Business Analyst (Senior)

Discovery; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Discovery is seeking a Senior Business Analyst in GrowthHouse to translate complex business needs into clear requirements and practical solutions. You will collaborate with business, technology, data and external partners to analyse problems and define end-to-end processes that enable adviser and customer outcomes.

You will elicit, document and validate requirements, coordinate workshops, and support delivery from discovery through benefits realisation in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of business analysis experience in complex enterprise or digital environments.
• Experience in short-term insurance, distribution or partner ecosystems is advantageous.
• Ability to translate business needs into epics, user stories and acceptance criteria.

Responsibilities

• Translate complex business needs into clear requirements, processes and rules.
• Lead discovery, workshops and stakeholder alignment across multiple teams.
• Analyse end-to-end journeys and identify gaps, controls and improvements.
• Support backlog refinement, planning and prioritisation for GrowthHouse initiatives.
• Define success metrics, benefits tracking and post-implementation reviews.

Skills

Requirements elicitation

Stakeholder management

Workshops facilitation

Business rule definition

Process modelling

Data-driven analysis

Agile delivery

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business/IS/CS/Engineering/Finance

Industry certifications (IIBA/BCS/Agile)

Tools

Cardinal

Job description

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Business Analyst (Senior)

Business Unit: Sales & Distribution

Function: Business Analysis

Discovery – Distribution Technology

Senior business analyst: GrowthHouse

About Discovery

Discovery’s core purpose is to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives. We seek out and invest in exceptional individuals who understand and support our core purpose, and whose own values align with those of Discovery. Our fast-paced and dynamic environment enables smart, self-driven people to be their best. As global thought leaders, Discovery is passionate about innovating in order to not only achieve financial success, but to ignite positive and meaningful change within our society.

Key Purpose

The GrowthHouse senior business analyst is accountable for translating complex business needs into clear, evidence-based requirements and practical solutions that enable measurable adviser, customer and commercial outcomes. The role works across business, technology, data, design, compliance and external partners to analyse problems, define end-to-end processes, clarify business rules and support delivery from discovery through implementation and benefits realisation.

Areas of responsibility may include but not limited to:

• Partner with stakeholders across GrowthHouse, Distribution Technology, business units, intermediated and direct channels, Actuarial, Analytics and Data Science to understand business objectives, identify problems and define opportunities for improvement.
• Lead structured discovery and analysis to define the current state, target state, scope, business outcomes, assumptions, constraints, risks and dependencies for GrowthHouse initiatives.
• Elicit, analyse, validate and document business, stakeholder, functional and non-functional requirements using appropriate methods, including workshops, interviews, observation, data analysis and process review.
• Translate complex needs into clear epics, features, user stories, business requirements, process models, business rules, data requirements and acceptance criteria that delivery teams can implement and test.
• Facilitate alignment across business, architecture, engineering, design, data, testing, compliance and operational teams, resolving ambiguity and ensuring a shared understanding of the problem and proposed solution.
• Analyse end-to-end adviser and customer journeys, operating processes, system interactions and partner-enabled components, including Cardinal, to identify gaps, controls, integration needs and improvement opportunities.
• Assess solution options and trade-offs by considering business value, customer and adviser impact, feasibility, risk, compliance, data, cost, dependencies and long-term platform implications.
• Support backlog refinement, delivery planning and prioritisation by ensuring requirements are ready, traceable, testable and aligned with the GrowthHouse roadmap and intended business outcomes.
• Work with quality assurance and business stakeholders to define test scenarios, support user acceptance testing, manage requirement defects and confirm that delivered solutions meet agreed needs.
• Define baseline measures, KPIs and benefits tracking requirements, and use data and user feedback to evaluate outcomes and recommend continuous improvements.
• Support implementation, change impact assessment, process readiness, stakeholder communication, training inputs, migration and post-implementation reviews to enable sustainable adoption and value realisation.

Required Skills and Experience

• Strong understanding of short-term insurance, distribution-led business models, adviser ecosystems, customer journeys and revenue drivers within financial services or insurance.
• Proven experience as a senior business analyst in complex enterprise, digital, platform, data or partner-integrated environments.
• Practical experience eliciting and managing requirements, modelling processes and journeys, defining business rules, writing user stories and acceptance criteria, and maintaining requirements traceability.
• Ability to work effectively across business, technology, data, design, compliance, operations and external partners in a complex enterprise environment.
• Demonstrated ability to lead discovery, facilitate complex workshops, challenge assumptions, resolve ambiguity and influence decisions without formal authority.
• Experience engaging senior stakeholders, communicating complex analysis clearly and balancing competing business and delivery priorities.
• Strong analytical, systems-thinking and problem-solving capability, with experience using qualitative and quantitative evidence to evaluate options and recommend solutions.

Qualifications and experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Information Systems, Computer Science, Engineering, Finance, or a related field.
• Relevant professional certifications, such as IIBA Certified Business Analysis Professional, Certification of Capability in Business Analysis, BCS Business Analysis, Agile or process modelling, are advantageous.
• Minimum 5+ years’ experience in business analysis across short term insurance, including experience leading analysis for complex digital, platform, data or transformation initiatives.
• Prior experience in distribution, financial services, insurance, ecosystem or partner-integrated products is highly advantageous.

Essential skills you’ll bring to the table

The necessary skills that we require for this role include:

• Ability to translate strategy, business problems and stakeholder needs into clear requirements, process models, user stories, business rules and acceptance criteria.
• Advanced facilitation, stakeholder management, written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence to challenge constructively and align diverse groups.
• Strong analytical judgement, attention to detail and the ability to structure ambiguity into clear decisions and delivery-ready outputs.
• Strong grasp of business analysis practices, process and journey modelling, requirements traceability, data analysis, agile delivery and benefits measurement.
• Highly organised, inquisitive and comfortable working across multiple workstreams, systems and stakeholder groups in complex problem spaces.
• An ownership mindset focused on solving the right problem, enabling quality delivery and achieving measurable business, adviser and customer outcomes.

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY

The Company’s approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process. As an Equal Opportunities employer, we actively encourage and welcome people with various disabilities to apply.