Getting Under the Hood: New PSDS Business Analyst Enjoys the Nuance

Zachary Jackson has joined UVAFinance’s PSDS as a Supply Chain Business Analyst. He is involved in the synthesis of procurement data to inform strategy development around supplier diversity and sustainability.

Prior to coming to UVA, he worked as an economic development specialist with the Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement. Specifically, he worked in a consulting capacity as part of a team that partnered with public and private-sector entities to conduct applied economic research projects.

As a Hokie welcomed to Hoo territory, Jackson is already enjoying the challenge of working in a new multi-faceted environment, “I am relatively new to procurement! My notebook is full of new acronyms and terms. I understand things best in the context of systems. PSDS is a big system to chew on, but I am looking forward to getting under the hood, as it were.”

Jackson says that the open communication in UVAFinance has helped get him up to speed.

“I am very impressed by the culture of learning at UVAFinance. Everyone’s roles are so nuanced and detailed, yet people seem so forthcoming about what they do,” he observes. 

“This was something I treasured in my previous role, and I am glad to see it here.”

Jackson received his bachelor’s and master’s degree in urban planning from Virginia Tech. His studies and individual research were focused on what planners call “wicked problems,” or longstanding social and cultural issues that have no clear answer.

“More specifically, my studies were focused on economic and workforce development, particularly in post-industrial/natural resource-based communities,” he shares.

Jackson “grew up on two wheels” and likes to ride bikes (human and dinosaur-powered) in his spare time. He also enjoys spending quality time with his partner, family, and two needy dogs.