Business Analyst SEO

Role summary

The role of the Business Analyst is to understand and analyse user and business needs. They ensure outcomes align with the service vision and business strategy by bridging current and future business models and delivering to the business architecture. They constructively challenge and act as critical friends to achieve fit-for-purpose solutions. They facilitate collaboration and lead effective communication with all stakeholders to support design, build, and delivery to meet user needs.

Typical role responsibilities

Responsibility	Detail
Requirement gathering	Leads research and collects business requirements based on those articulated for the project. Determines the need and value of these activities according to the context.
Process modelling	If necessary, uses various tools and techniques to map 'As-Is' and 'To-Be' business processes.
Gap analysis	Compares requirements against the current state and the target state to identify opportunities for successful business requirements needed for the transition.
Impact analysis	Analyses the potential consequences of a change and estimates necessary modifications to achieve that change. Focuses on scoping changes within the overall project design and identifies potential stakeholders.
Benefit analysis	Evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of identified benefits and leads in identifying business-related actions to support project delivery.
Stakeholder management and engagement	Collaborates with business owners, business change leads, and users to ensure a shared goal is achieved.
Facilitation	Works with business owners and users to identify needs.
System analysis	Coordinates systems analysis work to ensure business needs are translated into solutions within identified timelines. Collaborates with technical leads to ensure accurate technical solutions.
Assurance and quality	Applies recognised methodologies and audit, test, and quality gates.
Traceability	Ensures changes are delivered through a fully auditable process.
Business improvement	Coordinates with business improvement teams to identify enhancements and solutions to deliver defined project benefits.
Business solution design	Collaborates with policy and strategy teams to align business systems, workflows, and processes with the target operating model.
Delivery products, tools and documentation	Ensures changes are delivered through a fully auditable process by producing or assisting with frameworks, methodologies, operating models, functional specifications, user cases, user stories, UAT plans, entry/exit criteria, defect analyses, forms, templates, guidance, and business cases.
Digital and data	Uses appropriate digital tools to model business processes and employs data analytics to gather and interpret business requirements.

Entry route

Project delivery professional

Suitable for individuals with experience in projects, supporting the development of project objectives, engaging stakeholders to develop requirements, or developing business cases.

Non-project delivery professional

Suitable for individuals with previous project, testing, or QA experience, who can engage with senior stakeholders to identify needs, break down business problems, and offer solutions. Those with experience in test driven development, open source, and cloud technologies and sourcing are also suitable.

Technical competencies

Help with competency levels

None: No knowledge and no experience.

Awareness: Basic knowledge and limited or no experience. You understand how it can be applied. You can describe the benefits and importance. You may have applied it in a low complexity project under supervision or assisted others in delivering it.

Working: Working knowledge and practical experience. You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.

Practitioner: Detailed knowledge and significant experience. You have a deep understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in medium and/or highly complex projects. You advise and may supervise others in the delivery of this competence. You can adapt your approach to meet the requirements of the project.

Expert: Expert knowledge and experience. You are considered an expert within government and in the wider profession. You have applied this competence in multiple complex projects. You have been responsible for developing unique variations to suit specific situations. You champion capability development in this area.

