Business Analyst Strategic Growth & Performance
This is primarily a business analysis role supported by strong data analytics and business intelligence capabilities. The position begins with the business question, works with stakeholders to define the decision or performance need, and applies appropriate analytical methods and tools to recommend practical actions. The role is not responsible for enterprise data architecture, database administration, data engineering, or data science ownership.
As we deliver our ambitious 2030 Growth Strategy, we're looking for a Business Analyst, providing business-facing analysis and decision support for the Lipids business. The position translates commercial, financial, portfolio, operational, and market information into clear insights, recommendations, dashboards, forecasts, and business cases that improve planning, prioritization, and performance.
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Who We're Looking For:
• Bachelor's degree in business, finance, economics, data analytics, statistics, engineering, life sciences, or a related discipline required; an advanced analytical or business qualification is advantageous.
• Relevant experience in business analysis, commercial analytics, finance, business intelligence, performance management, or a related business-facing analytical role.
• Demonstrated experience converting data and business information into clear insights, recommendations, and measurable actions.
• Experience developing dashboards, management reporting, analytical models, forecasts, scenarios, or business cases.
• Experience within life sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, drug delivery, specialty ingredients, research tools, or adjacent markets is advantageous.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to understand commercial, financial, portfolio, and operational drivers and connect analysis to business value.
• Advanced analytical thinking and judgment, including the ability to define problems, collect and validate information, test assumptions, identify root causes, evaluate alternatives, and draw supportable conclusions.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel capability, including complex formulas, PivotTables, charts, data transformation, analytical modeling, and repeatable reporting workflows.
• Proficiency developing dashboards and business intelligence solutions using Power BI, Qlik, Tableau, or equivalent tools.
• Working knowledge of ERP, commercial, financial, customer, or operational systems; SAP experience is advantageous.
• Knowledge of data quality, reconciliation, KPI design, metric definition, reporting governance, and documentation principles.
• Ability to develop practical forecasts, scenarios, sensitivity analyses, business cases, and performance measures.
• Ability to present complex information through clear dashboards, charts, written summaries, and executive-level recommendations.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, facilitation, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively across commercial, technical, operational, financial, digital, and leadership teams in a complex matrix organization.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, respond to changing business needs, and deliver accurate work with appropriate speed and attention to detail.
• Ability to work with incomplete information, identify limitations, and select the level of analysis appropriate to the decision.
• Curiosity, objectivity, professional judgment, and willingness to challenge assumptions constructively.
• Working knowledge of SQL, Power Query, reporting automation, or basic statistical methods is preferred but is not the primary purpose of the role.
What You'll Be Doing:
Business Analysis and Decision Support
• Partner with business leaders and cross-functional stakeholders to clarify business questions, define analytical requirements, and identify the information needed to support decisions.
• Assess business performance, processes, risks, and opportunities and translate findings into clear recommendations, priorities, and actions.
• Structure ambiguous business problems, evaluate alternatives, test assumptions, and distinguish facts, hypotheses, constraints, and data limitations.
• Prepare concise, decision-focused analyses and executive summaries for business reviews, planning discussions, and leadership decisions.
• Provide responsive ad hoc analysis for priority commercial, portfolio, operational, financial, and strategic business questions.
Performance Analytics and Reporting
• Design, develop, maintain, and improve dashboards, scorecards, reports, and visualizations that provide timely visibility into business performance.
• Analyze revenue, profitability, margin, pricing, volume, product, customer, segment, region, channel, portfolio, forecast, and operational performance, as appropriate to the business question.
• Identify trends, exceptions, root causes, opportunities, risks, and material performance gaps and explain their business implications.
• Establish clear KPI definitions, calculation methods, data sources, ownership, reporting cadence, assumptions, and known limitations.
• Build repeatable and appropriately automated reporting processes that reduce manual effort and allow greater focus on insight generation and business action.
Portfolio, Growth and Business Case Analysis
• Support portfolio and growth decisions through analysis of product, customer, pricing, lifecycle, market, commercial, and performance information.
