Senior Specialist: Business Analysis (12 Months Contract) needed at Absa Group Limited

Job Summary

• The Human Capital Strategic Programme Office is seeking to employ a full-time contractor Business Analyst for a 12-month contract renewable at the end of the term subject to business need and performance. The Analyst must have at least five years’ experience working on projects and have strong Design Thinking skills and experience

Job Description

• Accountability: Feasibility Analysis:
• Author Business Cases and feasibility studies in partnership with Project Sponsors to justify (or not) the investment for a business initiative.
• Identify opportunities to improve current business processes.
• Provide consultancy and advice on functionality, applicability and usability of technology solutions to project requirements.
• Recognise and manage business trade-offs, conflicts and market pressures.
• Accountability: Detailed Business Analysis & Design:
• Evaluating business processes, anticipating requirements, uncovering areas for improvement, and developing and implementing solutions.
• Gathering requirements from business.
• Leading ongoing reviews of end user experiences and developing optimization strategies.
• Staying up to date on the latest process and IT advancements to automate and modernize systems.
• Assisting project leadership in identifying potential project plan variances.
• Writing requirement specifications and developing business process and data models that define the business need.
• Consulting with business stakeholders on business needs, issues and concerns.
• Creating and/or reviewing manuals, procedure and related user documentation – ensuring documentation is targeted to the appropriate audience.
• Leading Design Thinking activities and monitoring and managing requirements throughout the project lifecycle.
• Conducting requirements analysis and design definition to structure, organise, specify and model requirements and designs, validate and verify information, identify solution options that meet business needs, and estimate the potential value that could be realised for each solution option.
• Conducting strategy analysis to define the future and transition states needed to address the business need, the work required to define that need and the scope of the solution.
• Overseeing the collaboration between business analysis team members and project team members during conceptual design phase and requirements documentation.
• Partnering with Architects to ensure business representation during vendor selection process and interfaces with vendors to understand whether vendor products meet business requirements.
• Accountability: People and Practice Development:
• Act as Lead Business Analyst on any size project, directing and coordinating Business Analysis team members and activities related to requirements gathering and documentation.
• Act as a champion to changes within the business analysis profession and to motivate business analysts in continuous development
• Monitor industry activities and identify and recommend potential solutions and opportunities.
• Provide coaching and mentoring to other business analysts.
• Accountability: Stakeholder Management:
• Help business stakeholders identify and clarify their goals and requirements by conducting meetings/interviews and facilitating brainstorming sessions across large group and/or cross-functional groups.
• Explore and articulate the opportunity/problem to be solved and identify stakeholder wants and needs.
• Foster stakeholder relationships and engagement for discovery, elicitation, analysis and documentation, dependencies and delivery across teams.
• Perform all other duties as reasonable assigned.

Educational Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree (NQF 7)
• A Business Analysis certification is preferred
• A Design Thinking certification is advantageous

Experience Required:

• At least 5 years business analysis experience
• A proven ability to rigorously analyze and solve complex issues.
• At least 2 years’ experience practicing-applying Design Thinking in a project or operational environment with proven results.

Competencies:

• Design Thinking as a philosophy
• Design Thinking as an approach-method
• Clear and effective capture and documentation of Business Requirements
• Excellent facilitator at requirements workshops, brainstorming sessions and JAD workshop to operate at senior executive levels
• Creative and innovative thinker
• Excellent probing, interviewing and influencing skills
• Effectively deals with ambiguity
• Ability to take and give constructive feedback
• Problem and solution oriented
• Self-motivated, independent and resourceful
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Subtle influencer/persuader and negotiator

Education

• Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Physical, Mathematical, Computer and Life Sciences (Required)