Job Description:

Lead Business Analyst - SC Cleared
📍 Reading (3 days onsite)
💰 £90 - £104.46 per hour (Inside IR35)
📅 6-month rolling contract

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Lead Business Analyst to play a key role in a major digital transformation programme within a newly established organisation. This is a high-impact position where you will shape and lead the Business Analysis capability across critical business areas including HR, Finance, and Programme Management.

You will operate at a strategic level, driving requirements definition, influencing senior stakeholders, and ensuring the successful delivery of digital solutions in a fast-evolving environment.

Leadership & Strategy

• Define and implement best practices for requirements gathering, analysis, and documentation across multiple workstreams
• Establish and lead a new Business Analysis function, including team setup, standards, and governance
• Mentor and develop a team of Business Analysts at varying levels of experience
• Partner with Product leadership to shape the vision for digital solutions
• Assure quality of BA outputs and supplier-delivered solutions

Stakeholder Engagement

• Engage with senior stakeholders (CxO level and Heads of Function) to align on priorities and requirements
• Facilitate workshops to drive consensus and resolve complex challenges
• Oversee supplier deliverables to ensure alignment with business needs

Delivery & Innovation

• Develop pragmatic and creative solutions in resource-constrained environments
• Collaborate with suppliers and architects to define and deliver optimal solutions
• Contribute to solution design across Finance, HR, Programme Management, Legal, Commercial, Supply Chain, and related functions

Agile Delivery

• Lead requirements activities within Agile frameworks
• Ensure clarity and prioritisation of User Stories, Use Cases, and acceptance criteria
• Champion best practices in Agile requirements management

Organisational Development

• Drive the maturity of Business Analysis practices
• Establish frameworks, standards, and tools for effective requirements management

• Active SC Clearance (required)
• Strong experience in Aerospace & Defence environments, ideally within MOD or similar
• Proven track record leading Business Analysis teams on digital transformation programmes
• Experience building or scaling a BA function
• Expertise in Agile delivery and requirements management methodologies
• Strong stakeholder management experience, including senior leadership engagement
• Experience working with ERP systems (e.g. SAP S/4HANA), HR systems, and Microsoft technologies (including Power Platform)
• Familiarity with Agile tools such as Azure DevOps (or similar)

• Strategic thinker with strong leadership and influencing skills
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment
• Excellent communicator and facilitator
• Able to work autonomously and establish structure in a new organisation

This is a unique opportunity to shape a Business Analysis capability from the ground up while contributing to a high-profile digital transformation programme.