JOB TITLE SUMMARY

Job Title: Lead Business Analyst

Division: Information Technology

Evaluation Group: Staff

FLSA Status: Exempt

Reports To: Director, Project Management Office

Positions Supervised: NA

Job Summary

The lead business analyst serves as a team lead within the Project Management Office (PMO) and plays a critical role in bridging the gap between institutional stakeholders and technology solutions. This position is responsible for eliciting, analyzing, and documenting complex business requirements; facilitating process improvement initiatives; and leading junior analysts in delivering high-quality business analysis across Information Technology (IT) projects. The lead business analyst partners closely with project managers, IT leadership, and university departments to ensure that technology solutions align with strategic goals, operational needs, and user expectations.

Essential Job Functions and Performance Indicators

The intent of this job description is to provide a representation of the types of duties and level of responsibility that will be required of positions given this title. This job description shall not be construed as a declaration of the total of the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Employees may be directed to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.

Job Responsibilities and Execution

• Leads requirements elicitation sessions including interviews, workshops, surveys, and observation to identify business needs, process gaps, and functional specifications
• Develops and maintains comprehensive requirements documentation including Business Requirements Documents (BRDs), Functional Specifications, use cases, and process flow diagrams
• Conducts thorough gap analyses, feasibility assessments, and cost-benefit analyses to inform solution selection and project scope decisions
• Facilitates process mapping and modeling sessions using standard notation (e.g., Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN)) to document current-state (as-is) and future-state (to-be) workflows
• Defines and manages requirement traceability throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring delivered solutions meet documented business needs
• Develops acceptance criteria and supports user acceptance testing (UAT) planning, execution, and defect tracking in collaboration with project teams and stakeholders
• Translates complex technical concepts and solution designs into clear, accessible language for non-technical audiences, including executive stakeholders
• Presents analysis deliverables, findings, and recommendations to project steering committees, IT leadership, and executive stakeholders
• Collaborates with project managers to define project scope, schedule inputs, resource needs, and risk factors related to business analysis workstreams
• Manages project change requests and scope change processes by assessing business impact, facilitating approvals, and updating documentation accordingly
• Supports system implementation projects through data migration planning, system configuration reviews, and integration validation activities
• Maintains up-to-date knowledge of enterprise systems (e.g., Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Student Information System (SIS), and Learning Management System (LMS)) and participates in vendor evaluation and selection processes
• Serves as team lead for business analysis staff within the PMO, providing day-to-day guidance, mentorship, and quality oversight for business analysis deliverables
• Assigns and monitors work for junior business analysts, ensuring alignment with project timelines, PMO standards, and stakeholder expectations
• Reviews and approves requirements documentation, process models, and other business analysis artifacts produced by team members to ensure accuracy and completeness
• Leads onboarding and skills development for new business analysts, establishing standard practices and tool proficiency across the business analyst team
• Contributes to the continuous improvement of PMO business analysis frameworks, templates, and methodologies
• Participates in PMO governance activities, status reporting, and portfolio-level planning sessions as a subject matter expert in business analysis
• Coordinates with the Director of Project Management to align the business analyst team capacity with project portfolio demands and institutional priorities

Service Excellence

• Supports the mission of the University and serves as an ambassador of the Q2 culture of service excellence
• Models, supports, and holds others accountable to the University's values
• Provides excellent customer service to internal as well as external customers
• Partners with IT leadership and institutional stakeholders to ensure business analysis efforts support the university's strategic priorities and technology roadmap

Communication, Teamwork, and Collaboration

• Communicates effectively with all levels of management and personnel
• Produces clear and effective written documentation
• Works collaboratively throughout the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), including business process analysis, solution design support, requirements gathering, testing, and documentation for enterprise software and integrated systems
• Proactively identifies opportunities to streamline processes, reduce redundancy, and improve operational efficiency through technology solutions
• Maintains awareness of higher education technology trends, regulatory requirements, and emerging best practices in business analysis and process improvement
• Adapts analysis approach and communication style to meet the needs of diverse stakeholder groups across academic, administrative, and technical functions

Job may require other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications - An equivalent combination of education, training, and experience will be considered. Additional requirements may be designated by position.

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Business Administration, Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field; Master's degree preferred
• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in business analysis, including complex IT and enterprise system implementation projects
• Minimum of 3 years of experience serving in a team lead, supervisory, or project leadership role
• Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) or PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA) preferred
• Project Management Professional (PMP) preferred
• Experience working within a Project Management Office (PMO) environment preferred
• Experience in higher education or similarly complex multi-stakeholder institutional environments preferred

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities - May be representative, but not all inclusive, of the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform this job competently.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with individuals from diverse communities and cultures
• Comprehensive knowledge of business analysis frameworks, including the BABOK Guide, Agile analysis practices, and requirements engineering methodologies
• Strong knowledge of process modeling techniques including BPMN, Unified Modeling Language (UML) use cases, swim lane diagrams, and data flow diagrams
• Knowledge of Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) standards and familiarity with Agile/Scrum frameworks as they apply to business analysis workstreams
• Familiarity with IT Service Management (ITSM) and IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) frameworks as applied to business and technology alignment
• Excellent analytical, critical thinking, and structured problem-solving skills with the ability to decompose complex problems into actionable requirements
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with the demonstrated ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences and vice versa
• Strong facilitation and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to lead workshops, resolve conflicts, and drive consensus across diverse groups
• Strong customer service orientation with the ability to build collaborative relationships across diverse university departments
• Excellent attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and competing priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Strong professional integrity and ability to maintain strict confidentiality of sensitive institutional data and processes
• Ability to analyze, query, and interpret data to validate business requirements and assess solution effectiveness
• Familiarity with enterprise systems commonly found in higher education (e.g., ERP/SIS platforms, CRM, LMS, financial aid systems)
• Proficiency with enterprise project management and requirements management tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence, Smartsheet, Microsoft Project, Azure DevOps)
• Knowledge of quality assurance principles, UAT practices, and testing methodology as applied to business analysis
• Skills in organizational change management, training needs assessment, and stakeholder communication planning

Work Environment - Environmental or atmospheric conditions commonly associated with the performance of this job's functions. Please click here to view Lindenwood University's flexible work designation descriptions

• General office setting
• Non-Standard Flex Schedule

Physical Abilities - The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform this job's essential functions. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• Ability to work effectively at a computer for extended time daily
• Ability to sit/stand for extended periods of time
• Ability to lift/carry items commonly found in an office setting including, but not limited to, documents, laptops, keyboards, etc.
• Ability to use repetitive wrist, hand, and finger movements to type regularly
• Regular attendance is a necessary and essential function