Lead Business Analyst

The Lead Business Analyst role is to apply commercial and technical skills and knowledge to all changes, projects, programmes and business activities, typically these will be of a complex nature.

Primary responsibility is to ensure the requirements of the business and the business’ clients are identified and documented. The role holder will have responsibility for identifying and establishing stakeholder relations, to facilitate decisions in the organisation’s best interest.

They will be a subject matter expert in the BA discipline and will also responsible to support both the BA and TA function.

Key Accountabilities and main responsibilities

• The role of Lead Business Analyst includes the following:
• Responsibility for setting quality standards for the analysis team and providing mentorship to junior analysts to assist with planning, execution, and quality of analysis.
• Supporting project stakeholders such as project managers in the planning and delivery of the analysis components of the project, including resource planning.
• Create and maintain a skills catalogue for the Business Analysis team, ensuring training needs are met and ensuring this aligns with the Business Analysis Service Catalogue.
• Maintain the Business Analysis Service Catalogue, ensuring the BA service is understood and meets the needs of the business.
• Review, design and implement tools and templates for use by the BA function, ensuring these are fit for purpose.
• Oversee recruitment of new Business Analysts/Technical Analysts, when required.
• Maintain regular contact across the BA/TA function, ensuring each project area provides relevant and timely updates across the BA/TA team. This includes holding regular team meetings to ensure knowledge is being shared effectively across the team.

The Lead Business Analyst will also undertake project analysis tasks including some/ all the following:

• Situation investigation and problem analysis

• Analyse and articulate changes in a way that is understandable by both IT and business stakeholders
• Understanding the strategic context of business changes and translating these into business requirements
• Providing root cause analysis of problems using various techniques including data modelling, user role modelling and customer journey maps
• Defining the scope of changes and/ or projects

• Feasibility assessment and Business Case Development

• Providing rationale for proposed changes
• Evaluating options and business benefits
• Establishes benefit measurement criteria

• Business Process Improvement

• Model existing business processes and define new or revised business processes
• Provide gap analysis between ‘as-is’ and ‘to be’ states and documenting actions required to implement new or improved processes
• Ensure alignment between IT systems and processes

• Requirements Definition

• Facilitates the capture, definition, development and prioritisation of business requirements through workshops with internal and external stakeholders including clients and third party providers
• Understands wider customer needs and drivers and quantifies potential business benefits
• Prioritise and assure the quality of all requirements
• Able to translate the requirements into system/process/business requirements & ensure compliance
• Manages both functional and non-functional requirements which are complete, clear, concise, unambiguous, relevant, testable and traceable from origination to solution
• Uses industry standard tools and techniques for modelling and tracking requirements

• Technical Analysis

• Actively support Technical Analysts in the completion of technical specifications and participate in solution design
• Support creation of Service Stories for the project/programme.

• Business Acceptance Testing & Implementation

• Collaborate with stakeholders to support the business acceptance of the solution
• Diligently follow-up any outstanding issues with business users/Product team or IT developers to ensure that work requests are completed promptly

• Stakeholder Engagement

• Support the successful implementation of business and IT project success through effective stakeholder relationship management

The above list of key accountabilities is not an exhaustive list and may change from time-to-time based on business needs.

Experience & Personal Attributes

• 10+ years’ experience in successful business analysis role; this will be in technology and/or business change roles and/or client on-boarding.
• Demonstrable experience in application of a formal project management methodology, experience of Agile methodologies required
• Relevant qualification(s)
• A successful track-record of delivery technology change and/or business change
• Exceptional leadership skills and capability - Enthusiastic, engaging and inspiring.
• Strong experience in management of risk.
• Strong stakeholder management skills including regular up-to date and accurate written and verbal updates to key stakeholders.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with colleagues and clients at all levels