Business Analyst

Damen Shipyards Group; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 160,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A global shipbuilding company is seeking a skilled Business Analyst to support data-driven decision-making at the Group level. The role involves translating complex business questions into actionable insights and collaborating across departments, including finance and IT. Candidates should have over five years of relevant experience, particularly with analytics and BI tools like Power BI, and possess strong communication and analytical skills. This position offers the chance to drive improvements through data visualization and analysis.

Qualifications

• Experience in a complex, matrix organization.
• Strong understanding of data-driven decision making.
• Experience with multi-source reporting.

Responsibilities

• Support fact-based, data-driven decisions.
• Translate analytical findings into actionable proposals.
• Monitor Group-wide performance and signal risks.

Skills

Analytical strength

Stakeholder sensitivity

Communication

Organizational Skills

Critical Thinking

Proactive Attitude

Helicopter view

Ownership & quality focus

Collaboration

Education

≥5 years’ experience as a Business Analyst

Experience with project organizations

Strong understanding of analytics and BI

Experience with Power BI

Knowledge of ERP systems like SAP4HANA

Job description

We offer you an Ocean of Possibilities. Join our family.

About Us

Damen Shipyards Group, established in 1927, is a 100% Dutch family-owned international organization comprising 34 shipbuilding and repair yards. With a workforce of over 12,000 employees worldwide, the Group operates through a divisional structure consisting of seven divisions and a central holding company.

Damen Middle East Shared Services Limited, based in the United Arab Emirates, forms part of Damen Global Support. The entity provides specialized support services to the various divisions of the Damen Shipyards Group in key areas such as IT, Finance, Audit, Legal, and Compliance.

Vacancy: Business Analyst

Are you analytical, detail-oriented, and passionate about turning data into meaningful business insights?

Do you enjoy working with stakeholders, solving problems, and supporting fact-based decision‑making?

Damen Shipyards Group, established in 1927, is a 100% Dutch family-owned international organization comprising 34 shipbuilding and repair yards. With a workforce of over 12,000 employees worldwide, the Group operates through a divisional structure consisting of seven divisions and a central holding company.

Damen Middle East Shared Services Limited, based in the United Arab Emirates, forms part of Damen Global Support. The entity provides specialized support services to the various divisions of the Damen Shipyards Group in key areas such as IT, Finance, Audit, Legal, and Compliance.

Purpose of the Role

The Business Analyst supports Damen Shipyards Group in making fact based, data driven decisions by translating complex business questions into reliable insights, standardized datasets, and actionable dashboards. By rationalizing the decision‑making process with your quantifications and visualizations, management will be able to make better decisions. Through your helicopter view and excellent reporting skills, you are able to identify the root causes of problems, in close cooperation with the business owner. You will translate the business needs into actionable user stories for team members to work with.

Operating at Group level, the role bridges business, finance, IT, and management, ensuring consistent KPI definitions, high quality data products, and strong adoption of analytics solutions across the organization.

Therefore, you are capable of translating business needs into technical tasks with IT (tools) and other expertise. You stand for the quality of the information and the visibility of this. Your analyses will support business decisions. This implies converting business expectations into data analysis. You perform statistical analysis of data, create visualizations of analyzed data and processes, and you have the ability to look at things in a different way and recognizing patterns.

Position in the Organization

• Part of the Shared Data Analytics Team, acting as a central capability for the Damen Group.
• Works across multiple Damen companies, functions, and seniority levels.
• Interfaces closely with Finance, Operations, Engineering, IT, and Executive Management.
• Contributes to the maturity of data governance, analytics standards, and data‑driven working within Damen.

Key Responsibilities

1. Business Analysis & Insight Generation

• Gain understanding and knowledge of the companies activities.
• Perform business, financial, and statistical analyses to identify trends, deviations, and root causes.
• Translate analytical findings into concrete, actionable improvement proposals.
• Monitor Group‑wide performance and signal bottlenecks and risks in processes and outcomes.
• Develop and maintain KPI frameworks, ensuring consistent interpretation and usage.

2. Requirements Management & Agile Delivery

• Translate business needs into clear requirements and user stories (Definition of Ready / Done).Prioritize backlog items together with stakeholders.
• Participate actively in Agile ceremonies (refinement, sprint planning, reviews, retrospectives).
• Coordinate with IT teams and external partners on technical dependencies and delivery.

3. Data Governance & Quality

• Contribute to Group data governance by defining data standards, ownership, and quality criteria.
• Support the development of ETL/ELT, data modelling (e.g. star schemas), and validation standards.
• Act as a guardian of KPI definitions and data consistency across Damen.

4. Stakeholder Management & Change Enablement

• Act as a trusted advisor for managers and executives on data and analytics topics.
• Coach and support stakeholders in using dashboards and insights effectively.
• Promote data‑driven ways of working through explanation, training, and adoption support.
• Communicate technical constraints clearly to non‑technical audiences.

Key Accountabilities

• Delivery and maintenance of Management KPI Dashboards.
• Preparation of detailed, action‑oriented user stories.
• Alignment of business needs with IT and data platform capabilities.

Qualifications and Experience

• ≥5 years’ experience as a Business Analyst (in a complex, matrix organization).
• Experience with project organizations and/or production environments
• Strong understanding of analytics, BI, and data driven decision making.
• Experience with Power BI, data modelling, and multi‑source reporting.
• Knowledge of engineering and/or business processes is a strong advantage.
• Understanding of project and Agile delivery methods.
• Knowledge of ERP systems like SAP4HANA, IFS, etc.

Core Competencies

• Analytical strength: Able to convert complexity into clear insights.
• Stakeholder sensitivity: Navigates international, multi-level organizations effectively.
• Communication: Explains technical topics clearly to management and operations.
• Organizational Skills: Organizing workshops, definition sessions, and similar activities.
• Critical Thinking: Asking critical questions and validating outcomes.
• Proactive Attitude: Not waiting for questions but taking the initiative yourself.
• Helicopter view: Balances strategic overview with attention to detail.
• Ownership & quality focus: Works accurately, consistently, and result driven.
• Collaboration: Acts as a team player and a connector between business, finance, and IT.

Recruiter: Ranusha Wattetenna Email: [e-mail] Kindly note that applications must be submitted through the Apply button. Email submissions will not be accepted.