Job Title: Business Analyst III
Duration: 12 Months
Location: Toronto, ON (Hybrid – 4 days onsite)

Job Description Summary

Responsible for ensuring that a development team (pod) is creating value for the organization through the delivery of customer-focused product increments. This entails aligning with other Product Owners and senior management to follow a product vision, creating and maintaining a prioritized product backlog, managing delivery blockers, continuously assessing customer feedback. Additional responsibilities include considering how to maximize value, assessing how the product or the delivery process can be continuously improved, contributes to a positive work environment and ensures that work embodies the Agile principles of transparency, collaboration and engagement.

Job Description

CUSTOMER

• • Partner with management to support the delivery of a product vision
  • In alignment with the product vision, create and maintain a product backlog and continuously re-prioritize user stories that will provide the most customer or end user value
  • Continuously align with senior management on the product delivery roadmap, defined Minimum Marketable Features or Minimum Viable Products and release cadence
  • Review performance analytics; recommend and champion strategies to enhance the customer or end user product experience
  • Participate in scrum or Kanban events (e.g. stand-ups, retrospectives), express new ideas for improving product value or delivery efficiency, sharing with leadership as appropriate
  • Proactively engage established business process partners to ensure customers or end users are prepared for application changes and establish Day 2 processes
  • Create a value-focused product backlog and continuously iterate, ensuring there are user stories scoped and prioritized
  • Provide user story design, development and completion oversight; accepting / rejecting user stories based on the agreed upon Definition of Done and Acceptance Criteria
  • Manage delivery initiatives and oversee development team (pod) backlogs
  • Proactively raise issues that impede the efficient delivery of customer-focused increments
  • Responsible for defect management and prioritization

SHAREHOLDER

• • Adhere to enterprise frameworks or methodologies that relate to activities for own business area / journey
  • Ensure on-going strategic alignment with senior management, providing feedback as appropriate
  • Consider development team and stakeholder feedback in backlog management, facilitating conversations with multiple stakeholders representing competing priorities
  • Understand the internal business and technical environment, proactively defining, aligning or integrating with relevant stakeholders, shared services control groups (or platform as appropriate
  • Lead the submission and discussion on the Quarterly Business Review, with respect to their product
  • Proactively manage business stakeholders to obtain inputs needed for product development in a timely manner
  • Monitor the regulatory environment and partner with the senior management to consider changes to product strategy as needed
  • Actively coordinate and engage in risk, quality and/or business testing management
  • Empowered to make product delivery decisions, escalating to senior management as appropriate
  • Actively communicate to business, technology and senior management regarding product changes and backlog priorities
  • Single point of escalation for development team, providing guidance and decisioning as needed
  • Work cohesively with peers to reinforce Agile processes
  • Compile performance metrics and share with relevant stakeholders
  • Define the OKRs in partnership with numerous stakeholders across the organization
  • Protect the interests of the organization- identify and manage risks, and escalate non-standard, high risk activities as necessary
  • Keep abreast of emerging issues, trends, and evolving regulatory requirements and assess potential impacts
  • Maintain a culture of risk management and control, supported by effective processes in alignment with risk appetite

EMPLOYEE / TEAM

• • Participate fully as a member of the team, support a positive work environment that promotes service to the business, quality, innovation and teamwork and ensure timely communication of issues/ points of interest
  • Provide thought leadership and/ or industry knowledge for own area of expertise in own area and participate in knowledge transfer within the team and business unit
  • Keep current on emerging trends/ developments and grow knowledge of the business, related tools and techniques
  • Participate in personal performance management and development activities, including cross training within own team
  • Keep others informed and up-to-date about the status / progress of projects and / or all relevant or useful information related to day-to-day activities
  • Contribute to team development of skills and capabilities through mentorship of others, by sharing knowledge and experiences and leveraging best practices.
  • Lead, motivate and develop relationships with internal and external business partners / stakeholders to develop productive working relationships.
  • Contribute to a fair, positive and equitable environment that supports a diverse workforce
  • Act as a brand ambassador for your business area/function and the bank, both internally and/or externally

BREADTH & DEPTH

• • Key subject matter expert professional role requiring substantial knowledge / expertise in a complex field and knowledge of broader related areas
  • Accountable for specialized product development support based on sound product expertise and knowledge of Agile/Scrum processes, roles and practices
  • Integrate knowledge of the enterprise sub-function’s or business line’s overarching strategy in developing solutions across multiple functions or operations
  • Interpret internal/external business challenges and the industry environment, recommends course of action and best practices to improve products, processes or services
  • Lead and integrate cross-function understanding within their own field of specialty, and /or projects with significant resource requirements, risk and / or complexity
  • Solve or may lead others to solve complex problems; leads efforts or partners with others to develop new solutions
  • Use sophisticated analytical thought to exercise judgement and identify solutions
  • Impact the achievement of sub-function or business line objectives within the area they are accountable for
  • Communicate difficult concepts; converts information to compelling business context and advice; influences and gains alignment across increasingly senior stakeholders
  • Work autonomously as the lead and guide others within area of expertise
  • Typically reports into a Product Group Owner

MUST HAVE Hard Skills:

• 5-7 years of prior experience in banking/ financial working in a similar role.
• Prior experience using Scrum/Kanban project management frameworks: 5-7 years
• Proven experience planning, organizing, and facilitating Sprint ceremonies

• Agile environment- JIRA and Confluence: 5-7 years

SOFT SKILLS:

• Strong Communication skills- communicating with stakeholders at all levels
• Strong organizational skills
• Leadership mindset- leading the pod
• Ability to adapt quickly

NICE-TO-HAVE

• Understanding of Architectural Design
• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) certification and project management experience considered an asset
• Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) certifications is considered an asset.

Preferred/Ideal Candidate Background: The ideal candidate will have prior experience working in Agile environments within the banking or financial services sector. They should have experience leading a pod/team, a foundational understanding of architectural design concepts, and strong communication skills with the ability to engage effectively with stakeholders at all levels. Experience planning, coordinating, and facilitating sprint ceremonies, including sprint planning is highly preferred. Prior project management experience will be ideal as well.

Degree/Level of Education: Undergraduate degree in Business or related.

Years of Overall Experience: 5-7 years of experience.
Interview process: 1-2 rounds of interview; panel interview if only one round: virtual camera on! (30-45 min) 
 
At SPECTRAFORCE, we are committed to maintaining a workplace that ensures fair compensation and wage transparency in adherence with all applicable state and local laws.The pay rate for this position is C$50.45/hr.