Competency area	Level
Requirements management The ability to capture stakeholder needs, assess, define and justify those needs to arrive at an agreed schedule of requirements for the work.	Practitioner
Solutions development The ability to identify, document and analyse the various delivery options and select the optimal solution for the work.	Practitioner
Planning The ability to define the fundamental components of the work in terms of its scope, deliverables, time scales, resource requirements and budget. It also includes the production of broader plans incorporating risk and quality to provide a consolidated overview of the work.	Awareness
Risk and issue management The ability to systematically identify and monitor risks and issues, planning how to mitigate or respond to those risks and issues and implementing the responses.	Awareness
Quality management The ability to plan, develop, maintain and apply quality management processes to ensure adherence to those standards throughout the lifecycle of the work.	Awareness
Business change and implementation The ability to integrate the solution into operations ensuring that activities are planned and completed to enable the business to implement the change and realise the benefits.	Practitioner
Stakeholder engagement The ability to systematically identify, analyse and communicate with stakeholders, using appropriate channels, to ensure all those impacted by the change are engaged, taking account of their levels of influence and particular interests.	Practitioner
Change control The ability to establish protocols to manage and document all requests for changes to scope, timescales, costs, benefits or other approved baselines for the work. This includes the capture, evaluation and approval or rejection of change requests.	Awareness
Business case development The ability to prepare, develop, commission and update business cases to justify the initiation and continuation of projects in terms of benefits, value for money and risk.	Working
Benefits management The ability to identify, value, plan and track benefits to justify investment and ensure the expected outcomes and social value are realised.	Working
Knowledge management The ability to identify, share and promote best practices and lessons learned to create a culture of learning and good practice that supports continuous improvement to optimise project delivery.	Working
Digital and data The ability to effectively leverage digital tools and data analytics for better project delivery outcomes. Combining an understanding of digital technologies with the ability to manage, interpret and utilise data to make informed decisions, improve efficiency and achieve outcomes and benefits.	Practitioner
Sustainability The ability to incorporate environmental and social considerations into the strategic objectives of the work and to effectively identify, assess and manage these throughout the lifecycle, seeking to maximise benefits and mitigate negative impacts.	Working

Behavioural competencies

Help with competency levels

None: No knowledge and no experience.

Awareness: Basic knowledge and limited or no experience. You understand how it can be applied. You can describe the benefits and importance. You may have applied it in a low complexity project under supervision or assisted others in delivering it.

Working: Working knowledge and practical experience. You have a good understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in low complexity projects and/or under supervision in more complex projects.

Practitioner: Detailed knowledge and significant experience. You have a deep understanding of this competence. You have applied this independently in medium and/or highly complex projects. You advise and may supervise others in the delivery of this competence. You can adapt your approach to meet the requirements of the project.

Expert: Expert knowledge and experience. You are considered an expert within government and in the wider profession. You have applied this competence in multiple complex projects. You have been responsible for developing unique variations to suit specific situations. You champion capability development in this area.

Competency area	Level
Visible leadership The ability to engage, motivate and coach others. To act as a role model and inspire and empower others. Aligned to the leadership Civil Service behaviour.	Awareness
Credible action The ability to promote the wider public good in all actions and to act in a morally, legally and socially appropriate manner at all times. Challenges unacceptable behaviour. Aligned to the leadership Civil Service behaviour.	Working
Working with ambiguity The ability to work in an environment of uncertainty and continual change. Able to feel comfortable making decisions and setting direction without having the full picture and re-focus as details emerge. Can apply knowledge and techniques to reduce ambiguity. Aligned to the making effective decisions Civil Service behaviour.	Awareness
Collaboration The ability to establish and develop productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders, bringing people together to benefit the project. Aligned to the working together Civil Service behaviour.	Working
Influencing The ability to influence, change and impact decisions with both internal and external stakeholders. Aligned to the communicating and influencing Civil Service behaviour.	Working
Conflict resolution The ability to recognise, anticipate and effectively deal with existing or potential conflicts at an individual, team or strategic level. Aligned to the working together and leadership Civil Service behaviours.	Working
Inspiring others The ability to create and present a compelling vision and set clear direction, that motivates others to work towards a common goal. Aligned to the leadership Civil Service behaviour.	Awareness
Resilience The ability to adapt to changing circumstances and adverse situations whilst remaining calm, reassuring others and maintaining performance. Aligned to the delivering at pace Civil Service behaviour.	Working
Innovation The ability to think of, research and apply new ideas and ways of doing things. Encourages and supports innovations from others, is willing to experiment and follow ideas through to implementation. Aligned to the changing and improving Civil Service behaviour.	Working
Culture change The ability to plan, lead and effect positive cultural change, securing commitment and buy-in, and promoting a positive long term vision. Recognises when broader culture change is necessary to deliver a project. Aligned to the seeing the big picture, and changing and improving Civil Service behaviours.	Awareness

Typical qualifications and professional memberships

BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis
APMG Agile Business Analysis Foundation & Practitioner (view details about APMG Agile Business Analysis Foundation and Practitioner)

Job titles for recruitment

This role profile is for a business analyst at SEO grade. It could also be advertised as a senior business analyst.

Hiring managers should refer to the standardised job titles framework for guidance on which titles to use for recruitment.

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