Senior Business Analyst

Job Description

About Us

We are a world-class visitor attraction and leading science research centre. We use the Museum's unique collections and our unrivalled expertise to tackle the biggest challenges facing the world today. We care for more than 80 million objects spanning billions of years and welcome more than five million visitors annually and 16 million visits to our website.

Today the Museum is more relevant and influential than ever. By attracting people from a range of backgrounds to work for us, we can continue to look at the world with fresh eyes and find new ways of doing things.

We employ 900 staff in a variety of roles, all united by our vision of a future where people and planet thrive. We need everyone to have the passion and drive to help us with our mission to create advocates for our planet and inspire millions to care about the natural world.

Diversity and inclusion matter to us.

Our vision is of a future where both people and the planet thrive. Diversity is one of our core values and we strive to build a workplace where everyone feels a sense of belonging. All new staff who join us learn about the importance of diversity and inclusion to the Museum and how to contribute to creating an inclusive environment.

We know we have more to do, but we are committed to ensuring that everyone who works at the Museum feels they can thrive and feel valued and respected.

About NHM Unlocked

Over 300 scientists based at the Museum tackle important global challenges, spanning mineral scarcity, food security and biodiversity loss. The Museum is globally renowned for excellence in science and research and championing digital capacity and innovation.

The Museum has been awarded a substantial government investment to create a new science and digitisation centre at Thames Valley Science Park (TVSP), University of Reading. This is a once in a century opportunity to shape the future of the Museum, protect and share our unique collection and further our science.

The centre will include a large collections store alongside new specialist laboratories and staff accommodation. The programme involves preparing and moving over 38 million specimens, from frozen molecular samples to whale skeletons. These are used for scientific research, enabling the Museum to unlock the information to support work to address the global biodiversity crisis.

The Programme is made up of several major projects and workstreams which encompass:

• Designing and building the new centre, including collections, lab and other specialist spaces.
• Preparing and moving tens of millions of specimens from across multiple sites to the new centre. This role sits within this project (Moves Project).
• Developing staffing and technology models for the new centre.
• Ensuring we pass successive government gateways for progressing the programme.
• Developing new and retaining existing research and other partnerships.
• Developing KPIs and benefits mapping, to provide information to senior managers, Trustees and DCMS as our funders.
• Engaging colleagues and professional users of our collections in the process and shaping of the new centre.

Job Summary

The success of this programme is dependent on data to inform the decisions, planning and KPIs for the programme. A move of this size will generate a significant amount of invaluable collections data, which will need to be captured and managed in a sustainable and practical way. The post holder will be responsible for collecting, modelling and mapping the processes required to deliver the move to Thames Valley Science Park. In particular, they will be responsible for working with the other workstreams to fully articulate the critical cross-cutting data requirements.

This role will lead the analysis across the programme and produce varying deliverables, from running workshops through to leading requirements gathering and analysis and shaping continuous improvement activity. The post holder must also look to ensure chosen solutions fit into the wider technology and digital landscape at the Museum.

This is a senior post so the post holder will be expected to lead in the most complex programme areas working with multiple stakeholders (internal and external) with the skills and experience to influence at a high level. Communication and people skills are essential, with the ability to present complex topics simply and accessibly. You will champion best practice business analysis and act as a mentor to other members of the team.

You will build relationships with people across the organisation, get to know lots of key stakeholders and have exposure to a wide range of Museum operations. If you enjoy interacting with people, looking for solutions, taking on responsibility and wish to bring your substantial experience to support this transformational programme we look forward to receiving your application.

Main Responsibilities

• Understanding and documenting complex business requirements and translating them to help define the roadmap for products and solutions
• Carry out business process mapping, business process reengineering and business process analysis wherever needed
• Analyse, configure and manage technology (Data Digital IT) systems to best support the requirements of user base, roadmap delivery and the overall intended solution.
• Work with different stakeholder groups, up to director level, both within the Museum and from external third parties, managing workshops and giving presentations
• Gather, analyse and prepare system improvement specifications, and assess opportunities arising beyond the organization.
• Development of business cases, options analysis, KPIs, benefit measuring and roadmaps for future initiatives.
• Oversee the requirements gathering for the system that will be used to track the collections due to move to TVSP.
• Work closely with the RECODE team and Data Management Team, ensuring that workplans and systems are developed in alignment. Work closely with Join The Dots product manager and architect to ensure that workplans and systems are developed in alignment.
• Prepare test plans and system tests, organise user acceptance testing, manage error tracking and supplier software development.
• Work with different project managers to identify and drive business change through system initiatives and plan suitable windows for the initiatives to deliver.
• Prepare reports for boards, including Technical Design Authority, Unlocked Data Governance Board and Technology Governance Board about system improvements, current insights and uptake of new initiatives.
• Manage continuous improvement initiatives through user group meetings, supplier management, specifications and testing.
• Manage business change resulting from platform development including training and support documentation
• Understand, create and present visuals for how systems underpin/ contribute to the long-term digital vision of the Museum.
• Coaches and mentors other members of the team and support the Lead Business Analyst role to drive best practice business analysis
• By exception takes on role of Project Manager for smaller pieces of demand.
• Report regularly on progress to line manager and senior stakeholders

About you

• Considerable relevant experience leading business analysis on high value/complex projects/programmes within technology, data and digital fields.
• Management of multiple stakeholders with diverse needs, both internal and external
• Excellent communication skills, with demonstrable experience of competently managing expectations and influencing to a high level
• Extensive experience of gathering, analysing, prioritising and delivering requirements to drive system-supported business change.
• Experience of at least one of Prince 2, Waterfall, Agile project and change methodologies.
• Proven experience of using Business Analysis tools / BPMN and applying critical thinking to requirements analysis, user-oriented design, full lifecycle testing, customer journeys, process mapping, continuous improvement, MVP, evaluation, risk and issue management.
• Knowledge of system configuration and running analytics / data insights to inform development.
• Knowledge of relational databases and tools for querying them, including some familiarity with SQL
• Proven ability to present technical concepts in a creative and high-level manner to a range of stakeholders with excellent communication skills.
• Experience of assessing new opportunities arising outside the organisation in technology suppliers, business partners or the digital space in general.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively in a team and maintain good working relationships with stakeholders and technical staff, including coaching/mentoring skills
• Proven experience with digital workplace tools for collaboration and project management.
• Interest in contributing skills and expertise to the Museum’s mission.

Thriving at the Museum: the way we work
We are proud to work at the Museum and have identified the qualities we all need to embody to reach our shared ambition. This sits alongside the Museum’s values and forms the framework for the way we work.

Find out more here

What we offer

• 27.5 days holiday plus 8 bank holidays (full time equivalent)
• Generous defined contribution Natural History Museum Pension Scheme (employer contribution 4 - 10%)
• Season ticket, bicycle and rental loan
• Life insurance
• Free admission to our exhibitions and many other paid exhibitions at museums, galleries and institutions across London and the UK.
• Staff discount at our Museum shops and cafes
• We offer a wide variety of training initiatives and opportunities to build skills. Investing in staff development is important to us, and we are ambitious about helping staff to grow and fulfil their potential.
• Affordable membership to the Civil Service Sports Council which offers a range of benefits including an extensive list of special offers and reduced entry fees at a selection of cinema chains, theme parks, theatres, retailers and supermarkets. It also provides entry to up to 300 English Heritage sites and other national treasures. For more details, visit https://www.cssc.co.uk
• Membership to our Sports and Social Association (for a small fee), which includes access to our in-house gym and clubs such as football, softball, table tennis and tennis and classes in Middle Eastern dance, yoga and Tai Chi