Business Analyst
Information Services (IS)
Reporting to: Business Analysis Section Manager
Salary: £28,695 - £37,394 per annum (pro rata) depending on skills and experience. Salary
progression beyond this scale is subject to performance
Job Family and level: 4
Contract Status: Permanent
Hours of Work: Full time
Location: Kings Meadow Campus
You are an established Business Analyst who can demonstrate experience of
applying a variety of methods and techniques in a fast-paced environment. You are
confident in dealing with a wide range of stakeholder groups and in building key
relationships across a complex organisation to understand existing and future
business requirements. Join Information Services at an unprecedented time of
change in order add value to the core learning, teaching, research and operational
activities of the University.
The University
The University of Nottingham (UoN) is ranked in the UK’s top 10 and the world’s top 75
universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings, placing it
in the top 1% of all universities worldwide. UoN has award-winning campuses in the UK, China
and Malaysia and is committed to providing a truly inspiring and international education.
Described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as ‘the embodiment of the modern
international university’ – the University of Nottingham is uniquely enterprising and renowned
for its production of world-leading research.
Information Services
Many of our services are typical of any business and offer similar challenges: Managed
desktops and laptops, data storage, email, printing, web content management for the internet
and intranet, data and voice networking, multimedia design and production, and the major
applications underpinning finance, HR/payroll, marketing, facilities management, conferencing
and a range of commercial enterprises, including incubator premises for new business
ventures.
Other challenges are specific to higher education and to our University in particular.
Nottingham has huge ambition to transform the experience it provides to students — to place
them at the heart of its global, digital community. This will involve fundamental change to the
business processes which underpin the student journey through the institution, major
organisational change across professional services teams, and the implementation of a
comprehensive, integrated suite of supporting IT systems. We in Information Services will play
a pivotal role in this exciting and challenging change programme — known as Transform.
We also run specialist systems to underpin the life cycle of each research project as it moves
from grant application through to publication and dissemination. Our researchers need
information to help them target the next exciting and lucrative research opportunity. They
need to be able to demonstrate the impact their research is having in the world.
As our mission says, “by bold innovation and excellence in all that we do, we make both
knowledge and discoveries matter”. This depends on getting the right information to the right
people within our community. Here, the creation, sharing, analysis and dissemination of
information are defining activities. It’s what we exist to do. Both students and researchers are
demanding, innovative users of technology and we aim to provide them an information
environment in which they can be boundlessly creative and highly productive. We have
campuses in Nottingham, China and Malaysia, and aim to support mobility, ease of
communication and team work across this hugely diverse and geographically spread
community.
In response to these specific challenges, we provide particular and differentiating services.
These include a Virtual Learning Environment and other innovative technologies for learning,
High Performance Computing services and a large range of specialist software. Our researchers
produce vast amounts of data and need tools to manage, mine and generate information from
it. Many of them collaborate with industrial partners and researchers in other institutions
across disciplinary and organisational boundaries. Our students have grown up with internet
technologies and expect to be constantly connected using their mobile devices. A technologyrich experience is what they expect from University life. We provide equipment in teaching
rooms, PC suites, language laboratories, wireless everywhere, and internet services in the halls
of residence. Our global nature also means that video conferencing is particularly important.
Context
Following the appointment of a new CIO, Information Services is undergoing a significant
restructure and reinvigoration. The aim is to build an organisation which is systemically
capable of being the reliable, trusted, innovative and agile IT partner that the University needs
to deliver its ambitious 2020 Strategy across the UK, China and Malaysia campuses. Following
the appointment of the Director Global IT Partnering & Service Design, the next step is the
appointment of the senior managers who will provide support. The teams led by the Director,
Global IT Partnering & Service Design are:
1. Senior Architect – accountable for setting and applying the principles necessary to ensure
that all solutions fit well within a coherent, flexible, secure and cost effective IT
architecture, and meet specified strategic requirements in the optimum manner; leads the
technical architect, the security architect and application architect, and co-ordinates a
virtual team of technical architects which forms the ‘Solution Design Authority’ for the
services
2. Head of Partnering – leads a team of IT Partners who each take accountability for the
relationship with a major part of the University and ensuring that IT services are developed
in alignment with relevant strategic plans
3. Two Senior IT Partners for China and Malaysia - accountable for managing the
relationship with University schools and departments (staff and students) at the
international campuses; advocates for the strategic needs of these campuses, ensuring
that services are designed for globally effective delivery
4. Head of Business Analysis – leads a team of Business Analysts who are highly skilled in
helping clients to define their strategic purpose and requirements precisely and draw-up
functional specifications for solutions. This team is led by two Business Analysis Section
Managers
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18 March 2016
-
Business Analysis Section Manager – leads a team which delivers business analysis
and functional expertise covering a grouping of the Universities application and system
needs. Initially this is considered to cover (a) Back office services – Finance, HR,
Estates etc and (b) Student Services – Academic Services, Marketing, Student
Operations etc. This role will ensure that the team of Business analysts are managed
and operating effectively to deliver new analysis, fulfil analysis roles in projects,
maintain and share specialist knowledge, and ensure that function issues escalated to
them are addressed, as well as provide configuration capabilities either directly or
through 3rd parties
.
Your Role
The Business Analyst reports to the Business Analysis Section Manager and ensures that all
approved University requirements for system or process change are assessed in the context of
the University’s mission, strategy and priorities, and converted into specifications for
implementation, ensuring that these are appropriately implemented and delivered as
documented and sustainable IT services. We express the purpose of The Business Analysis
teams as: “Help me review my operational processes and specify an IT solution that would
improve them.”
You will support the Business Analysis Section Manager to make this vision possible. The
Business Analysts are involved from the initial concept of a service through to the final
implementation; working with departments and schools to assess the impact of change,
capturing, analysing and documenting requirements and then supporting the communication
and delivery of these requirements. Business Analysts are key to the delivery of effective
services which provide tangible benefits.
The Business Analysis team comprises of both specialists with functional knowledge of specific
business processes and the packaged applications which support these, and generalists who
are able to lead the requirements gathering phase of any development project. The specialists
have knowledge and specialism relating to the way a particular part of the University operates
- for example, some are familiar with the student life cycle. Others may specialise on the
management of research grants or on financial operational processes. Others specialise on
understanding how users need to use workplace computing facilities to be productive and
effective. Each of these teams will be led by a Business Analysis Section Manager.
These teams will prepare specifications, support project implementations, work with key user
groups, provide functional third line support for the configuration of packaged applications, and
liaise with package application suppliers as necessary. They will work particularly closely with
the IT Partnering, Architecture and Application Development teams.
All the Business Analysts are able to challenge clients to define their strategic purpose and
requirements precisely and question whether all necessary success factors are in place before
committing IT resources. Once requirements are well qualified and clearly understood, they
draw up specifications and then work closely with the Architecture Team which designs the
appropriate technical solutions.
Principal Accountabilities:
1. Perform Business Analysis on approved projects and requests in line with the Business
Analysis methods and techniques that are part of the agreed approach and which are in
line with IT strategy and meet the strategic needs of the University:

