Senior Business Analyst; Enterprise Systems

the british academy – the uk’s national body for the humanities and social sciences - is seeking a senior business analyst (enterprise systems) to join our it and av team in the resources directorate, providing key support in the delivery in the first phase of the academy’s it strategy.

this is an exciting opportunity to play a central role in shaping how the academy uses enterprise systems, automation, data and ai-enabled approaches to improve efficiency, service quality and organisational insight.

the role will also include a particular focus on salesforce and the wider enterprise systems landscape, helping the academy understand how its core platforms currently support cross-directorate needs and how they could be developed, integrated or optimised in future.

the role would suit a structured, collaborative and curious business analyst who enjoys working with colleagues across an organisation to understand how work happens in practice and where improvements can make the greatest difference.

the ideal candidate will have strong practical experience in business analysis, including process mapping, requirements elicitation, documentation, user stories and acceptance criteria. They will be able to evaluate enterprise systems and service processes, assess feasibility, impact, risk and dependencies, and present evidence-led recommendations clearly.

experience of crm or data management systems is important, and knowledge of salesforce would be desirable.

• work with teams across the academy to understand current ways of working, workflows and service journeys.
• map key processes end to end, identifying pain points, duplication, manual effort and areas of avoidable complexity.
• document current-state and future-state options clearly and consistently, using appropriate analytical methods.
• articulate requirements as user stories and work with business users to refine and establish clear acceptance criteria.
• identify dependencies between teams, systems and data flows that affect performance and user experience.
• ensure discovery work reflects how work is experienced in practice, including informal processes and workarounds.

• work across directorates to influence ways of working, challenge existing assumptions and promote the adoption of structured, evidence-led approaches to service design, process improvement and technology use.
• take the lead in shaping and articulating the academy’s pipeline of enterprise systems and service improvement opportunities, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and available capacity.
• apply a structured evaluation framework to assess each opportunity for feasibility, impact, risk, cost, and alignment with organisational priorities.
• highlight candidate quick wins and pilot opportunities that can test approaches once delivery capacity is available.
• act as an advocate for improved use of enterprise systems, data and automation across the organisation, promoting opportunities that enhance efficiency, insight and service quality.
• produce concise recommendations that enable senior stakeholders to make confident investment and prioritisation decisions.

• act as a recognised internal lead on enterprise systems analysis, providing authoritative advice on system design, integration strategy and platform optimisation across the academy.
• draw on external good practice, sector benchmarking and emerging trends in enterprise systems, data and ai to inform recommendations and future direction.
• engage stakeholders to clarify future needs for salesforce and its role in supporting engagement, operations and cross-team working.
• identify improvement opportunities relating to system design, process alignment, reporting and integration potential.
• provide evidence-based input to inform decisions on future development, optimisation, or extension of salesforce capability.
• evaluate the effectiveness of current integration approaches and identify opportunities to improve interoperability, reduce duplication…