Business Analyst

Unifi; Wes-Kaap; On-site; ZAR 360,000 - 720,000; Full time

Job summary

Unifi in South Africa is seeking a Business Analyst who thrives in a fast-paced, ambiguity-rich environment. You’ll partner with product, operations and data teams to understand problems, not just document requirements, and help shape practical solutions.

You will analyse data with SQL, test assumptions and present clear recommendations to diverse stakeholders across Africa. Travel to client sites may be required as Unifi grows.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years' experience in business analysis or similar problem-solving roles.
• Experience in financial services or African markets is useful but not essential.
• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving ability matter most.

Responsibilities

• Investigate client and business pain points across products, processes and systems to understand the real root cause.
• Query and analyse data in SQL to test assumptions, spot trends and support recommendations with evidence.
• Spend time with teams across our countries to understand how work actually happens on the ground.
• Break complex problems into clear, manageable pieces that the team can act on.
• Work closely with the Domain Lead and development team to shape simple, practical solutions.
• Challenge existing processes by proposing a simpler or better way of doing things.
• Write specs, user stories, wireframes and process flows where they add value.
• Test and validate solutions before they go live and catch problems before our clients do.
• Stay close to implementation to make sure the solution actually fixes the problem.
• Communicate findings and recommendations simply to both technical and non-technical teams.
• Keep important documentation current and useful.
• Build strong relationships with the teams closest to our clients and create space for people to speak up when something isn't working.
• Look for opportunities to simplify, automate and improve how we work as Unifi grows."],
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Skills

Analytical thinking

Problem-solving

Communication

Stakeholder management

Adaptability

Education

Relevant tertiary qualification

Tools

SQL

Job description

About Unifi

Boldly different. Fiercely human. Proudly African.

Unifi is redefining credit in Africa with simple, fast personal loans delivered through online, mobile and branch channels. We make life easy for our clients across Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Tanzania. Unifi has conviction in the African continent and its people, and our products enable our clients to achieve even more. As one of the fastest-growing lenders in Africa, we combine exceptional client service with the very best tech and data analytics.

Purpose of the role

The Business Analyst reports to the Domain Lead. This isn't a traditional, documentation-heavy BA role. You won't be measured by the number of requirements you document, processes you map or user stories you produce. We're looking for someone who gets close to the problem, understands what's really happening, uses data to find the root cause and works with the right people to find a practical solution. Things move quickly at Unifi, and the answer isn't always obvious. You'll need to be comfortable with ambiguity, balance competing priorities and be willing to get into the details to solve the problem.

Responsibilities

• Investigate client and business pain points across products, processes and systems to understand the real root cause, not just the symptom.
• Query and analyse data in SQL to test assumptions, spot trends and support recommendations with evidence.
• Spend time with teams across our countries to understand how work actually happens on the ground.
• Break complex problems into clear, manageable pieces that the team can act on.
• Work closely with the Domain Lead and development team to shape simple, practical solutions.
• Challenge existing processes by proposing a simpler or better way of doing things.
• Write specs, user stories, wireframes and process flows where they add value, without creating unnecessary documentation.
• Test and validate solutions before they go live and catch problems before our clients do.
• Stay close to implementation to make sure the solution actually fixes the problem.
• Communicate findings and recommendations simply to both technical and non-technical teams.
• Keep important documentation current and useful.
• Build strong relationships with the teams closest to our clients and create space for people to speak up when something isn't working.
• Look for opportunities to simplify, automate and improve how we work as Unifi grows.

Requirements

• 3-5 years' experience in business analysis, product, operations, consulting, data analysis or another problem-solving role.
• Experience in financial services, lending or African markets is useful, but not essential.
• A relevant tertiary qualification is an advantage, but strong analytical thinking and problem-solving ability matter more.
• Strong practical SQL skills and comfortable using data to investigate problems, test assumptions and find root causes.
• A curious, critical thinker who asks why, gets into the detail and makes sense of complex problems.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and able to take an unclear problem and work out how to approach it.
• Proactive, hands-on and able to keep moving in a fast-paced environment with competing priorities.
• Experience working with technology or software development teams.
• Able to work well with different people across functions, countries and levels, and explain complex problems simply.
• Willing to listen, challenge respectfully and speak up when something doesn't make sense.
• Builds trust by being open, evidence-led and following through on what they own.
• Focused on solving the problem and making life easier for our clients and teams, rather than following a process for the sake of it.
• Willingness to travel to Africa as and when needed.