Senior Business Analyst & BA Practice Lead
Employer: Arden University
Location: This role operates primarily on a remote working arrangement that will require only occasional travel into our various UK sites when necessary. Our working model arrangements are a non-contractual benefit so please note that an Arden work location is added to our employment contracts.
Working hours: Full-time
Salary: £60,000 - £73,000
Closing date: 26th August
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About Arden University:
We are an aspirational and multi-award-winning university, delivering rapid growth with ambitious plans to disrupt the HE sector through our passion for innovation and digital education. Our vision is to become the first-choice university for career-focused lifelong learners worldwide, ensuring that everyone, everywhere can access higher education.
There has never been a more exciting time to join Arden University, as we expand into new disciplines, forge worldwide partnerships, and expand our locations.
About our Department:
The Student Information Systems team sits within Quality & Registry and plays a key role in supporting the University's student journey through the effective management and development of its student information systems. The team works across the student lifecycle, supporting the systems, processes and data that underpin key academic and administrative activities from admissions through to graduation.
Working closely with colleagues across Quality & Registry and the wider University, the team supports the delivery and continuous improvement of student information services, ensuring systems and processes effectively meet the needs of students, academic teams and professional services. The team also works closely with technology and business stakeholders to deliver enhancements, support operational requirements and ensure the University's student information systems continue to evolve in line with organisational needs.
About the Opportunity:
As Arden University continues to invest in its digital student experience, we're looking for an experienced Senior Business Analyst & BA Practice Lead to play a leading role in shaping and improving the systems and processes that support our students throughout their journey with us.
As the University continues to mature its use of SITS, you will play a key role in identifying opportunities for process optimisation, automation, service improvement and operational efficiencies across the student lifecycle. The role will operate across the full student lifecycle, including Admissions, Enrolment, Curriculum Management, Assessment, Awards and Student Records.
As the subject matter expert for Business Analysis within our Student Information Systems team, you'll work closely with the SITS Operations Manager, Product Owner, technical teams and stakeholders across the University to turn complex business needs into effective, high-quality solutions. You'll lead analysis across strategic projects, system enhancements, operational improvements and continuous improvement initiatives, helping us maximise the value of our SITS platform and deliver a better experience for our students and colleagues.
This is also an opportunity to make a lasting impact on how Business Analysis is delivered at Arden for the SITS product. You'll provide professional leadership across the SITS Business Analysis function, establishing and embedding best-practice methodologies, standards, governance and quality assurance processes that support consistent, high-quality analysis across the team. You will provide line management, coaching and professional development support to the University's SITS Business Analysts, helping to build a high-performing Business Analysis capability and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration and knowledge sharing.
You'll work with stakeholders at all levels, challenging existing processes, facilitating effective decision-making and identifying opportunities to improve, automate and innovate. Your ability to understand complex problems, ask the right questions and translate business needs into practical technology-enabled solutions will be central to your success.
About You:
If you're an experienced Business Analyst who enjoys solving complex problems, influencing stakeholders and developing others, this is an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of our Student Information Systems and make a tangible difference to the student experience.
Essential Skills / Experience
Experience of line managing, coaching, mentoring and developing Business Analysts or equivalent change professionals.
Significant experience leading Business Analysis activities across complex, technology-enabled change programmes and multiple concurrent initiatives.
Expert knowledge of Business Analysis methodologies, tools and techniques, including requirements elicitation, process mapping and business process redesign.
Experience leading discovery, requirements analysis and business process improvement activities.
Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, including the ability to engage senior leaders, manage competing priorities and constructively challenge existing processes.
Proven experience facilitating workshops, discovery sessions and discussions with large and diverse stakeholder groups.
Experience working within complex stakeholder environments, balancing competing priorities and influencing outcomes without direct authority.
Experience establishing, embedding and continuously improving a mature Business Analysis capability, including methodologies, standards, governance, quality assurance and professional development pathways.
Experience analysing and improving complex student, regulatory or education-related business processes.
Excellent prioritisation, planning and organisational skills, with the ability to balance operational requirements with strategic objectives.
Excellent written communication skills, including producing business cases, governance papers, recommendations and executive-level summaries.
Strong understanding of governance, delivery lifecycles and change management approaches.
Understanding of data, systems integration and operational processes.
Knowledge of continuous improvement and process optimisation.
Desirable Skills / Experience
Experience working with Student Information Systems, particularly Tribal SITS.
Knowledge of SITS and student lifecycle processes.
Experience working collaboratively with Product Owners, PMOs and technical delivery teams.
Knowledge of Higher Education regulatory frameworks.
Knowledge of Power BI, reporting and operational performance metrics.
Understanding of enterprise architecture and service management principles.
A Project Management qualification, such as PRINCE2, AgilePM or MSP.
A qualification in Lean, Process Improvement or Change Management.
Why Arden:
At Arden, you will become a part of a passionate and dedicated team who are committed to removing unnecessary barriers to learning and making education more accessible. Our people work hard to ensure our students journeys are the best they can possibly be, as such we want to reward our people with fantastic benefits. Employees benefit from:
30 days holiday + bank holidays on-top, and even a Christmas closure!
A generous Aviva pension plan, company contributions starting from 7%
BUPA Cash Plan
Private Medical Insurance coverage (applies to certain job roles)
Access to Perkbox benefits
Study any Arden course for free, with a discount for all family and friends
Plus, other excellent benefits
Our ‘Golden Ticket’ which allows you to gift anyone in your life a free Arden education
Our Values:
Stand out, Progressive, Accessible, Resourceful, Kindness, reflect who we are as an institution, a team and as individuals. If they also reflect you and you are excited by the chance to be the driving, creative force within a growing business, we want to hear from you.
There has never been a more exciting time to join Arden University, as we expand into new disciplines and locations.
Closing Date: 26th August
We reserve the right to close this vacancy before the specified closing date should we receive sufficient applications or in order to respond to business needs. In order to avoid missing an opportunity to apply please submit your application as early as possible.
If you are a current Arden student or have an upcoming course with us, you are not eligible to apply for Student Experience roles due to a conflict of interest related to system access.
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion:
Arden University is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. This means that if you have a disability, as defined by the Disability Equality Act 2010, you may be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria for the role.
If you wish to be considered under this scheme, you can indicate via the application form below. By doing so, you are also consenting for this information to be shared with the hiring team. For more details on what qualifies as a disability under the Disability Equality Act 2010, please refer to the guidance here.
As an Equal Opportunity Employer we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. Therefore, we make sure that our recruitment and selection processes never discriminate based upon people's age, disability, gender, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances, and actively welcome applications from all groups.
Sponsorship statement:
Please be aware that some roles may not meet the points requirement for a sponsored Skilled Worker visa, or fulfil the criteria we have for providing sponsorship. However we welcome applications from candidates who do not currently have the right to work in the UK but may be eligible for a visa through an alternative route.
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