Vacancy
Senior business analyst
Location: London, with flexibility to work from home.
About the Role
This is a Group level role supporting the Group Application Support and Service Desk. We are a small but effective team who pride ourselves in our customer-service and “can-do” attitude. We work closely together to share knowledge and skills to be the best we can be.
Specialist Risk Group (SRG) have embarked on an exciting period of strategic growth which means our user base is growing quickly. In addition to project work, the Business Analyst will be part of a team that manages support / BAU and configuration for several application systems and is responsible for the change request cycle. Additionally, as the Group expands through acquisitions, there will be opportunity to be a key part of the onboarding project team responsible for rapid onboarding onto Group applications where required.
Initially the role will primarily focus on joining a single transformational project team which has a minimum of 12 months remaining in the 1 st 2 key phases of this project. You will play a lead Business Analyst role in a number of the workstreams and be responsible for leading other Business Analysts involved in the project. You will be involved in subsequent phases of this project in addition to other strategic projects identified by your Line Manager, supplementing BAU activities.
The Senior Business Analyst’s role is to elicit, analyse, specify, and validate the business needs of stakeholders, be they customers or end users. This includes interviewing stakeholders, gathering and compiling user requirements to understand the technology solutions they need.
The Senior Business Analyst will apply proven communication, analytical and problem-solving skills to help the business make appropriate and beneficial technology decisions. The Business Analyst will also be proactive about working with suppliers to look for new technologies to optimise business processes.
The Senior Business Analyst will play a pivotal role in ensuring IT’s understanding of business requirements through several strategic migration projects from legacy systems. The Business Analyst will produce “as-is” and “to-be” process maps, challenge the norm, build functional and non-functional specifications, produce configuration and User guides and work alongside Subject Matter Experts in designing new improved processes.
Key Responsibilities
- Engage with key stakeholders, understand the business outcomes that the organisation is looking to deliver and translate these outcomes into functional and non-functional requirements that can be delivered in house within the Application Support Team or by software vendors.
- Must be able to structure their work and model requirements and processes to provide context to the functional requirements and how they map to the business outcomes and technology design.
- Must be able to work as part of a matrix organisation and be comfortable with different functional reporting lines, whilst having the mental agility to work on more than one functional or process area. Whilst it is important for the business analyst to understand technology capabilities, the role is not solely a technology role, a configurator role or a developer role. The business analyst must not only capture requirements but shape/direct requirements so that the business outcomes are delivered whilst providing technologists with the ability to design solutions that align with best practice and guiding principles.
- Support development and test activities and work closely with business users during User Acceptance Testing to ensure a quality product is implemented.
About You
- Follow the company’s systems and procedures at all times to ensure compliance in all aspects of work. • Understand business outcomes and shaping them with the business so that functional requirements can be defined.
- Understand and can work in both Agile and Waterfall methodologies
- Experience of how The London Market operates
- Challenge the business to properly and appropriately define the changes necessary to deliver the business outcomes that are being sought.
- Develop and improve business processes within the technology and business organisations and understand functional requirements, specifying and analysing these to a sufficient level of detail to ensure clarity of definition.
- Collect and write formal specifications and communicate functional requirements between technology and business functions to design and implement business solutions.
- Responsible for building and maintaining a relationship with stakeholders and technical teams.
- Responsible for planning and estimating own work.
- Use a structured requirement process to assess near-term needs.
- Identify business priorities and advise business stakeholders on options by collaborating with solution architects and technologists.
- Apply scope management and ensures that change management processes are adhered to.
- Actively take part in the Company’s appraisal review process, which is to be conducted on at least an annual basis.
- Adhere to health and safety policy and other requirements relating to care of equipment.
- Build, design and manage SLA’s with internal business units and 3rd parties.
- Travel to different offices for meeting business stake holders.
- Ability to facilitate remote sessions with business / external parties.
- Work within the Group Project Framework, alongside Programme and Project Managers to deliver the tasks and work breakdown structures that are assigned to them.
- Work closely and lead other Business Analysts
- Technical migration and data mapping skills are paramount through our change pipeline.
- Experience of how the London Market operates including knowledge of the various London Market placing platforms such as PPL, ECF, A&S
- Knowledge of Salesforce would be advantageous • Experience with Insurance or Broking Administration systems e.g. Acturis, Sector, is desirable
- Solid understanding of project management tools and techniques.
- A core competency in business analysis and some formal training.
- Experience working on a large-scale project/programme implementing software and process solutions.
- Processing mapping/modelling experience of at least one standard, e.g. BPMN.
