IT Business Analyst

Canal and River Trust; Birmingham; Remote; GBP 50,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading charity organization is seeking a Business Analyst for a critical role in their ERP transformation. The successful candidate will bridge IT and business teams, documenting processes and facilitating improvements. Ideal applicants will have proven experience in complex change projects and be skilled in process mapping and documentation. This remote position requires occasional attendance at hubs in Leeds and Birmingham.

Benefits

Competitive contributory pension scheme

25 days paid holiday

Home working with hub facilities

Access to employee benefits like store discounts

2 days paid volunteering leave

Free fishing facilities

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Business Analyst in change or ERP projects.
• Strong analytical and communication skills.
• Experience in translating business processes into functional specifications.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with teams to document existing business processes.
• Identify opportunities for process improvement.
• Translate blueprints into functional specifications.

Skills

Business process mapping

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Facilitation skills

Education

Relevant degree or qualification

Tools

Visio

SAP or other ERP systems

Job description

About the Trust

We\'re one of the UK\'s biggest charities and we care for 2,000 miles of canals, rivers, docks and reservoirs because we believe life is better by water. We\'re looking for people who support our cause and want to make a difference for future generations. Along with our waterways we also manage museums, archives and the country\'s third largest collection of historic buildings, as well as the nature and wildlife that calls our canals home. All of this enables us to provide wellbeing opportunities for millions of people each year.

Contract: 2 year fixed term contract

Roles available: x3 across our Finance, Asset Management and Operations teams.

Our role and opportunity

As we modernise our operations and systems, we\'re embarking on a significant transformation programme to replace our legacy SAP system with best-of-breed ERP solutions. To support this, we are recruiting our first Business Analyst - a vital role that will help bridge the gap between IT and business teams to ensure we successfully capture, design, and deliver future-fit business processes.

The Business Analyst will play a central role in our ERP transformation journey. Reporting into the IT team, you will work closely with stakeholders across the organisation to capture existing (\'as-is\') business processes, identify gaps and inefficiencies, and help define the \'to-be\' future state in line with our strategic goals and operational needs.

You will act as the key link between our business teams and technical partners, helping shape the functional specifications that will inform system configuration and implementation. Beyond the ERP programme, you will also help embed a more structured approach to process documentation and improvement across the organisation, building a foundation of operational competence that will benefit the Trust long term.

Location & coverage

You will be offered on a remote working basis, with a requirement to attend our main hub spaces as and when required for team working and collaborative meetings.

Relevant hubs include: Leeds & Birmingham.

The regularity & flexibility of travel will be discussed further at interview stage.

About the role

Key accountabilities:

• Work collaboratively with business teams to uncover, map, and document existing (\'as-is\') business processes, systems, and touchpoints, using clear, detailed and visual process maps. Document existing business processes through workshops (remote or in person), interviews, and process walkthroughs to build a comprehensive and accurate picture of existing operations - especially where knowledge is fragmented or undocumented.
• Identify opportunities for process improvement, simplification, and innovation during both mapping and blueprinting stages.
• Business requirements - Facilitate workshops and interviews to gather requirements, identify business needs; problems and opportunities, surfacing improvement opportunities. Identify business value; benefit; usefulness and importance to business.
• Work with stakeholders and project teams to design \'to-be\' business processes and workflows aligned to business objectives, operational needs, ERP capabilities and best practice.
• Translate process blueprints into robust, unambiguous functional specifications to support software providers in configuring solutions that fit the Trust\'s requirements.
• Collaborate with IT, third-party suppliers, and business leads to ensure accurate system configuration and design.
• Support change management activities by ensuring stakeholders understand process changes and by providing process documentation for training and onboarding.
• Support change impact analysis and contribute to testing, training, and rollout activities.
• Champion the creation and ongoing maintenance of an operational knowledge model, ensuring that business process information is systematically captured, documented, and made accessible to prevent future knowledge loss.
• Develop and maintain business process documentation and contribute to the creation of an internal process library or knowledge base.
• Promote business analysis best practices and help shape future capability within the organisation.
• To become an integral part of the project delivery function ensuring that regular reviews are undertaken as to the effectiveness of the proposed processes and implementation.

About you

Experience:

• Proven experience as a Business Analyst in complex change or ERP migration projects, ideally within asset-rich or not-for-profit sectors.
• Demonstrable expertise in business process mapping, modelling, and documentation (using tools such as Visio or similar).
• Strong analytical, facilitation, and communication skills, with the ability to uncover requirements where knowledge is lacking and present complex processes clearly to diverse audiences.
• Experience in translating processes into functional specifications for technology configuration and implementation.
• Contribute to the definition of governance frameworks and standards for business process documentation within the Trust.
• Highly organised, detail-oriented, and proactive, with a collaborative approach to problem solving.

Skills & attributes:

• Ability to create comprehensive, up-to-date process maps and blueprints available to business and IT stakeholders
• Ability to translate business requirements into functional specifications for technical teams and suppliers.
• Able to ensure that operational process knowledge retained and accessible for future reference and onboarding.
• Experience working remotely and face to face with cross-functional teams, including finance, procurement, HR, and operations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Comfortable working independently and in a newly established role.

Desirable:

• Experience working with SAP or other ERP systems.
• Exposure to not-for-profit, public sector, or charitable organisations.
• Familiarity with business process modelling tools (e.g., BPMN, Visio, Lucidchart).
• Experience with knowledge management and building process documentation frameworks.

If you have any questions about the role please contact [e-mail]

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient suitable applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

What we offer

In addition to your salary of £50,000, you will benefit from a competitive contributory DC Pension scheme arrangement, great holiday entitlement and numerous other employee benefits, including several salary sacrifice benefits, all of which can be found here (https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/work-for-us/our-benefits).

• Competitive contributory DC Pension scheme arrangement, where we will double your contribution to a maximum of 10%.
• 25 days paid holiday (plus paid Bank Holidays), increasing with years of service to up to 30 days after 5 years, plus holiday purchase scheme.
• Home working status with \'hub\' facilities available should you need the flexibility to work outside of home.
• Free access to specialist counselling on a range of issues, e.g. health, financial, well-being and domestic matters.
• Access to a range of employee benefits including store discounts, boating holiday discounts and holiday purchase scheme.
• 2 days paid volunteering leave per annum, allowing you to volunteer for a local community project etc.
• Free fishing facilities across our canal network.

We care passionately for our waterways, and as importantly, for those who look after and use them. We strongly believe that a diverse workforce brings with it a diversity of ideas, thinking and ways of working which enhances what we do as a Trust. We are striving to represent the diverse communities that we are a part of and welcome applicants from across all sectors of the community.

All candidates will be treated on the basis of their merits, skills and abilities and solely by being assessed against the requirements for the job.

At the Trust, we empower our people to flow and thrive both on and off the water. Our colleagues enjoy a variety of benefits that enhance their lives while working in a place that positively impacts others. We take pride in our people, protecting heritage and preserving wildlife, and we\'re all about the future of our colleagues and the future generations who love and use our network. Inspired by people, we harness the different ways of working and thinking, ensuring our teams grow and reach their full potential.

Navigate your future and lock in your career as we keep our canals open and alive.

Find out more about us on our website: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us