At AQA, we’re committed to advancing education and we’re committed to our people. As the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK, we mark over 10 million exam papers each year and it’s our people who make this happen. Business Analyst 12 month Fixed Term Contract Guildford: £45,300 - £51,000 Smart Hybrid Working Are you passionate about driving digital transformation? Do you thrive in a collaborative environment where your ideas shape the future? Join us at AQA where you’ll be at the forefront of revolutionizing our software solutions and delivery models. Be a Change Maker: Lead the transition to cutting-edge cloud-based technologies and agile delivery models. Your work will directly impact our business’s evolution. Grow Your Expertise: Share your knowledge with our team through demos, meetings, and more. We value continuous learning and provide you with the platform to keep growing. Collaborative Environment: Work closely with business stakeholders, developers, testers, and architects to translate business needs into innovative software solutions. What’s in it for me? Generous Leave: For this 12 month fixed term contract you will have 25 days leave allocation plus additional Christmas and New Year’s leave. Wellbeing Support: Newly refurbished office environment with free parking and amazing views over Guildford and beyond, good transport links, complimentary tea and coffee, subsidised eateries, and a variety of staff networks and mental health resources. Pension: Benefit from up to 11.5% employer pension contributions. Flexible Work: Enjoy a balanced 35-hour work week with flexible hours. Office attendance is approximately two days a week with a variety of individual and collaborative workspaces Supportive Culture: A dynamic work environment where your contributions are valued and your success is our priority. Innovative Projects: Work on transformative projects that are reshaping the future of examinations Professional Growth: Continuous learning opportunities through industry events, reading, and knowledge-sharing within the team. What You’ll Do: Translate business needs into clear, actionable requirements that drive our software development process. Support the creation of a Business Analysis Centre of Excellence, sharing your expertise and driving cross-skilling initiatives within the team. Work with both technical teams and business stakeholders to ensure that all deliverables align with our company’s technology and information strategies. Collaborate with stakeholders to map “as is” and “to be” processes, providing clarity on requirements, and driving continuous improvement. Ensure that our software meets business needs by supporting UAT design, defining acceptance criteria, and coordinating user testing efforts. What will I need to Succeed? Demonstrated ability to analyse complex requirements and produce high-quality deliverables. Strong understanding of business analysis techniques and experience with Agile, Waterfall, and Iterative development methodologies. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to explain complex issues to both technical and non-technical audiences. Proven ability to work collaboratively across functional areas and influence stakeholders at all levels. If you’re ready to lead the way in digital transformation and contribute to a forward-thinking team, we’d love to hear from you Apply today and be a part of our exciting journey. How do I apply? Read the full job description and upload your most recent CV with a cover letter explaining your suitability. Interviews will be face to face in the Guildford Office at the beginning of December. The anticipated start date for this position will be 6th January 2025. AQA is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community regardless of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, age, neurodiversity, disability status, citizenship, or any other aspect which makes people unique. PRO23 Recruitment Agencies We have a preferred supplier list (PSL) in place. Unsolicited CVs will be treated as a gift. We will not be subject to or liable under your terms and conditions for agency fees. Full Job Description Summary Purpose: To help complete AQA’s ongoing transition to a single, consistent set of cloud-based technologies (technology re-platform) and move to an agile delivery model in line with current software development best practices (Scrum/Kanban; continuous delivery) – and to continually improve and enhance that technology for new and changing business needs, once that transition is complete. To share knowledge and expertise with other business and technical analysts at all levels, through demonstrations, team meetings, lunch and learns, etc as well as formal written documentation. Landscape: To provide hands-on delivery for the delivery of Software Solutions by the efficient and accurate translation of business need into requirements consumable by the technical delivery teams, in-line with agreed practices and under the direction of the Head of Business Analysis. Activities: Deliver software solutions and software changes, following best practice and guidance on business analysis processes and tools aligned to agile and lean principles Assist other team members on business and technical analysis driving personal and professional development to facilitate cross skilling in the team, identify ways to continually improve team processes and ways of working and support the Head of Business Analysis in the creation of a centre of excellence for business analysis in AQA Work with the business and technical teams to deliver the translation of requirements into statements of work, user stories, feature sets, use cases, identifying business benefits, high level designs, proposed solutions and prototypes in line with business priorities agreed as part of sprint planning & product backlog management Ensure all deliverables/documents, requirements