- Experience of 1 or more software delivery methodologies, ideally Agile.
- Excellent communication / interpersonal / stakeholder management skills.
- Excellent presentation skills.
- Experience of facilitating workshops.
- Use of Lucid Chart, Visio and equivalent online tools.
- Data mapping and requirements gathering skillsets
- College diploma or university degree in the field of business administration, computer science, finance, or information systems.
- Experience overseeing the design, development, and implementation of software and hardware solutions, systems, or products.
- Ability to create systematic and consistent requirements specifications in both technical and user-friendly language.
- Three to five years related work experience.
About You
- Follow the company’s systems and procedures at all times to ensure compliance in all aspects of work.
- Understand business outcomes and shaping them with the business so that functional requirements can be defined.
- Understand and can work in both Agile and Waterfall methodologies
- Experience of how The London Market operates
- Challenge the business to properly and appropriately define the changes necessary to deliver the business outcomes that are being sought.
- Develop and improve business processes within the technology and business organisations and understand functional requirements, specifying and analysing these to a sufficient level of detail to ensure clarity of definition.
- Collect and write formal specifications and communicate functional requirements between technology and business functions to design and implement business solutions.
- Responsible for building and maintaining a relationship with stakeholders and technical teams.
- Responsible for planning and estimating own work.
- Use a structured requirement process to assess near-term needs.
- Identify business priorities and advise business stakeholders on options by collaborating with solution architects and technologists.
- Apply scope management and ensures that change management processes are adhered to.
- Actively take part in the Company’s appraisal review process, which is to be conducted on at least an annual basis.
- Adhere to health and safety policy and other requirements relating to care of equipment.
- Build, design and manage SLA’s with internal business units and 3rd parties.
- Travel to different offices for meeting business stake holders.
- Ability to facilitate remote sessions with business / external parties.
Team working
- Experience leading other Business Analysts on Projects/BAU.
- Actively leads, contributes and encourages all team members to make useful contributions, responding positively to the contributions of others.
- Identifies when team members need support and provides it.
- Is helpful and treats colleagues with courtesy.
Managing relationships - Responds and relates well to peers and those in positions of authority.
- Looks for common ground and solves problems for the good of all.
- Represents his or her own interests and yet is fair to other groups .
Customer focus - Understand the requirements of the customer and seeks to meet the expectations and requirements of internal and external stakeholders.
Technical Skills
- Experience of how the London Market operates including knowledge of the various London Market placing platforms such as PPL, ECF, A&S
- Knowledge of Salesforce would be advantageous • Experience with Insurance or Broking Administration systems e.g. Acturis, Sector, is desirable
- Solid understanding of project management tools and techniques.
- A core competency in business analysis and some formal training.
- Experience working on a large-scale project/programme implementing software and process solutions.
- Processing mapping/modelling experience of at least one standard, e.g. BPMN.
- Experience of 1 or more software delivery methodologies, ideally Agile.
- Excellent communication / interpersonal / stakeholder management skills.
- Excellent presentation skills.
- Experience of facilitating workshops.
- Use of Lucid Chart, Visio and equivalent online tools.
- Data mapping and requirements gathering skillsets
- College diploma or university degree in the field of business administration, computer science, finance, or information systems.
- Experience overseeing the design, development, and implementation of software and hardware solutions, systems, or products.
- Ability to create systematic and consistent requirements specifications in both technical and userfriendly language.
- Three to five years related work experience
Systems/processes knowledge IT knowledge – Broking Administration System.
- Demonstrates knowledge of insurance software applications.
IT knowledge – Microsoft packages - Has a detailed understanding of the appropriate Microsoft suite and other packages used to produce documentation and process information as well as using Microsoft Teams as a conferencing and data management solution.
File management - Understands the value and importance of record keeping for business requirements and personal development. • Keeps accurate records in an efficient manner, in accordance with procedures.
Personal and business skills and attributes
Team working
- Actively contributes and encourages all team members to make useful contributions, responding positively to the contributions of others.
- Gets the job done and is a good colleague.
- Identifies when team members need support and provides it.
- Is helpful and treats colleagues with courtesy. Managing relationships • Responds and relates well to peers and those in positions of authority.
- Looks for common ground and solves problems for the good of all.
- Represents his or her own interests and yet is fair to other groups.
Customer focus
- Understand the requirements of the customer and seeks to meet the expectations and requirements of internal and external stakeholders.
For more information on this role, please contact Holly McLaren - hmclaren@specialistrisk.com
To apply, please submit your C.V. and covering letter via email, stating which role you are interested in.