Business Analyst

Job Title

Business Analyst

Job Purpose

To provide Business Analysis on the more complex City Council projects and programmes. The role will also support Assistant Business Analysts.

Main Areas of Responsibility:

Technical:

• Act as Business Analysis lead on the more complex City Council transformation projects and programmes

• Lead and deliver all aspects of complex strategic improvement and change activity in a defined functional discipline or cross-business process
• Identify opportunities to capitalise on existing or emerging technologies to meet customer needs

• Identify the best-fit business analysis approach such as Lean, six sigma etc. to ensure business analysis outputs meet the needs of programmes and projects. Advise Assistant Business Analysts on this where needed
• Take full responsibility for the business analysis phase of the project lifecycle and act as a key contact for customers and senior managers throughout this phase
• Assess complex customer activities to identify opportunities to streamline processes to deliver added value, reduce costs or maximise project benefits
• Challenge non-fact based decisions and create both innovative and disciplined ways of working
• Complete comprehensive, cross-functional as-is business process documentation to identify current processes and responsibilities as well as more effective, efficient to-be processes to allow customers and stakeholder to visualise and understand suggested improvements
• Produce detailed documentation such as statement of requirements to fully capture customer requirements
• Use a variety of documentation methods and templates to ensure requirements are captured clearly and without risk of ambiguity. Take ownership of these documents to ensure they remain fully fit for purpose

• Present business analysis findings to the customer, key stakeholders and senior management
• Take accountability for final customer sign off of business analysis activities.
• Liaise with technical design professionals to ensure proposed solutions meet with customer requirements and expectations
• To lead on embedding a 'business improvement' way of working at all levels of the organisation that delivers sustainable improvement including improved customer satisfaction, increased revenues and decreased costs
• Demonstrate the value of using 'business improvement' techniques by helping people to understand what and how they will help them to achieve their goals
• Lead on continually reviewing internal business analysis practices to ensure they are fit for purpose, in line with industry best practice and delivering exceptional outcomes for customers and stakeholders
• Support or, where required, lead on the production of business cases to ensure proposed programmes deliver best value
• Lead on the delivery and documentation of post implementation benefit reviews
• Develop and maintain an excellent relationship with key internal/external customers and suppliers as appropriate for on-going improvement initiatives/activities
• Provide support and occasional supervision to Assistant Business Analysts and other junior team members
• Manage personal workload and schedules to ensure activities meet customer expectations, business drivers and do not put project or programme delivery timescales at risk
• Identify and assess changes to national, regional and local legislation and policies and understand and explain the impacts of these changes on the business environment / processes as well as contributing to the development of local policy

General

• Ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place to provide for a positive work/life balance both in terms of personal workload and that of direct reports

Other

• Undertake, where required, other responsibilities and duties including work related to all areas of business, on behalf of the organisation, where this is commensurate with the grade of the post. This may entail working from other locations

Supervision and Management Responsibility:

• Will be responsible for supervising junior project team members including coordinating operational tasks, coaching and mentoring, and providing feedback on performance

Budget and Financial Responsibility:

• Being fully accountable for managing the councils resources well and complying with statutory requirements. This includes managing time, avoiding unnecessary waste, reuse and recycle resources to reduce personal impact
• Set, monitor, and remain within budget whilst challenging the team to deliver increased efficiencies
• Explores different options for funding and income generation
• Drive for social value through all activities, ensuring wider social, economic and environmental benefits for the council, residents and communities

Personal Specification

Qualification and training

Essential

Degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline

Successful completion of one or more Practitioner level Business Analysis training courses, or relevant experience

Desirable

Knowledge and understanding of project management methodologies (e.g. Prince2, Agile)

Experience

• Appropriate experience of carrying out business analysis activities (A, I, P)
• Experience of working on enterprise-wide transformation programmes (A, I)
• Experience of working with cross-functional teams with competing priorities and business drivers. (A, I)
• Evidence of facilitating, hosting and presenting meetings and workshops with key stakeholders including senior management (A, I)

Desirable

• Authoritative knowledge of techniques associated with business process improvement
• Evidence of the preparation and successful submission of business analysis documentation
• Appropriate evidence of utilising a range of methods to capture and analyse customer requirements
• Experience of working within Local Government

Skills/Abilities

Essential

• Analytical skills (A, I, P)
• Process management, design and implementation (A, I, P)
• Demonstrates attention to detail when completing documentation and presenting findings (A, I)
• Understanding of change in an organisation (A, I, P)

Desirable

• Excellent inter-personal skills
• Listening skills
• Presentation skills
• A good understanding of digital transformation with a strong technical and ICT awareness
• Ability to undertake appropriate background research
• Ability to elicit the customers views and concerns
• Ability to work in a professional and tactful manner when dealing with customers and staff
• An assertive and innovative approach to problem solving

• Ability to prioritise and work to tight deadlines
• Ability to identify issues and challenges by using proving questioning techniques
• Business improvement, quality systems/tools and techniques design and implementation
• Confident and ability to communicate and present complex detail in a format that is understood by all
• To present a professional and competent image of the business to internal/external customers, suppliers and other key stakeholders
• Ability to work independently or with minimal supervision
• Understanding of service level agreements and supplier relationships

Commitment

Desirable

• An understanding of and a personal commitment to the Vision and Values of Liverpool City Council
• Focused on project delivery and customer satisfaction
• Understand and anticipate customers needs and aspirations, owning their issues through to resolution
• Ownership of problems
• Desire to learn; improve and progress, personally and within the context of a team