Application Business Analyst II

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Reporting To: Senior Manager, IT Business Analysis

Full-Time/Part-Time: Full-time

Posting Date: October 30, 2024

Closing Date: November 13, 2024

Hours of Work: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Office Location: 12.4, Toronto

What we offer: Highly competitive compensation package which includes base salary, bonus, benefits, and career advancement opportunities! *Eligibility for benefits is dependent on the terms of employment

The Opportunity:

Reporting to the Senior Manager of the Business Analysis Community of Practice, within the IT Department, the Application Business Analyst II provides support to the IT department by analyzing requirements and ensuring that when the change requests are entered into the ALM system that the required Gap and Impact Assessment have been thoroughly and comprehensibly broken out and clarified. The Application Business Analyst II has a deep, practical business analysis experience with repeated practice in a variety of complex situations, including a strong understanding of the organization's business processes and how they relate to technology. They will be responsible for leading requirements gathering sessions, designing solutions, and providing guidance to lesser BA practitioners. They may also assist in project planning, risk analysis, providing estimations, and stakeholder management. They will also assist with the administration of processes, reporting, investigation and analysis, design, development and testing requirements for projects, products and any related system updates with medium-to-high complexity. In the BA Community of Practice, the incumbent is an active participant in supporting the execution of “Self-Directed” programs designed for the betterment of the Business Analysis Playbook by sharing ideas, options, identifying and even ‘co-leading’ opportunities for efficiency improvements at all levels.

How you will contribute:

• Deliver on the analysis and documentation of business requirements, functional specifications, and user stories for software development projects in the ALM system, MS Azure DevOps.
• Work closely with the Sr. Application Business Analyst (as applicable), Product Owner and other stakeholders to identify project goals, scope, estimations and constraints.
• Collaborate with Developers, QA Analysts, and project managers to ensure successful project delivery.
• Recommends controls by identifying problems, writing improved procedures.
• Assists in defining project requirements through analysis and participation in related planning activities.
• Monitors project progress by tracking activity; resolving problems; publishing progress reports; recommending actions.
• Support end-users in the testing, validation and troubleshooting of software applications.
• Maintains system protocols by writing and updating procedures and tracking requirement changes.
• Provides references for QA and developers by writing and maintaining requirements and documentation of changes.
• Provides inputs and support the maintenance of technical documentation, including system architecture diagrams and data flow diagrams.
• Uses tools such as MS SQL and Optimus queries to extract data analytics to support requirements gathering as well as internal research for projects and initiatives.
• Proactively engage impacted lines of business and stakeholders and ensure the required level of approvals are obtained to support delivery.
• Adhere to policies/procedures to ensure AML requirements are met, when applicable.
• Deliver on effective Requirements Traceability Matrix.
• Complete other duties as assigned by the Manager, Product Owners and (if assigned) Sr. Application Business Analyst.

The experience you need:

Skills and Attributes:

• Foster extensive understanding of business analysis profession.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to interact with diverse groups, management levels and subject matter experts.
• Detail-oriented with high degree of accuracy and strong organizational skills.
• Experience in the mortgage and/or financial services industry is preferred.
• Effectively facilitate business meetings and application design sessions with solid ability to encourage group members to take ownership of the applicable process and the outcomes.
• Ability to create clear documentation, produce supporting artifacts of the analysis and explain complex process flows.
• Extensive ability to interpret customer/business needs and translate them into application and operational requirements as well as effectively explain them to internal and external contacts or groups.
• Strong analytical (critical thinking) and problem-solving skills (trouble shooting).
• Ability to work in a dynamic environment blending both new and older technologies.
• Ability to self-learn and take the initiative to learn the required skills.
• Proven ability to take ownership and deliver with the same level of velocity and certainty on multiple Enterprise priorities promoting simplification and efficiency.
• Ability to self-motivate, prioritize, and meet deadlines in a seamless execution whether on-site or remote.
• Highly resourceful with a proactive/go-getter attitude.
• Experience in delivering and collaborating within a Matrix Environment.
• Self-starter with the ability to work independently and in a team.

Education/Certification/Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or related field.
• 3-5 years of experience as a Technical Business Analyst (Business Systems Analyst) for software development projects.
• Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) an asset.
• Certified PMP, CSM, CSPO, CDMP and ITIL are all assets.
• Strong technical skills, including experience with programming languages, web technologies, and database systems.
• Experience with Agile methodologies, Scrum framework and software development life cycle.
• Familiarity with the mortgage and/or financial services industry is preferred.
• 2-3 years’ minimum experience working with First National systems and practices an asset.
• Solid experience with modelling tools like MS Visio.
• Solid experience with Analytical tools like MS SQL and MS Power BI.
• Strong analytical, logical and business knowledge.

Working Environment and Physical Demands Analysis:

• Periods of high volume with tight timelines.
• Long periods of stationary position/sitting.
• Prolonged periods of repetitive movement (i.e. using a keyboard and mouse).
• Long periods of time in viewing a computer screen.
• Multi-tasking may include speaking to customers on a telephone call while looking up information on a computer program.
• Competitive Compensation.
• Comprehensive benefits program (i.e., Health Spending Account, Maternity and Parental Leave Top Up).
• Hybrid working environment (2-3 days in office).
• Extensive training programs to set our employees up for success.
• Modern office environment conducive to collaboration.
• Supportive teamwork culture.
• Opportunities to give back to the communities and work through events focused on a variety of charities.
• Ongoing social events throughout the year.

The team you’ll join:

Founded in 1988, First National is one of Canada’s largest non-bank lenders. We provide residential mortgages exclusively through the mortgage broker channel and we are Canada’s largest commercial mortgage lender.

First National has been consistently recognized as a great place to work and we are proud that our employee engagement feedback is higher than our industry partners.

We would like to thank all applications for their interest in this existing vacancy but only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.