Senior Business Specialist IT

Niagara Region; Thorold; Hybrid; CAD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Pension plan

EFAP

Job summary

Niagara Region is seeking a Senior Business Specialist, Information Technology to establish and govern the enterprise application catalogue as the authoritative source for the portfolio. You will gather, validate, document, and maintain application information, including ownership, criticality, integrations, and lifecycle status, while coordinating with IT staff, clients, and vendors.

You will lead analysis, rationalize the portfolio, identify legacy and modernization opportunities, and guide

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years in systems planning, support, design in a large org
• Experience leading end-to-end IT projects (ERP, migrations, digital transformation)
• Knowledge of business process modeling, data analysis and gap analysis
• Familiar with Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid methods
• Proficient in Office Suite, Visio, Power BI; cloud platforms like Microsoft 365
• Experience with IT compliance (GDPR, HIPAA, SOX)

Responsibilities

• Leads and facilitates business analysis activities and architectural design sessions with stakeholders (40%).
• Advises management on leveraging resources and alignment with IT strategy.
• Gathers requirements and leads the design and implementation of solutions using IT.
• Conducts feasibility studies and develops system designs; creates use cases.
• Proposes cost-effective IT solution alternatives to meet objectives.
• Develops prototypes and user documentation for client systems; tests with users.
• Manages relationships with internal/external stakeholders and vendors.
• Oversees project delivery, tracking schedules, costs, and progress; provides status reports.

Skills

Business analysis

Portfolio management

Stakeholder management

ERP systems

JIRA/Confluence/Azure DevOps

Data analysis

Education

Post-secondary degree in Computer Science or equivalent

ITIL/project management training

CBAP or PBA eligibility

LEAN/Six Sigma

PMP or PRINCE2

Agile certifications (PMI-ACP/CSM/SAFe)

Tools

JIRA

Confluence

Azure DevOps

Job description

Contract Duration - approximately 12 to 18 months

Reporting to the Manager, Enterprise Applications, the Senior Business Specialist, Information Technology is responsible for establishing, maintaining, and governing the Region’s enterprise application catalogue as the authoritative source of information for the application portfolio. Working directly with vendors, IT staff, and client business units, the position gathers, validates, documents, and maintains detailed application information, including business ownership, criticality, integrations, infrastructure dependencies, technical and business lifecycle status, and related risks.

Drawing on broad information technology and business analysis expertise, the Senior Business Specialist works independently to resolve information gaps, reconcile conflicting inputs, and ensure catalogue information is complete, accurate, current, and consistently applied. The position analyzes portfolio information and develops recommendations to rationalize or decommission redundant applications, identify legacy and end-of-life systems, prioritize modernization and upgrade activities, and identify efficiencies that align the application portfolio with business needs and IT Solutions’ technology architecture. The position coordinates this work across multiple business units, IT teams, and vendors, providing the leadership and follow-through necessary to advance portfolio-management initiatives.

Education

• Post-secondary degree in Computer Science or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Formal training in business analysis, ITIL, project management or other similar discipline.
• CBAP or PBA eligibility or similar designation preferred.
• LEAN/Six Sigma or similar methodologies preferred.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) or PRINCE2 preferred.
• Agile certifications such as PMI-ACP, Certified Scrum Master (CSM) or SAFe Agilist preferred.

Knowledge

• Minimum of 8 years systems planning, support, conceptual design and feasibility study experience in a medium to large organization of a complex diverse nature.
• Experience leading end-to-end IT projects, including ERP implementations, system migrations, and digital transformation initiatives.
• Experience with business process modeling, data analysis, and gap analysis.
• Knowledge of business process modeling, structured analysis, design, programming techniques, lean practices and/or continuous quality improvement methods
• Knowledge of Agile, Waterfall, and hybrid project methodologies
• Proficiency with requirements management tools such as JIRA, Confluence, or Azure DevOps
• Strong understanding of enterprise systems such as ERP, CRM, and HRIS platforms
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, Visio, Power BI, and cloud-based platforms like Microsoft 365
• Familiarity with IT compliance and regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, SOX).

Responsibilities

Leads and facilitates business analysis activities and architectural design sessions with business area experts, managers, senior leaders and IT Solutions staff. (40% of time)

• Advises business management on how best to leverage technical resources for business-specific activities, providing recommendations to IT Solutions management for alignment with business unit’s strategic direction.
• Provides recommendations for process improvement and automation. Learns the new technology / system that is being implemented or updated.
• Gathers client business requirements, formulating logical statements of business problems and facilitating/leading the process for devising solutions to business problems using information technology or other means.
• Conducts feasibility studies, develops systems designs, prepares use cases, assists system implementations, develops or recommends changes to client area work methods and leads such initiatives.
• Provides cost effective solution alternatives to meet departmental objectives through the application of information technologies or through business process improvements.
• Prepares system prototypes for user consultation and contributes to the design, development, testing, modification, documentation and implementation of client systems.
• Identifies and documents problems and consults with key invested parties to develop options to select and implement the most appropriate solutions
• Researches and recommends future systems to enhance department productivity
• Develops and co-ordinates training for clients on new systems/procedures.
• Develops user-acceptance scripts and documents testing of solutions with clients for sign off.
• Reviews and evaluates the results of program and systems testing with team members and clients.
• Prepares end-user documentation as required to support client applications and increase understanding/acceptance of new processes.
• Recommends standards, policies and procedures and ensures they are adhered to.

