Senior Business Analyst (Higher Education)

Senior Business Analyst (Higher Education)

Location: Preston

Working Pattern: Hybrid

Salary: £43,000-£50,000 per annum

Contract: Permanent

Salt is recruiting for a Senior Business Analyst to join an established higher education institution, helping shape strategic change across the organisation.

Working within Learning and Information Services, you will translate business needs and strategic objectives into clearly defined proposals, robust business cases and measurable outcomes. This is an opportunity to influence investment decisions, improve services and help ensure proposed initiatives are achievable and aligned with organisational priorities.

The Role

You will lead analysis at the early stages of change, working with senior stakeholders to understand challenges, assess opportunities and define requirements. Collaborating with enterprise architects, project managers and operational teams, you will help take initiatives from initial discovery through to a clear, evidence-based proposal ready for delivery.

Key Responsibilities

. Lead the discovery, analysis and definition of business needs, opportunities and challenges to support strategic decision-making

. Shape new demand proposals, ensuring they are clearly defined, supported by evidence and aligned with organisational priorities

. Facilitate workshops, interviews and stakeholder discussions to capture, document and validate business requirements

. Produce business cases covering options appraisals, cost-benefit analysis, investment justifications, risks and recommendations

. Evaluate and challenge proposed solutions to ensure they address underlying business needs and deliver measurable value

. Work with enterprise architects and subject matter experts to align initiatives with architectural standards, technology roadmaps and strategic principles

. Develop current-state and future-state process models, operating models and capability assessments to support transformation

. Define and quantify expected benefits, supporting benefits realisation plans and performance measures

. Undertake market, industry and organisational research to identify opportunities for innovation and service improvement

. Assess the feasibility, impact, costs, risks and dependencies of proposed developments, supporting portfolio prioritisation and investment decisions

. Maintain clear documentation, including business requirements, stakeholder analyses, process maps, benefits frameworks and strategic assessments

. Act as a trusted adviser to senior stakeholders, preparing papers, presentations and recommendations for governance forums and investment boards

. Collaborate with project managers, architects, operational teams and external partners to support the transition from demand definition into project delivery

. Promote business analysis best practice, coach less experienced analysts and contribute to the continuous improvement of the business analysis function

Essential Skills and Experience

. Significant business analysis experience, including leading analysis for complex, high-impact projects

. Experience working in higher education

. A relevant undergraduate degree or equivalent practical experience

. Knowledge of demand management and portfolio management principles

. Understanding of benefits management and benefits realisation approaches

. Strong requirements elicitation, modelling and documentation skills

. Experience in business process analysis, process improvement and service design methodologies

. Knowledge of project and programme delivery methodologies, including PRINCE2, Agile and hybrid approaches

. Understanding of enterprise architecture principles and the relationships between business, data, application and technology architectures

. Experience producing high-quality business cases, reports and evidence-based recommendations

. Strong process mapping and modelling skills, with the ability to evaluate options and explain their implications

. Ability to manage competing priorities across multiple initiatives

. Proven ability to build relationships and influence stakeholders at all levels

. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex concepts to technical and non-technical audiences

. Experience coaching or mentoring other analysts or team members

. A commitment to inclusive working, professional behaviours and organisational values

Desirable Experience

. Experience using ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM)

. Experience with enterprise systems such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, Ellucian Banner or Azure Integration Services

Eligibility

Applicants must currently reside in the UK and have the right to work in the UK. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

*Rates depend on experience and client requirements