Address issues and processes with limited complexity (i.e. within a single
department) or with limited specialist functional/application expertise required

Ensure that all analysis is approved by requesting users, as well as the Architecture
team and Application Development team when necessary
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2. Implement the processes by which Information Services ensures that Business Analysis
and 3rd line functional support services are designed and operated in a truly global manner
and that the needs of those based in China and Malaysia are considered in all decisions
3. Support the development and management of key users groups to support the correct
usage of systems in line with the processes implemented

Work closely with key University stakeholders to specify how changes to services
can be delivered to generate value in all areas of learning, teaching, research,
knowledge transfer and operational activity

Work with key user groups and ensure that their responsibilities are clearly
understood in relation to local operational process management
4. Develop own skills and professional capability in line with the needs of the service
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Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications & Experience
Essential
Qualifications/
Education
Skills/Training
Experience

Desirable
Educated to degree level or
equivalent relevant experience

Experience of IT service
management disciplines based
on ITIL or similar, ideally with
the ITIL v3 Expert qualification

Qualified in PRINCE2 project
management and Managing
Successful Programmes (MSP)

Hold a BCS/ISEB Diploma in
Business Analysis, or IIBA/BCS
Chartered/Certified status

Ability to lead and develop
staff, and create high
performing teams

Understanding of IT
architecture and infrastructure

Ability to communicate and explain
complex issues in clear, concise,
persuasive language both verbally
and in writing

Ability to influence others

Empathetic and with strong
interpersonal skills

Adaptable and flexible. Able to
adjust quickly to new situations and
changing priorities

Ability to manage others through
problem solving challenges

Ability to put in place processes,
ensure these are adhered to, and
continuously improved

Successful track record of IT
Strategy delivery and execution

Familiar with the HE context
and environment

Experience of Business Analysis
methodologies (e.g. functional
specifications, Use Cases, User
Stories etc.)

Management and leadership
experience in a complex
organisation

Experience of change programmes
involving business process and
organisational change


Experience of working in Business
Analysis and Functional Analysis
teams, and implementing standard
processes for Business Analysis and
application management
Experience of Business Analysis
methodologies in both waterfall
and agile environments (e.g.
functional specifications, Use
Cases, User Stories etc.)

Experience of working with
external suppliers, managing
large scale contracts and
developing out-tasking
arrangements

Specialist expertise in key
university applications

University of Nottingham
Experience in working with key
users
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