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.
ROLE PURPOSE
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.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Discovery, process analysis and mapping
- 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.
2. Opportunity identification, evaluation and prioritisation
- 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.
3. Enterprise systems focus, including Salesforce assessment and roadmap input
- 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 and support more coherent end-to-end service journeys.
- Define clear principles for the role of each core platform within the enterprise architecture, including where functionality should reside and how systems should interact to support scalability and maintainability.
- Provide evidence-based recommendations for improving system alignment, including options for integration, consolidation, or process redesign, ensuring that Salesforce development is considered within a coherent, organisation-wide systems strategy rather than in isolation.
4. Readiness assessment, governance support and enabling next‑stage delivery
- Operate in a complex and evolving environment, making judgements where information may be incomplete or ambiguous, balancing strategic, operational and technical considerations.
- Lead the analytical input into governance and decision‑making forums, presenting clear recommendations, risks and trade‑offs to support senior‑level prioritisation and investment decisions.
- Assess organisational readiness to adopt new ways of working, including automation, improved data practices and AI‑assisted tools.
- Develop test scripts to facilitate robust User Acceptance Testing and coordinate testing of system enhancements.
- Assess and sign‑off on readiness of system enhancements for transition to BAU.
- Identify capability gaps, training needs, process ownership issues and change impacts that affect delivery success.
- Support governance discussions by providing evidence, documentation and structured options to inform prioritisation and oversight.
- Contribute to a culture of continuous improvement by helping colleagues engage positively with change and structured problem‑solving.
Key Stakeholders
Internal: Senior Management Team; Head of IT and AV; IT Operations Manager; Salesforce Administrator & Enablement Manager; Monitoring and Evaluation team; Head of Research Funding and Research Funding teams; Development Directorate teams; Data Protection Officer; Heads of Department across the Academy
External: Key suppliers and implementation partners; Sector peers and benchmarking sources
ROLE REQUIREMENTS
QUALIFICATIONS
No specific formal qualification is required; however, a recognised Business Analysis qualification or equivalent experience is desirable.
WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
Works and communicates effectively, both verbally and in writing
- Builds trusted working relationships across teams, engaging colleagues constructively and respectfully to understand operational needs.
- Works effectively with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders, ensuring that discovery and analysis is accessible and usable.
- Acts as a bridge between operational teams and technical leadership, enabling clear shared understanding of problems and opportunities.
KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
Demonstrates and develops appropriate knowledge and skills
- Strong practical experience in business analysis, including process mapping, requirements elicitation and documentation.
- Ability to understand and evaluate enterprise systems and service processes without needing to undertake hands‑on technical delivery.
- Sound understanding of how CRM and other data management systems and workflow processes operate in organisational environments (Salesforce knowledge desirable).
- Confidence engaging with concepts relating to automation, data readiness and AI‑enabled tools to assess feasibility and impact.
PROACTIVITY AND PLANNING
Manages time and resources effectively in order to achieve own and organisational objectives
- Manages time and workload effectively across multiple workstreams and stakeholder groups.
- Works independently to plan discovery activity, structure analysis and produce outputs on time.
- Maintains clear logs of findings, decisions, assumptions and follow‑up actions to support good governance.
PROBLEM SOLVING AND DECISION MAKING
Ensures good decisions are made through a rational and methodical approach
- Uses a rational and methodical approach to problem solving, ensuring recommendations are evidence‑led and appropriately risk‑aware.
- Assesses and communicates trade‑offs clearly and confidently, including feasibility, organisational capacity, data readiness and dependencies.
- Supports good decision‑making through clear options, prioritisation and sequencing recommendations.
LEADERSHIP
Gives a clear sense of direction while inspiring others with vision and actions
- Demonstrates professional leadership through clarity, credibility and structured thinking.
- Encourages a culture of continuous improvement by working collaboratively and constructively with colleagues.
- Supports teams to engage with change in a way that is practical, inclusive and sustainable.
MUST BE COMMITTED TO THE BRITISH ACADEMY’S WORKPLACE VALUES OF: COLLABORATION, CREATIVITY, EMPATHY, EXCELLENCE, INTEGRITY, RESILIENCE AND RESPECT.
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