• Develop business cases, scenario models, sensitivity analyses, and quantitative frameworks for new products, growth initiatives, strategic partnerships, investments, and resource prioritization.
• Track agreed milestones, assumptions, measures, and outcomes for strategic initiatives and growth platforms.
• Connect external market evidence and stakeholder input with relevant internal performance information to support practical business recommendations.
Forecasting, Planning and Financial Analysis
• Support forecasting, budgeting, annual planning, and longer-range planning through disciplined analysis and transparent assumptions.
• Monitor forecast accuracy and variance, identify recurring sources of difference, and recommend improvements to planning processes or models.
• Partner with Finance and business leaders to align analysis with agreed financial definitions, controls, and reporting requirements.
• Support pricing, margin, profitability, customer-mix, product-mix, and resource-allocation analysis.
Process Improvement and Analytical Governance
• Evaluate current reporting and analytical processes, identify inefficiencies, or control gaps, and recommend scalable improvements.
• Consolidate and reconcile relevant data from enterprise, commercial, financial, and operational sources for business analysis and reporting.
• Assess data quality, consistency, accessibility, and traceability and work with appropriate system or process owners to address material gaps.
• Document analytical methods, business rules, metric definitions, assumptions, sources, calculation logic, and known limitations.
• Collaborate with IT, Finance, Data & Analytics, and system owners while respecting their ownership of enterprise architecture, cybersecurity, system administration, master data, and platform support.
• Enable appropriate self-service reporting while protecting the consistency and control of critical business measures.
Stakeholder Partnership and Communication
• Build effective working relationships across business leadership, Portfolio Management, Market Development, Finance, Operations, Supply Chain, Customer Service, Quality, Regulatory, IT, Data & Analytics, and commercial teams.
• Convert complex analysis into clear conclusions, options, recommendations, and visual stories for specialist and non-specialist audiences.
• Facilitate alignment on business requirements, measures, priorities, and recommended actions through credibility, responsiveness, and reliable follow-through.
• Communicate uncertainty, confidence levels, assumptions, and analytical limitations clearly and objectively.
• Challenge unsupported conclusions when available evidence does not support the proposed interpretation or action.
Non-Essential Duties: Support the following activities as assigned:
• Support special projects and cross-functional improvement initiatives as assigned.
• Contribute to the development of analytical standards, templates, and business capability across the organization.
• Complete company-required training programs and participate in relevant professional development.
Other Qualifications
Must be able to maintain confidentiality, exercise sound business judgment, and work independently while collaborating effectively with global and cross-functional stakeholders.
Physical Demands: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to communicate verbally and in writing and to use a computer and other standard office equipment for extended periods. The employee is regularly required to sit and may occasionally stand or walk. The employee may occasionally lift and/or move standard office materials. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Work Environment: This job primarily operates in a professional office or remote-work environment and routinely uses standard office equipment and digital collaboration tools. When visiting manufacturing, laboratory, warehouse, or other operational areas, the employee must follow all applicable site safety, security, gowning, and personal protective equipment requirements.
Travel Requirements: This job may involve occasional business travel to other Croda and contractor sites, both in the United States and internationally.
The role operates as an individual contributor and matrix business partner and may lead cross-functional analytical workstreams or project activities through influence rather than direct authority.
What We Offer:
The successful candidate will receive a competitive salary and benefits package including:
• Excellent Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage, available immediately.
• Generous PTO
• 401K Match
• Wellness Reimbursement
• Parental Leave
• Career Development
• Company paid and voluntary Life and AD&D Insurance
• Short- and long-term disability
• Paid Holidays
Additional Information:
This is a site-based role located in Alabaster, AL.
If you require any reasonable adjustments during the hiring process or experience any issues with our online application process, please email candidate@croda.com.
This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, performance standards or requirements, efforts, skills or work conditions associated with this position. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, Avanti Polar Lipids, Part of Croda International, Plc., reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed when circumstances change (e.g., emergencies, change in workload or technology developments).