Leads client projects, ensuring delivery of defined scope within budget and on time while adhering to the quality as agreed with the client. (25% of time)

• Leads cross-functional teams by fostering accountability and collaboration
• Develops project scope, schedules, risk assessments and plans, assigning tasks, managing implementation activities, ensuring adherence to schedules and costs, tracking and monitoring progress and ensuring project team and clients are informed.
• Coordinates with appropriate Corporate areas (such as Legal Services, Purchasing, etc.) to manage contract and agreements and issuing and evaluating RFP’s, RFI’s, RFQ’s, etc.
• Ensures that all project and task timetables are kept up-to-date and provides weekly status reports to Supervisor and/or Manager
• Liaises with vendors to ensure that schedules, guidelines and protocols are adhered to and client requirements are met.
• Evaluates, selects and acquires hardware and software, ensuring adherence to budget plans and functional requirements.
• Mentor junior analysts and project team members, providing guidance on business analysis techniques, tools, and best practices.
• Facilitate resolution of complex project challenges through analytical thinking and diplomacy.
• Empowers clients to make decisions while providing strategic oversight.
• Champions Agile principles and practices, including Scrum or Kanban, to deliver iterative and incremental project outcomes, as applicable to the project.
• Serves as a Scrum Master or Agile Coach when necessary to guide teams through sprints, backlogs, and retrospectives, when used.

Manages relationships with internal/external invested parties, client business units and project participants. (10% of time)

• Provides feedback to and manages invested parties/client expectations.
• Shares information regarding initiatives and other best practices with Division and Departmental staff.
• Liaises with agencies, boards and commissions and other municipal partners to share information and identify opportunities for business/information systems integration.
• Develops strong working relationships with key staff members in supported departments.
• Provides advice and guidance on the proper use of technologies.
• Assigns work and monitors progress of internal and external analysts, programmers, etc.
• Guides and supports other Analysts in the Niagara Region on IT best practices and standards for project delivery.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to invested parties, ensuring alignment between business needs and IT deliverables.

Prepares technology-related reports, memos, drafts, letters, guidelines and other correspondence and conduct presentations to meet departmental requirements. (10% of time)

• Contributes to the development of strategic and implementation plans, ensuring that major initiatives are in line with the Information Technology Solutions and the Region’s strategic direction, and providing ongoing support of automation initiatives within the supported departments.
• Utilizes analytics tools to gather insights from business processes and inform decision-making.
• Develops and maintains dashboards for tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and project health metrics.

Identifies opportunities to improve/enhance processes and business solutions through continuous learning. (15% of time)

• Reviews technical literature regarding system methodologies, development productivity tools and techniques.
• Interprets new or revised legislation and legal or policy decisions in order to make appropriate recommendations concerning the application of process changes or technology solutions to meet the Region’s obligations arising from regulatory commitments.
• Provides recommendations for process improvements and automation opportunities through continual learning of the business processes.
• Act as a thought leader within the organization, advocating for continuous improvement and innovative solutions.
• Continuously monitor advancements in technology to assess their impact on current processes and systems.
• Recommend modern tools, methodologies, or systems that support organizational agility and scalability.

Perform other related duties and responsibilities as assigned or required

Special Requirements

• In accordance with the Corporate Criminal Record Check Policy, the position requires the incumbent to undergo a Criminal Records Check and submit a Canadian Police Clearance Certificate.
• Regional staff strive to enable the strategic priorities of council and the organization through the completion of their work. Staff carry out their work by demonstrating the corporate values.

This position currently falls within our hybrid model, allowing the employee to typically work a minimum of 50% of your time at your regular work location and the other 50% of time at home.

We confirm that we do not use AI in screening of applicants, and this position is an existing vacancy.

As an employer of choice, Niagara Region offers competitive salaries and benefits, a defined benefit pension plan, a corporate wellness centre, access to the Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP), mentorship and training programs, employee recognition programs, and more. In addition, the Region recognizes the value of having flexible work arrangements to support better work-life balance for our employees. Hybrid work arrangements may vary from one employee to another and may also differ in the number of remote workdays. These opportunities remain subject to the alignment of operational needs, business requirements, and customer service expectations.