Senior Business Analyst

Description

This is a hybrid role, requiring attendance at our Bexhill or Leicester office at least once per week and at quarterly departmental events. As such, applicants must be located within a 90-minute commuting distance of one of these offices .

We’re a digital insurance provider with ambitious plans to become The Best and Biggest in the UK market. Over the past few years, we've made significant investments in our data and tech capabilities, particularly within our CIO function. Our CIO team is at the forefront of driving innovation and ensuring our technology infrastructure supports our ambitious goals. We’ve nurtured our 4Cs culture, fostering collaboration, creativity, and continuous improvement.

We’re proud of the journey we’re on as a company and know that our continued success will rely on the contribution of our talented colleagues. The CIO team plays a crucial role in this journey, working on cutting-edge projects that turn many of our business ambitions into reality.

We provide insurance to over four million customers, but we know there’s even bigger opportunity out there. The fact you’re now reading this job advert means we’ve tempted you to find out more about lifeatHD – we really hope you like what you see, and you’ll join us to share in the success of the exciting chapter that lies ahead.

We understand some people may not apply for jobs unless they feel they tick every box. If you are excited about joining us and think you have some of what we are looking for, even if you’re not 100% sure, we would love to hear from you. Our CIO team is always looking for passionate individuals who are eager to make a difference and contribute to our success.

What does the role involve?

As a Senior Business Analyst, you’ll play a key role in shaping and delivering change across CIO. You’ll work closely with business and technology teams to understand problems, analyse options, define clear requirements and help make sure solutions deliver the right outcomes for our customers and colleagues.

This role is suited to experienced BAs who can lead analysis across larger or more complex change, provide leadership and coaching to other BAs, manage senior stakeholder relationships and support high-quality delivery through strong documentation, sound judgement and clear communication.

Your responsibilities will include:

Lead detailed business analysis across large-scale projects or multiple medium-sized initiatives, taking ownership of analysis from initiation through to business readiness and delivery, ensuring business needs are fully understood and translated into meaningful outcomes.

Evaluate end-to-end business processes and systems, using customer and user needs to define clear requirements, process maps, user stories and supporting artefacts, identifying gaps and alternative solutions where appropriate.

Translate complex business requirements into clear, concise and unambiguous specifications, working closely with Solution Architects and delivery teams to identify and document sustainable solutions.

Facilitate workshops and stakeholder engagement sessions to gather requirements, explore options, challenge assumptions and achieve agreed outcomes across business and technical teams.

Manage analysis deliverables, scope, dependencies and risks, ensuring change is delivered within agreed time, cost and quality expectations, while supporting backlog readiness for PI planning events through clear priorities and well-prepared documentation.

Review and refine defects, backlog items, user stories and other analysis artefacts to ensure they are relevant, clearly defined and ready for delivery teams to progress, while maintaining consistent quality standards through peer reviews.

Provide line management, coaching and mentoring to Business Analysts and Junior Business Analysts, delivering constructive feedback, developing capability and helping drive continuous improvement and best practice across the BA community.

Requirements

• Strong Business Analyst experience leading analysis across complex change initiatives, with the ability to take ownership of multiple priorities and deliver high-quality outcomes.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify risks, opportunities, gaps and solutions through a methodical and inquisitive approach.
• Proven experience eliciting, analysing and documenting requirements, process maps, user stories and other artefacts to support effective decision-making and delivery.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and build effective relationships with senior stakeholders, including Head of and Director level, challenge constructively and translate complex technical information into clear business language.
• Experience working within Agile environments such as SAFe, with an understanding of waterfall delivery and a strong focus on quality, governance and risk management.
• Experience leading, coaching or mentoring Business Analysts, with the confidence to provide constructive feedback, support development and drive quality across analysis deliverables.
• Familiarity with tools such as Jira, Octane or equivalent would be beneficial. Knowledge of General Insurance, Guidewire, digital journeys, data, automation or SQL would also be advantageous.
• The interview process:
• Online assessments
• 30-minute virtual screening call
• 60-minute virtual competency and leadership interview
• 30-minute virtual behavioural interview
• As a Disability Confident employer, we’re committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are fully inclusive – what this means to you is if you’re applying for a job with us, you’ll have fair access to support and adjustments throughout your recruitment journey. We also welcome applications through the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS). For more information on the DCS, please visit our inclusive business page on our career's website
• Regrettably, we're not in a position to offer visa sponsorship for these roles, either now or in the foreseeable future.
• Benefits: In addition to a competitive salary, you will also receive…
• Flexible working – we champion a flexible hybrid working approach – please speak to your recruiter to discuss in more detail
• Competitive bonus scheme - all colleagues are eligible for our annual 4Cs performance bonus
• Financial wellbeing – as well as providing you with 4x your salary with our life assurance cover, income protection at no extra cost, and matched pension contributions up to 10%, we are proud to provide you with an award-winning package which includes – discounts, cashback, free independent mortgage advice and free access to financial wellbeing support
• Mental wellbeing programme – we have the thrive mental health app, our colleague assistance programme available 24/7, our own in-house mental health first aiders, support groups and a dedicated team to make sure we are covering your needs
• There's more! – 25 days annual leave + bank holidays, with the option to buy or sell one of your weeks, access to our health care cash back plans, dental plans, discounted health assessments, Cycle to work and tech schemes, discounted and free onsite facilities, social events throughout the year and much more ….
• Join us and you’ll find a different way of doing things. We call it the 4Cs. We focus on getting it right for our colleagues, customers, company and community. As one of our colleagues, you’ll be helping to drive our growth, so in return, we’ll give you all the support, training and development you need. Our 4Cs principles are simple: we believe by creating the right culture for our colleagues and giving them the right tools to do their job, we’ll deliver good outcomes for every customer, helping us to grow the company profitably and sustainably and allowing us to invest in the communities we serve.
• Hastings Group is an equal opportunities employer which means we treat people fairly. We welcome applications from all suitably skilled persons regardless of their gender, age, race, disability, ethnic background, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or marital/family status. Please also note that we have a thorough referencing process, which includes credit and criminal record checks.
• AI Transcribed Interviews
• For some roles, we use Spot, an interview support tool provided by Spotted Zebra. During the interview, Spot can create a transcript of the conversation, organise the information and examples you share against the skills being discussed, and help interviewers capture key points accurately. Its purpose is to support a structured and consistent interview experience and allow interviewers to focus on the conversation rather than detailed note-taking.
• Spot does not make hiring decisions, rank candidates or replace human judgement. All recruitment decisions are made by people. If Spot is being used for your interview, you'll receive further information before your interview takes place, including details of how to opt out if you prefer.
• Hastings Group is an equal opportunities employer which means we treat people fairly. We welcome applications from all suitably skilled persons regardless of their gender, age, race, disability, ethnic background, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or marital/family status. Please also note that we have a thorough referencing process, which includes credit and criminal record checks.
• At Hastings Direct, we’re committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, we encourage you to be open with us. Our recruitment team is here to provide the support you need to ensure a fair and accessible experience for all.
• Job posting end date: