Business Analyst Practitioner
Leeds, England, United Kingdom Full-time Posted 1 day ago
Job Title: Business Analyst Practitioner
Salary: PO4 £47,665 - £50,908
Hours: 37 hours
Contract: Fixed Term for 12 months
Location: Merrion House, Leeds
An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Commissioning and Governance Service, Children and Families Directorate, for a Business Analyst Practitioner (PO4) on a 12 month fixed term contract, with the potential for extension.
You’ll will be part of our Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ rated Children and Families service and employed by Leeds City Council where we have a culture of excellence and are continually striving to drive up standards.
Unlike a traditional commissioning role, this position sits within the Commissioning and Governance Service and focuses on transformational, practice-led commissioning. The role is centred on improving outcomes for children and young people, securing value for money, and delivering sustainable cost improvements through innovation, collaboration and responsive commissioning in a dynamic market environment.
Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions .
About You
You will bring to the role:
This is an exciting opportunity to join the Children and Families Commissioning & Governance Service. This specific role sits within the central team of the White Rose Partnership. The partnership works in a consortium with 15 Local Authorities and Providers across the Yorkshire and Humber Region to commission high quality services which provide positive outcomes for children and young people through our 3 EMP’s:
The role is critical to the development of a regional collaborative approach to ensure that we meet the vision and 5 priorities of the Partnership:
This is a senior role within the Commissioning & Governance Service. We are keen to recruit the right person that has the ingredients to develop into an exceptional commissioner. There will be a full induction to develop the person who can demonstrate the right knowledge and aptitude.
Regardless of your previous experience the successful candidate will be required to undertake continuous professional development. You will gain or strengthen best practice knowledge of various aspects of children’s service delivery, technical commissioning skills including commercial acumen and value for money techniques. As a core service in Children and Families, you will be integral to decision taking.
What we offer you
We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:
For an informal discussion regarding this post, please contact Michelle Smith or Felicity Nichols on WhiteRoseRegionalCommissioning@leeds.gov.uk
Please complete the online application form.
Please upload your CV and complete a personal statement of no more than 500 words.
Read our guidance for further advice on completing your application.
A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the Children’s or Adults’ barred list as applicable will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy .
We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.
This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.
If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Please ensure you are eligible before applying.
Job Description
Job purpose
Lead business analysis activity with colleagues and customers to understand needs, map, and improve services and business processes, and turn evidence into clear requirements and user stories that enable delivery teams to improve customer experience and strengthen internal business practice across Leeds City Council and the Yorkshire and Humber Region. Deliver analysis work independently across discovery and delivery, balancing user outcomes, operational reality, statutory duties, and value for money.
Responsibilities
Service analysis and improvement
Essential requirements Candidates will only be shortlisted if they can demonstrate that they meet all the following essential requirements.
Business analysis and problem solving
Salary: PO4 £47,665 - £50,908
Hours: 37 hours
Contract: Fixed Term for 12 months
Location: Merrion House, Leeds
An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Commissioning and Governance Service, Children and Families Directorate, for a Business Analyst Practitioner (PO4) on a 12 month fixed term contract, with the potential for extension.
You’ll will be part of our Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ rated Children and Families service and employed by Leeds City Council where we have a culture of excellence and are continually striving to drive up standards.
Unlike a traditional commissioning role, this position sits within the Commissioning and Governance Service and focuses on transformational, practice-led commissioning. The role is centred on improving outcomes for children and young people, securing value for money, and delivering sustainable cost improvements through innovation, collaboration and responsive commissioning in a dynamic market environment.
Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions .
About You
You will bring to the role:
- Excellent leadership qualities and experience
- Experience in commissioning and/or project management and/or front line working with children and families with transferable skills.
- Flexibility to lead on all aspects of commissioning, contract management and quality assurance across the Children and Families Directorate.
- A passion for learning with the ability to challenge and drive change.
- A restorative mind-set, focussed on improving outcomes for children and young people.
This is an exciting opportunity to join the Children and Families Commissioning & Governance Service. This specific role sits within the central team of the White Rose Partnership. The partnership works in a consortium with 15 Local Authorities and Providers across the Yorkshire and Humber Region to commission high quality services which provide positive outcomes for children and young people through our 3 EMP’s:
- Independent Fostering (IFA)
- Independent Children’s Homes and Independent Schools (Residential)
- Colleges for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
The role is critical to the development of a regional collaborative approach to ensure that we meet the vision and 5 priorities of the Partnership:
- Partnership - To work in partnership with Local Authorities, Partners, Providers and Children and Young People to commission the best possible services.
- Sufficiency - To develop regional sufficiency to meet local need.
- Cost - To improve value for money though regional frameworks, market shaping and regional working.
- Quality - To improve quality assurance mechanisms and approaches across the region.
- Innovation - To identify and encourage opportunities for innovation and to work with all partners to drive service improvement
This is a senior role within the Commissioning & Governance Service. We are keen to recruit the right person that has the ingredients to develop into an exceptional commissioner. There will be a full induction to develop the person who can demonstrate the right knowledge and aptitude.
Regardless of your previous experience the successful candidate will be required to undertake continuous professional development. You will gain or strengthen best practice knowledge of various aspects of children’s service delivery, technical commissioning skills including commercial acumen and value for money techniques. As a core service in Children and Families, you will be integral to decision taking.
What we offer you
We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:
- a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
- membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
- flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
- a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
- a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further
For an informal discussion regarding this post, please contact Michelle Smith or Felicity Nichols on WhiteRoseRegionalCommissioning@leeds.gov.uk
Please complete the online application form.
Please upload your CV and complete a personal statement of no more than 500 words.
Read our guidance for further advice on completing your application.
A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the Children’s or Adults’ barred list as applicable will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy .
We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.
This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.
If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Please ensure you are eligible before applying.
Job Description
Job purpose
Lead business analysis activity with colleagues and customers to understand needs, map, and improve services and business processes, and turn evidence into clear requirements and user stories that enable delivery teams to improve customer experience and strengthen internal business practice across Leeds City Council and the Yorkshire and Humber Region. Deliver analysis work independently across discovery and delivery, balancing user outcomes, operational reality, statutory duties, and value for money.
Responsibilities
Service analysis and improvement
- lead analysis of services, processes, and customer journeys to identify issues, inefficiencies, risks, and opportunities
- plan and deliver service redesign activity that improves customer experience and supports delivery of council plans and priorities
- produce and maintain current and future state process maps, ensuring proposed changes are realistic, deliverable, and owned by the right stakeholders
- define measures of success and benefits, using evidence to track whether improvements deliver outcomes for customers and services.
- lead engagement with customers and stakeholders to understand needs, behaviours, and pain points, including where views conflict
- translate user needs into clear user stories, requirements, and acceptance criteria, ensuring traceability to evidence and agreement from product and service owners
- assure the quality of requirements, supporting prioritisation and refinement to enable delivery teams to build and test confidently.
- own analysis outputs across discovery, alpha, beta and live, ensuring they are clear, accurate, testable, and usable by teams
- support implementation of service changes, securing operational alignment and business readiness, identifying were policies, training or controls must change
- identify and manage dependencies, constraints, and risks within the analysis remit, escalating with options and recommendations.
- plan and facilitate workshops and engagement activities to gather information, test assumptions, and build shared understanding
- communicate clearly, presenting analysis and findings in a way that supports decision making, including recommendations and trade-offs
- constructively challenge where evidence is weak or requirements are unclear, helping stakeholders reach decisions.
- deliver analysis work that supports council strategies and transformation activity, aligning outputs to governance needs and decision points
- identify risks, dependencies, and constraints, escalating early with evidence, options, and impacts
- support proportionate governance, ensuring requirements and process changes meet local government obligations, including audit and data protection considerations
- take ownership for assigned work, planning and delivering analysis activity to an agreed standard with minimal supervision
- work as part of a multidisciplinary team, shaping delivery goals through evidence and clear requirements
- provide day-to-day supervision for assistant Business Analyst Assistants and Support Officers, allocating tasks, reviewing outputs, and supporting development (as and when appropriate)
- lead and develop workrstreams, setting and managing expectations, coaching, managing performance and wellbeing and conducting appraisals
- Monitor and report on timescale delivery and benefits realisation in line with agreed budgets prepare reports for stakeholders when required and in line with reporting requirements.
- support financial control and benefits management by analysing current service costs, modelling options for change, identifying cost reduction opportunities, tracking benefits assumptions, and reporting financial risks linked to scope, process and delivery decisions.
Essential requirements Candidates will only be shortlisted if they can demonstrate that they meet all the following essential requirements.
Business analysis and problem solving
- experience of analysing complex services, processes, and data to identify issues, opportunities, and improvements, applying structured approaches to problem solving and making sound decisions using evidence
- able to define, document and assure clear business requirements and user stories that are testable and traceable, assessing options, costs, benefits, and risks to recommend effective solutions
- able to work independently across a piece of analysis from scoping through to handover, managing ambiguity and competing priorities
- understand customer needs and behaviours, using evidence to inform decisions and translate their needs into service improvements and design approaches
- evaluate how well services and processes meet customer needs, identify areas for improvement, and support continuous improvement of customer experience across council services
- build and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues, stakeholders and partners and communicate key information clearly to a range of audiences, including non-specialists facilitate discussions, workshops, or interactions to gather requirements and inform decisions
- experience of working as part of a multidisciplinary team to deliver digital services and change, managing competing priorities and stakeholder expectations
- able to deliver work within agreed time, cost, and quality constraints, taking ownership and working independently, knowing when to escalate and what decisions you can take
- understand agile, hybrid and waterfall approaches and contribute to selecting and applying the right method for the work
- experience of supporting others through coaching, quality review, or day-to-day supervision of junior colleagues
- Experience of analysing data using appropriate tools to support evidence-based decisions, apply attention to detail and interpreting findings and using data to measure outcomes and evaluate the impact of service changes
- understand how digital services and technology influence user behaviour and service delivery
- demonstrate knowledge of design, technology, and data concepts sufficient to inform analysis work
- understand risks associated with delivery, including basic awareness of governance and procurement within a local government setting
- Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct
- Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Leeds Ambitions of health and wellbeing, inclusive growth, thriving strong communities and a resilient sustainable city
- Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council policies and procedures.
- Carry out duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health, Safety and Wellbeing
- Participate in appraisal, training, and development activities to ensure up, to date knowledge and skills.
- Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding equality & diversity of Leeds City Council.
- Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person
- Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
- The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol, and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.
- able to use SQL and/or Power BI (and familiarity with Microsoft Fabric) to interrogate data, produce useful reporting, and provide statistical evidence that supports business decisions
- experience of modelling services and processes (for example, as-is/to-be process maps, service blueprints, or comparable techniques) to support business process improvement
- experience of defining and managing user needs and requirements, including writing high quality user stories, acceptance criteria and supporting prioritisation of a minimum viable product
- knowledge of delivery methods and assurance expectations, for example agile (scrum/kanban) and/or recognised project methodologies (for example PRINCE2 or APM)
- knowledge of local government services and their interface with communities, including awareness of relevant statutory duties and policy constraints
- experience of working with suppliers, contract management, and/or public procurement frameworks
