation, data-driven decision support and artificial intelligence can support Trusted Research and Secure Innovation at scale.

The ideal candidate will be technically capable, adaptable, curious and confident working with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Whilst cloud technologies, particularly Microsoft Power Platform and AWS, are expected to play an important role in the future service, we are equally interested in candidates who can bring fresh perspectives, innovative ideas and a passion for using technology to solve complex organisational challenges.

Professional development opportunities, including support towards certification and other relevant technical accreditation, will be available for the successful candidate, so a passion for learning new technologies and approaches will be essential.

• Work alongside Business Analyst to analyse business requirements and translate them into functional and technical specifications.
• Design and develop prototype solutions using a combination of standard technologies, such as Power Apps, Power Automate, Dataverse, Power BI and other appropriate technologies.
• Design and develop prototype integrations with in-scope systems.
• Apply security, governance, compliance and lifecycle management standards.
• Co-lead workshops, process reviews and stakeholder engagement activities.
• Work collaboratively with Scottish universities to identify reusable solutions, shared services opportunities and common standards.
• Tailor solution design and implementation approaches to organisations with varying levels of digital maturity.
• Assist the support of communities of practice, training and knowledge-sharing initiatives.
• Maintain technical documentation and contribute to project delivery activities.

• Work alongside the project Business Analyst using Agile methodologies and approaches to identify, document and prioritise business requirements into digital solutions.
• Engage with technology representatives from universities and sector bodies across Scotland to understand current technical practices, challenges and opportunities.
• Analyse existing processes, systems and workflows to identify opportunities for improvement and standardisation.
• Translate business requirements into clear technical and functional specifications.

• Contribute to the design of shared digital services in support of Trusted Research.
• Evaluate technology options and recommend appropriate solutions to meet project objectives.
• Research possible digital solutions and technologies aligned to technical requirements
• Explore opportunities to apply automation, analytics, artificial intelligence and digital workflows to improve service delivery and user experience.
• Support the development of prototypes, proof‑of‑concepts and pilot services.
• Ensure solutions are scalable, secure,…