Senior Business Analyst

Department for Business and Trade - Digital, Data and Technology; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

The Department for Business and Trade is seeking a Senior Business Analyst to lead business analysis efforts, facilitate user-centered product development, and mentor junior colleagues. This role is crucial for aligning business needs with strategic objectives, using strong analytical and problem-solving skills to enhance organizational effectiveness. The position offers a flexible, hybrid working environment and numerous development opportunities within a recognized public sector employer.

Benefits

Flexible working environment

Civil Service pension with average employer contribution

Annual leave starting at 25 days

Paid volunteering days

Employee benefits programme

Qualifications

• Strong demonstrable experience of leading business analysis in a digital environment and mentoring colleagues.
• Ability to define and prioritize complex change initiatives.
• Experience leading stakeholder engagement and shaping communication strategies.

Responsibilities

• Identifying and addressing user problems; providing recommendations.
• Defining capabilities and supporting organizational changes.
• Engaging with stakeholders to inform priorities and solutions.

Skills

Business analysis

Stakeholder relationship management

Systems analysis

Digital Data and Technology standards

Business process improvement

Requirements definition and management

Job description

Recruiter Department for Business and Trade - Digital, Data and Technology

About us

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has a clear mission - to grow the economy. Our role is to help businesses invest, grow and export to create jobs and opportunities right across the country. We do this in three ways.

Firstly, we help to build a strong, competitive business environment, where consumers are protected and companies rewarded for treating their employees properly.

Secondly, we open international markets and ensure resilient supply chains. This can be through Free Trade Agreements, trade facilitation and multilateral agreements.

Finally, we work in partnership with businesses every day, providing advance, finance and deal-making support to those looking to start up, invest, export and grow.

The Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) directorate develops and operates tools and services to support us in this mission. The team have been nominated three times in a row for 'Best Public Sector Employer' at the Women in Tech awards!

About the role

Our Senior Business Analysts identify and draw upon a variety of evidence to define, analyse and document challenging business problems and user needs. They lead the mapping of user and organisational needs to business architecture, ensuring alignment with service vision and strategy.

Senior Business Analysts (BAs) constructively challenge and act as a critical friend to ensure fit-for-purpose solutions. They facilitate collaboration and effective communication to support the design, build, and delivery of user-centred products and services.

As a Senior BA, you will support the Head of Profession to build a sustainable, diverse, and engaged Business Analyst community within DBT who work together towards a common goal and share ideas openly, establishing standards and consistency to support rapid delivery through sharing and learning from one another.

Read more about what it is like to become a business analyst in DDaT in our blog.

You will also line manage and mentor junior colleagues, providing advice and direction on their activities and supporting them to develop their skills and experience.

About you

We're looking for people who are:

• Flexible and can prioritise and work effectively across different services at both multidisciplinary team and portfolio level

• Adaptable, to confidently engage key stakeholders from different functions

• A critical thinker

• Proactive, can drive activities and identify solutions to problems

Main responsibilities

You will be:

• Identifying and addressing business and user problems, providing options and recommendations

• Defining and documenting required capabilities and supporting organisational changes to create and implement operating models that meet business objectives

• Leading business analysis and process re-engineering to support organisational change and target operating model implementation

• Engaging proactively with Service Owners, Product Managers and Delivery using analysis outcomes to inform priorities and shape the team's activities, ensuring solutions are aligned to strategic business objectives

• Applying analytical and problem-solving skills to investigate, communicate and implement improvements

• Contributing to an active and supportive community of practice

• Line managing and supporting the development of more junior Business Analysts

Skills and experience

It is essential that you have:

• Strong demonstrable experience of leading business analysis in a digital environment, with experience of mentoring colleagues and supporting teams to deliver high quality work. (Lead Criteria)

• Evidence of driving the assessment of complex business challenges, shaping analytical approaches and ensuring options and recommendations align with organisational strategy and user needs.

• Experience of defining and agreeing the approach and priorities for business analysis whilst applying the team's chosen delivery methodology (e.g. Scrum),

• Ability to advise on requirements definition and prioritisation for complex change initiatives, ensuring traceability and negotiation of solutions to maximise business and user impact.

• Experience of leading stakeholder engagement at all levels, shaping communication strategies, resolving conflicts, and ensuring alignment with business and user needs.

• Experience leading business process analysis to enhance efficiency, using business, systems and data modelling techniques to identify improvements, and supporting and overseeing process testing and usability evaluations

• Strong understanding of and can champion Digital, Data and Technology standards and work effectively in a multi-disciplinary team

It is desirable that you have:

• Experience of working at portfolio level across multiple products or services, or within a complex programme of work

How to apply

As part of the application process you will be asked to upload a two page CV and complete a 900 word personal statement outlining how you meet the essential skills and experience listed above. You can use bullet points and subheadings if you prefer.

Sift will be from week commencing 30th June 2025

Interviews will be from week commencing 14th July 2025

Please note these dates are indicative and may be subject to change.

If there is a high volume of applications, we will sift looking at your Lead criteria - Strong demonstrable experience of leading business analysis in a digital environment, with experience of mentoring colleagues and supporting teams to deliver high quality work - only. You may then be progressed to full sift or straight to interview.

How we interview

At the interview stage for this role, you will be asked to demonstrate relevant Technical Skills and Behaviours from the Success Profiles framework. These are role specific and in line with the Business analyst - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework.

Technical Skills

• Adapting to delivery methodologies

• Business analysis

• Business process improvement

• Requirements definition and management

• Stakeholder relationship management

• Systems analysis

• User experience analysis

Behaviours

• Leadership

• Making Effective Decisions

You will be asked to prepare and deliver a presentation and will be informed on the topic following the sift.

How we offer

Offers will be made in merit order based on location preferences. If you pass the bar at interview but are not the highest scoring you will be held on a 12-month reserve list in case a role becomes available. If you are judged a near miss at interview, you may be offered a post at the grade below the one you applied for.

This role requires SC clearance. DBT's requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet this requirement will result in your application being rejected and your offer will be withdrawn.

Checks will also be made against:

• departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records)

• UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records

• your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency

• security services record

• location details

Benefits

If you join us, you will get:

• learning and development tailored to your role

• a flexible, hybrid working environment with options like condensed hours

• a culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

• a Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%

• annual leave starting at 25 days rising to 30 days with service

• three paid volunteering days a year

• an employee benefits programme including cycle to work

More about us

This role can only be worked from within the UK, not overseas. If you are based in London, you will receive London weighting. DBT employees work in a hybrid pattern, spending 2-3 days a week (pro rata) in the office. Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DBT, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.

You can find out more about our office locations, how we calculate salaries, our diversity statement and reasonable adjustments, the Recruitment Principles, the Civil Service code and our complaints procedure on our website.

Find out more about life at DBT, our benefits and meet the team by watching our video or reading our blog!

Senior Business Analyst

Location: London, Darlington, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham, Salford

Find out about our benefits, application process and practical details like our office locations on the things you need to know page.