Senior Business Analyst

Thames Water Utilities Limited; Oxford; On-site; GBP 59,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading water and wastewater company in the UK is seeking a Senior Business Analyst to support their digital transformation efforts. The role includes leading business analysis activities across large-scale digital and ERP programmes and liaising with various stakeholders to ensure projects meet strategic objectives. Candidates must have strong experience with SAP SuccessFactors and HR processes. The position offers a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits.

Benefits

Competitive salary up to £70,000

Annual Leave – 26 days holiday per year

Generous Pension Scheme through AON

Qualifications

• Experience in Digital Business Analysis project environments.
• Proven track record supporting SAP HR/Payroll SuccessFactors implementations.
• Strong proficiency in ERP integrations and data governance.

Responsibilities

• Lead Business Analysis across Digital and ERP programmes.
• Develop implementation plans and support system adoption.
• Ensure alignment of business processes to best practices.

Skills

Business Analysis

Stakeholder management

SAP SuccessFactors

HR and Payroll processes

Education

BCS Diploma in Business Analysis

SAP SuccessFactors certification

Tools

SAP S/4HANA

Agile methodologies

Waterfall methodologies

Job description

As a Senior Business Analyst - Digital Transformation, you will be responsible for leading Business Analysis activities across Thames Water's Digital Transformation domains. This includes driving requirements definition, supporting implementation programmes, shaping solution design, and ensuring high-quality analysis standards across projects. You will work closely with Programme Managers, Portfolio Leads, Business Analysts, Digital engineering teams, and Domain Leads to ensure opportunities are clearly defined, well‑structured, and deliver value for customers, communities, and the environment. You will play a key role in transforming organisational capability by leveraging data, technology, and SAP-focused delivery to optimise business processes and support Thames Water's strategic objectives.

What you’ll be doing as a Senior Business Analyst

• Deliver high‑quality Business Analysis across large‑scale Digital and ERP programmes, including SAP S/4HANA, SAP ECC, and SAP SuccessFactors implementations.
• Lead requirements gathering activities by collaborating with stakeholders, documenting business processes, and translating these into clear, structured technical requirements.
• Analyse existing workflows to identify opportunities for improvement, ensuring alignment to best practice and supporting future‑state design.
• Develop implementation plans including timelines, resourcing considerations, and alignment with SAP Activate methodology.
• Provide training and support to end‑users to enable successful adoption of new systems and processes.
• Support the development of test cases and acceptance criteria to ensure requirements are validated and traceable.
• Build and maintain strong relationships across business units and Digital teams, tailoring communication to stakeholder needs and ensuring clarity of scope, intent, and outcomes.
• Champion initiative vision, facilitate alignment, and enable consensus by explaining complex concepts simply and effectively.
• Coach, mentor, and quality‑assure the work of Business Analysts, guiding best practice and supporting capability uplift.
• Apply Agile and Waterfall methodologies appropriately, supporting teams to work iteratively and deliver agreed minimum‑viable product (MVP) outcomes.
• Support project teams with prioritisation, decision‑making, and outcome visualisation to maintain momentum and clarity.
• Contribute to continuous improvement across the Business Analysis Community, promoting agile principles, service excellence, and consistent standards.
• Act as an escalation point for Business Analysts and project stakeholders, facilitating resolution of requirement‑related issues, risks, and delivery challenges.

Experience and qualifications

• Experience working in a Digital Business Analysis project environment.
• Proven track record supporting SAP HR/Payroll SuccessFactors implementations, ideally in utilities or regulated industries.
• Strong proficiency in HR and Payroll processes, ERP integrations, and the SAP Activate delivery framework.
• Experience in data governance, change management, supplier enablement, and mentoring or coaching others.
• Ability to present complex business or technical information clearly and simply at all organisational levels.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, able to set clear expectations, communicate scope and priorities, and maintain a customer‑centric mindset.
• Experience leading Business Analysis activities including elicitation, evidence gathering, problem/opportunity identification, and ensuring alignment to strategic business objectives.

Essential Technical Skills & Qualifications

• BCS Diploma in Business Analysis or equivalent qualification.
• SAP SuccessFactors certification or equivalent hands‑on SAP Business Analysis experience.
• Proficiency in HR and Payroll processes, ERP integrations, and SAP Activate methodology.
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities, work independently, and manage varied workloads effectively.
• Expertise in Business Analysis practice with the flexibility to operate across Agile and Waterfall delivery models.
• Understanding of the Water Industry, including cultural and regulatory considerations.
• Experience working within both large and small project teams.
• Experience with product‑based delivery approaches and coaching others in product ways of working.

Desirable Technical Skills & Qualifications

• Certification or experience with DevOps tools, processes, and methodologies.
• Management or Leadership qualification.
• Information Technology or related discipline qualification.

We're the UK's largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It's a big job and we've got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Benefits

• Competitive salary up to £70,000 per annum, depending on experience.
• Annual Leave – 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays).
• Performance‑related pay plan directly linked to both company and individual performance measures and targets.
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family's health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.