IT Business Analyst

29-Feb-2024

Harvard Business School

65188BR

Position Description

Are you excited by the idea of joining a world-class organization at the intersection of higher education and technology? Are you drawn to using technology to meet business goals and solve problems? Can you see yourself working on a cross-functional team to brainstorm technology solutions and implement them? If so, consider joining our team! The Business Analysis (BA) team supplies key insights on business opportunities on our technology projects in support of Harvard Business School’s (HBS) mission to educate leaders who make a difference in the world.

The IT Business Analyst will apply proven communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills to help the business make good solution and technology decisions. They will also be proactive about working with technical architects to look for innovative and practical solutions and technologies to enhance business processes and address business challenges. The IT Business Analyst will play a pivotal role in ensuring IT’s understanding of business requirements.

The successful candidate is an energetic, empathetic, thoughtful professional who is a superior communicator and who gets things done. The IT Business Analyst’s primary role is to elicit, analyze, specify, confirm, and articulate the business needs of stakeholders, be they customers or end users. This includes interviewing stakeholders and gathering and compiling user requirements to understand how technology solutions support and satisfy their needs. In addition, the IT Business Analyst is a quick learner and a versatile and adaptable member of a project team who can periodically fill in on other duties as needed to ensure the team’s success.

Responsibilities:

Scope, Design, & Plan

• Collaborate with project sponsors to determine project scope and vision and develop project and program proposals and business cases
• Gather and prioritize user requirements via workshops, questionnaires, surveys, site visits, workflow storyboards, use cases, scenarios, and other methods
• Help with the interpretation of user requirements into workable options and communicate these back to the business stakeholders

• Help conduct research on technology and support purchasing efforts, or work with existing HBS technology to meet agreed-upon requirements
• Communicate changes, enhancements, and modifications of business requirements - verbally or through written documentation – to project managers, sponsors, and other stakeholders so that issues and solutions are understood Participate in the QA (Quality Assurance) and UAT (User Acceptance Testing) of deployed solutions to ensure features and functions have been enabled and optimized

• Analyze and verify requirements for completeness, consistency, comprehensibility, feasibility, and conformity to standards
• Develop and use standard templates to communicate requirements accurately and concisely; where applicable, develop prototypes of interfaces and attributes based on user requirements
• Create context models, process models, specifications, diagrams, and charts to communicate with customers and provide direction to developers and/or the project team; develop and conduct peer reviews of business requirements to ensure that requirement specifications are correctly interpreted
• Reflect on and continually improve our business analysis practice
• Supply guidance, mentoring, and/or instruction to other staff members
• Complete other responsibilities as assigned

Basic Qualifications

• Minimum of two years’ post-secondary education or relevant work experience

Additional Qualifications and Skills

In addition to the minimum of two years' post-secondary education or required relevant work experience listed above, an additional year of relevant work experience is required, for a total of three years' relevant work experience is required.

The following are preferred:

• Experience with a variety of business analysis techniques in a software development environment
• Experience in at least one implementation of a major project, process or system
• Ability to work on multiple initiatives simultaneously and to manage deadlines
• Experience using foundational project management tools, for example: Microsoft Office, ServiceNow, Jira, or other Agile “board” planning tools and techniques
• Facilitating or supporting creation of effective program status reporting, performance reporting, and project dashboards
• Possesses the following preferred interpersonal attributes: adaptable; graceful and tactful under pressure; a problem solver; respectful and approachable style
• Experience working with both Agile and Waterfall style projects simultaneously
• Familiarity working with a Managed Service Provider
• Ability to work independently with little direction or direct supervision

Certificates and Licenses

The following are preferred:

• Business Analysis certification such as IIBA, ITIL, or CBAP

Additional Information

This role is offered as a hybrid position (some combination of onsite and remote) where you are required to be onsite at our Boston, MA-based campus on a weekly basis. Specific schedule will be determined by your manager.

Harvard Business School will not offer visa sponsorship for this opportunity.

Culture of Inclusion: The work and well-being of HBS is profoundly strengthened by the diversity of our network and our differences in background, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and life experiences. Explore more about HBS work culture here https://www.hbs.edu/employment .

About Us

Founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University, Harvard Business School (www.hbs.edu ) is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston. The School offers two full-time MBA and PhD programs, more than 175 Executive Education programs, and certificates and courses through Harvard Business School Online. For more than a century, Harvard Business School faculty have drawn on their research, connection to practice, global expertise, and passion for teaching to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. The School and its curriculum attract the boldest thinkers and the most collaborative learners who will shape the practice of business and entrepreneurship around the globe. 

Benefits

We invite you to visit Harvard's Total Rewards website (https://hr.harvard.edu/totalrewards ) to learn more about our outstanding benefits package, which may include:

• Paid Time Off: 3-4 weeks of accrued vacation time per year (3 weeks for support staff and 4 weeks for administrative/professional staff), 12 accrued sick days per year, 12.5 holidays plus a Winter Recess in December/January, 3 personal days per year (prorated based on date of hire), and up to 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents who are primary care givers.
• Health and Welfare: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits, disability and life insurance programs, along with voluntary benefits. Most coverage begins as of your start date.
• Work/Life and Wellness: Child and elder/adult care resources including on campus childcare centers, Employee Assistance Program, and wellness programs related to stress management, nutrition, meditation, and more.
• Retirement: University-funded retirement plan with contributions from 5% to 15% of eligible compensation, based on age and earnings with full vesting after 3 years of service.
• Tuition Assistance Program: Competitive program including $40 per class at the Harvard Extension School and reduced tuition through other participating Harvard graduate schools.
• Tuition Reimbursement: Program that provides 75% to 90% reimbursement up to $5,250 per calendar year for eligible courses taken at other accredited institutions.
• Professional Development: Programs and classes at little or no cost, including through the Harvard Center for Workplace Development and LinkedIn Learning.
• Commuting and Transportation: Various commuter options handled through the Parking Office, including discounted parking, half-priced public transportation passes and pre-tax transit passes, biking benefits, and more.
• Harvard Facilities Access, Discounts and Perks: Access to Harvard athletic and fitness facilities, libraries, campus events, credit union, and more, as well as discounts to various types of services (legal, financial, etc.) and cultural and leisure activities throughout metro-Boston.

Job Function

Information Technology

Department Office Location

USA - MA - Boston

Job Code

I0857P IT Business Analysis Prfss III

Work Format

Hybrid (partially on-site, partially remote)

Department

Information Technology

Annual Salary Range

$85,000 - $90,000, commensurate with experience.

Union

00 - Non Union, Exempt or Temporary

Pre-Employment Screening

Identity

Schedule

40 hours per week minimum, to be determined by manager

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Harvard University views equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging as the pathway to achieving inclusive excellence and fostering a campus culture where everyone can thrive. We strive to create a community that draws upon the widest possible pool of talent to unify excellence and diversity while fully embracing individuals from varied backgrounds, cultures, races, identities, life experiences, perspectives, beliefs, and values.

EEO Statement

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, or any other characteristic protected by law.