Senior Business Analyst - 12mth FTC

M&G; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension up to 18%

Share Save plan

38 days annual leave

Inspiring Families policy

Private Healthcare

Job summary

M&G is seeking a Senior Business Analyst in Reading to drive change across projects and ensure robust solution designs. You will lead a team of analysts, define analytical approaches, and coach others while managing risks, dependencies, and delivery across a portfolio.

You will collaborate with business partners, operate in Agile/Hybrid governance, and contribute to high-quality requirements, user stories and process maps for improved outcomes.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience as a Business Analyst within a Life & Pensions organisation or Life & Pensions products.
• You can self-manage complex analysis activity across multiple projects, priorities or workstreams.
• You identify risks, issues, dependencies, gaps and blockers early with clear evidence.
• You maintain control across several parallel activities while keeping stakeholders informed.
• An international diploma in Business Analysis would be beneficial.
• You operate across Agile, Waterfall and hybrid environments with governance standards.

Responsibilities

• Shape the right way forward by identifying and comparing the most effective processes and delivery methods.
• Deeply analyse existing products, services and processes, defining requirements using gap analysis.
• Turn insight into impact using quantitative and qualitative data to define outcomes and inform design.
• Investigate complex challenges and evaluate options across new and existing products and services.
• Drive decision-making by presenting options and recommendations with stakeholders.
• Own analysis activity across multiple projects or workstreams, keeping priorities clear.

Skills

Business Analysis

Life & Pensions

Stakeholder mgmt

Agile & Waterfall

Data interpretation

Coaching teammates

Education

International Diploma in Business Analysis

Job description

At M&G, our purpose is to give everyone real confidence to put their money to work. With a heritage dating back more than 175 years, we have a long history of innovation in savings and investments, combining asset management and insurance expertise to offer a wide range of solutions.

Our two distinct operating segments, Asset Management and Life, work together to provide access to balanced, long-term investment and savings solutions.

Through telling it like it is, owning it now and moving it forward together with care and integrity; we are creating an exceptional place to work for exceptional talent.

We will consider flexible working arrangements for any of our roles and offer workplace adjustments to ensure you have the support you need to succeed in your role.

Senior Business Analyst - 12mth Fixed Term Contract

We’re building something bigger, and better, that makes delivering change across our organisation easier, smarter, and genuinely enjoyable for colleagues.

We need a Senior Business Analyst with the curiosity, courage and craft to help shape it from day one.

You’ll sit at the heart of how we shape and deliver change, taking ownership of analysis activities across multiple projects and workstreams providing assurance across a wider portfolio. This is a role requires a Senior Business Analyst who can self‑manage, prioritise effectively, lead others and proactively drive activity forward without needing close direction. You’ll define the analytical approach, lead and coach other Business Analysts, set clear expectations, manage task progress and provide assurance across a wider portfolio of change. You’ll be expected to identify risks, issues, dependencies and gaps early, ensuring these are clearly communicated, owned and resolved. Working closely with the business and our strategic partners, you’ll uncover problems worth solving, clarify desired outcomes and translate strategy into robust, well‑governed solution designs.

Key Responsibilities for this Role

• Shape the right way forward by identifying and comparing the most effective processes and delivery methods, measuring outcomes and using evidence to help the team agree the best approach
• Deeply analyse existing products, services and processes, uncovering optimisation opportunities and leading the definition of requirements using proven techniques such as gap analysis
• Turn insight into impact by using both quantitative and qualitative data to clearly define outcomes and inform solution design
• Get to the heart of complex challenges, investigating problems and evaluating options across new and existing products and services
• Drive confident decision‑making by presenting clear options and well‑reasoned recommendations, working closely with stakeholders to clarify objectives, unlock opportunities and articulate potential benefits
• Take ownership of analysis activity across multiple projects, initiatives or workstreams, ensuring priorities are clear and delivery remains on track.
• Proactively manage competing demands, making informed decisions on sequencing, resource focus and where escalation is required.
• Lead other Business Analysts by setting clear tasks, expected outputs, quality standards and target dates.
• Track delivery progress across BA activities, ensuring actions, risks, issues, dependencies and decisions are actively managed.
• Provide constructive challenge to stakeholders, delivery teams and partners where requirements, outcomes, scope or solution options are unclear.
• Identify blockers early and escalat with clear recommendations, options and proposed next steps.
• Assure the quality of BA deliverables across the team, including problem statements, requirements, user stories, process maps, impact assessments and solution design artefacts.
• Support the development of BA capability by coaching colleagues, sharing good practice and helping raise standards across the BA team.