catalogues, system, data and business process models – are comprehensive, consistent and accessible and are appropriate in order for the intended operational benefits to be achieved Work with the delivery teams (developers, testers, dev ops, architects, etc) to translate business needs into viable detailed specifications, architectural designs, data and information requirements and acceptance criteria, ensuring alignment with AQA’s technology and information strategies, standards and architecture (including non-functional requirements) Work with business stakeholders to map “as is” and “to be” processes, to clarify requirements, features, improvements and potential solutions and to understand and describe the impact of change to the business and systems To support business in design and delivery of User Acceptance Testing (UAT) aligned to BSG’s overall testing approach and strategy:supporting the business in coordinating and designing the testing approach supporting the business in defining the acceptance criteria working with user communities to identify business scenarios supporting user communities to write scripts against which to test to ensure that the changes being made meet the customers’ needs supporting the production of test outputs/reports and the resolution of issues Work with business, other technical teams and external partners (third parties) to design, plan and deliver software solutions and software solution integrations To build and foster strong working relationships with colleagues and key business stakeholders and throughout AQA Assist with product backlog management and iteration planning by providing estimates and advising on development approaches and options in the context of delivery cost and risk Keep systems of record (Azure DevOps (ADO), SharePoint, etc) up to date to maintain a clear audit trail of software solutions work undertaken – and in turn produce and facilitate clear and accurate reporting and metrics on software solution activities Play a key role during the estimation phase, including the translation of requirements into statements of work, high level designs, proposed solutions and prototypes where appropriate Keep abreast of current state-of-the-art business analysis practices by undertaking reading and attending external events, and share learnings within the Software Solutions group to ensure practices remain appropriate and up to date Support software solutions through the delivery of exam series, especially during the critical summer exam period Deputise for workstream delivery leads as required To model AQA values and behaviours To comply with all AQA’s policies and other legislative requirements, including but not limited to HSE, Equal Opportunities and ISMS Where business needs change, to undertake other responsibilities which are of a commensurate level outside the terms of this role profile. Need to know (to be successful in this role, you will need to know): An understanding of business in either a commercial or an educational environment A high level of knowledge of business analysis techniques and the ability to analyse and produce accurate artefacts consumable by business stakeholders and technical delivery teams Ability to support the creation of robust business cases that bring value to the organisation Understanding of at least one systems development life cycle methodology (eg Agile, Waterfall, Iterative) Awareness of data modelling techniques (eg Entity Relationship Modelling, Class Modelling, etc) Knowledge of database tools and techniques used in the development of IT applications (creation and querying of databases and understanding models) Degree level qualification, or equivalent professional experience Experience in using a variety of tools and techniques to analyse business processes and recommend process improvements, including the use of requirements management, user stories and modelling tools/techniques when appropriate Proven aural, oral and written communication skills to explain issues to technical and non-technical staff Proven analytical skills to identify business objectives and potential solutions, with ability to analyse and document highly complex requirements and produce specifications Ability to provide suitable test support for unit, system and user acceptance purposes Ability to manage issues, risks and problems from identification through to resolution Good interviewing skills to identify and capture core business goals and requirements Demonstrable ability to produce and maintain high quality documentation Demonstrates good facilitation skills (eg running workshops) to produce desired outcomes Demonstrates good interpersonal skills in a variety of situations Demonstrates resilience and calmness under pressure to meet tight deadlines in complex contexts Receive feedback and learn from mistakes for continuous self-development Ability to influence people at all levels, across the organisation and outside, including negotiating and successfully facilitating joint decision making Ability to adapt to new IT methods, tools and procedures Demonstrates proactive collaborative working across functional areas to deliver shared goals Willingness to take ownership of both software solution delivery and continuous improvement activities, delivering through self and others Willingness to lead by example to develop and maintain effective working relationships with a range of partners and stakeholders Experience as a successful Business Analyst, with evidence of delivering tasks at a high level of quality, at different stages of the project lifecycle, from requirements gathering and clarification through to successful implementation Experience in conducting investigative interviews, requirements gathering and associated workshops Experience of successfully redesigning processes and delivering benefits Experience using Application Lifecycle Management tooling, eg ADO, JIRA etc