Strategic Business Analyst

M&G; Stirling; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job description

At M&G our purpose is to give everyone real confidence to put their money to work. As an international savings and investments business with roots stretching back more than 170 years, we offer a range of financial products and services through Asset Management, Life and Wealth. All three operating segments work together to deliver attractive financial outcomes for our clients, and superior shareholder returns.

Through our behaviours of telling it like it is, owning it now, and moving it forward together with care and integrity; we are creating an exceptional place to work for exceptional talent.

We will consider flexible working arrangements for any of our roles and also offer work place accommodations to ensure you have what you need to effectively deliver in your role.

We seek an experienced Strategic Business Analyst to join our Life Technology Strategy & Business Analysis team. This role bridges the gap between organisational strategy and actionable technology initiatives. You will work closely with senior business and technology stakeholders to analyse opportunities, address complex challenges, and develop solutions that align with long-term goals.

As a key member of the team, you will report to the Head of Strategy and Business Analysis. You will be instrumental in identifying and defining strategic initiatives, as well as creating compelling business cases that contribute to the overall strategic roadmap for Life Technology, ensuring alignment with our business objectives.

Our Strategic Business Analyst plays a pivotal role in driving transformational change, ensuring all efforts support the company's vision and deliver measurable value. You will be pivotal in achieving our strategic goals and shaping the future of our business through a cohesive technology, digital, and data strategy. This strategy will be supported and driven to outcome by the wider Business Analysis capability.

Your role will involve staying informed about industry trends and emerging modern technologies, with a disproportionate focus on digital, data, and AI opportunities, that can address complex business challenges. You will be proactive in identifying the technical strategy and innovation opportunities to tackle business problems, and you will translate these into non-technical descriptions (cost/benefits cases) that can be widely understood and taken forward. As a strategic business analyst, you will be a disruptive thinker, driving Life Technology's strategic direction and ensuring we remain at the forefront of innovation.

Key Responsibilities:

Stakeholder Management

• Build strong relationships with stakeholders across the organization to elicit major pain points and key business challenges.
• Facilitate workshops to gather insights, and secure buy-in for strategic initiatives.
• Engage with counterparts within the Technology organization to ensure that technical strategy is aligned with Enterprise Architecture.

Market Analysis

• Proactively identify innovation opportunities across Life, keeping abreast of market disruption, industry trends, new and emerging technologies, and engaging with broader technology and third-party partners.

Innovation & Technology Adoption

• Identify opportunities for innovation and process optimization.
• Drive the adoption of innovative technologies to create seamless experiences for both Customers and Advisers.

Strategic Planning

• Proactively identify technical innovation opportunities and articulate these in a way that is understandable to non-technical stakeholders.
• Define and document strategic initiatives, ensuring alignment with corporate objectives.
• Support the Head of Strategy and Business Analysis with the development of comprehensive business cases, which include solution options, the cost/benefit case, risk assessment and indicative timelines.
• Support the Head of Strategy and Business Analysis with the documentation of detailed technology roadmaps and delivery plans to achieve the proposed strategies.

Documentation and Communication

• Once business cases are approved, prepare high-level requirements, and scope documentation. Conduct handover sessions to the wider technology and BA community who will be responsible for delivering the initiatives.
• Develop and present compelling presentations tailored for senior stakeholders.

Community-Driven Innovation and Best Practice

• Connect as a community of strategic Business Analysts to develop common practices, share ideas, and foster an innovative framework.

Key Skills and Experience:

• Strong stakeholder management skills, works in partnership with teams and individuals across the organisation to build trust, facilitate decision making, share knowledge and achieve common goals.
• Requirements Elicitation and Management: Expertise in advanced techniques for gathering, prioritizing, and documenting requirements, including complex strategic needs.
• Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving: Proficiency in applying structured approaches to dissect complex problems and propose effective solutions.
• Experience in supporting and driving change initiatives, including evaluating impacts and guiding adoption.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to facilitate workshops and strategic discussions.
• Expert knowledge on the IT Industry and emerging trends particularly with a focus on enabling world-class digital customer experiences.
• Understands the commercial model of the business, evaluating risks, benefits and returns for technology solutions and ensuring they’re clearly understood by key decision makers.
• Experience of navigating large, complex, organisational structures and challenging the status quo.
• Experience in articulating/implementing a strategic vision and translating into practical action and execution.
• Experience creating, refining and presenting business cases for technology investment.