Key Knowledge, Skills & Experience

Our ideal candidate is a strong collaborator and communicator, confident engaging sponsors and stakeholders at all levels and using a range of tools and techniques to achieve the right outcomes. You’re able to interpret data from multiple sources, including user research and performance metrics, and turn insight into clear user flows, wireframes and process maps that describe both current and future states. With an innovative mindset, you bring creativity to problem solving, spotting opportunities to improve how change is delivered.

• Extensive experience as a Business Analyst within a Life & Pensions organisation or Life & Pensions products
• You have proven experience of self‑managing complex analysis activity across multiple projects, priorities or workstreams, with the judgement to balance delivery pace, quality and stakeholder expectations.
• You are proactive and forward‑looking, able to identify risks, issues, dependencies, gaps and blockers before they impact delivery. You are confident escalating concerns early, with clear evidence, options and recommendations.
• You have strong task and delivery management discipline, with the ability to maintain control across several parallel activities while keeping stakeholders informed and engaged.
• An International diploma in Business Analysis (or equivalent qualification) would be extremely beneficial in this role
• You can operate confidently across Agile, Waterfall and hybrid environments, and understand the importance of working within established change governance standards
• You can lead other Business Analysts effectively, setting direction, agreeing tasks, monitoring progress and ensuring outputs are delivered to the required standard.
• You can operate with ambiguity, structure complex problems and bring clarity to stakeholders, delivery teams and third‑party partners.

We’d love to hear from you if you’re someone who’s genuinely curious - the kind of person who asks thoughtful questions and digs a little deeper to understand what’s really going on. You enjoy working with others and naturally bring people together, even when things feel a bit unclear. You think ahead, notice patterns early and stay focused on creating real value for the people around you.

Most of all, you care about making things better - for colleagues, for customers, and for the workplace as a whole.

Location

Reading, London

Job Level

Manager/Expert

What we offer:

We’re dedicated to supporting your wellbeing and helping you thrive, both at work and beyond. Our benefits are designed to help you balance your professional and personal life, and financially plan for the future.

• A valuable pension scheme of up to 18% (13% made up of employer contributions and 5% employee contributions).
• Access to our Share Save and Share Incentive Plan, alongside financial wellbeing and support services to help give you real confidence to put your money to work.
• Enjoy 38 days annual leave (including bank holidays), with the opportunity to purchase up to five extra days. Our Time Off When You Need It policy gives you the flexibility - to balance work and personal commitments.
• Our market-leading Inspiring Families policy includes comprehensive support and paid parental leave covering maternity, adoption, surrogacy, and paternity leave - because supporting families is an important part of our inclusive culture.
• Health & Protection cover includes Private Healthcare, Critical Illness cover and Life Assurance for you, with additional family options - for peace of mind.

To explore more about life at M&G and our full benefits offering, visit Life at M&G

At M&G we strive to have a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture, underpinned by our policies and employee‑led networks that offer networking, support and development opportunities for the diverse communities our colleagues represent. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds – across gender, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation and more – including neurodivergent individuals, career returners and those with military service experience.

M&G is proud to be Level 3: Disability Confident Leader under the UK Government Disability Confident employer scheme, and we welcome applications from candidates with disabilities and long‑term health conditions. If you would like to participate in the initiative, you will have the opportunity to indicate this on your application.

We are committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process. All candidates have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments when applying. If you need any additional support at any stage, please contact us at: [e-mail]