Sr Business Analyst, IT Project Management/BA

Ascensus is the leading independent technology and service platform powering savings plans across America, providing products and expertise that help nearly 16 million people save for a better today and tomorrow.

Job Description

Position Purpose:                Model and promote Agile values and principles within the organization. Work with the strategic product owner to define features and functionality which support our business by effectively collaborating with internal and external customers to document accurate project definition.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Scrum Mastery:

• Guides the team and organization on how to use Agile/Scrum practices and values to deliver high business value.
• Guides the team on self-organizing and analyzing and adapting to the feedback inputs (eg. Metrics, Sprint Reviews, Retrospectives, etc.) All for the goal of self-improvement.
• Assesses the Scrum Maturity of the team and organization and coaching the team to higher levels of maturity, at a pace that is sustainable and comfortable for the team and organization.
• Removes impediments or guiding the team to remove impediments by finding the right personnel to remove the impediment.
• Builds a trusting and safe environment where problems can be raised without fear of blame, retribution, or being judged, with an emphasis of healing and problem solving.
• Facilitates getting the work done without coercion, assigning, or dictating the work.
• Facilitates discussion, decision making, and conflict resolution.
• Assists with internal and external communication, improving transparency, and radiating information.
• Supports and educates the Product Owner, especially with respect to looking ahead and ensuring the product backlog is sufficient for the team.
• Coordinates and encourages participation from all team members in scrum ceremonies (backlog refinement, road mapping, release planning, sprint planning).

Business Analytics:

• Collaborates with Product Owner to write accurate user stories and acceptance criteria, incorporating technical dependencies that are ready to be consumed by the team.
• Supports and educates the Product Owner, especially with respect to grooming and maintaining the product backlog.
• Assists the project team in the definition of project deliverables (such as product level documentation, and other deliverables). 
• Participates in retrospectives, identifying the successes and challenges encountered and being an advocate for positive change and for self-corrective behaviors.
• Completes the accurate and timely updates as required to time and project tracking systems.
• Continually enhances own domain knowledge of systems, products, and industry.
• Collaborates with team members to identify and apply best practices.
• Works with Product Owner and Team to plan and execute project implementations.
• Continually improve personal skills and adaptability to agile practice and the practical application of these skills.
• Assists in the identification and mitigation of project risks.
• Brings technical product knowledge to strategic business conversations.
• Assists with other tasks and projects as assigned.  
• Complies with company and units policies and procedures and assists others in adhering. Responsible for protecting and securing all client data held by Ascensus to ensure against unauthorized access to and/or improper transmission of information that could result in harm to a client.
• Models the I-Client philosophy and the Core Values of People Matter, Quality First and Integrity Always®. Displays leadership qualities including collaboration, dedication, openness, creativity, fairness and assertiveness.

Minimum Requirements:

• Strong knowledge of Scrum theory practices and rules.
• Experience with Scrum metrics and interpretation of the metrics.
• Good skills and knowledge of servant leadership, facilitation, situational awareness, conflict resolution, continual improvement, empowerment, and increasing transparency.
• Ability to anticipate issues based on experience and react proactively.
• Demonstrated success in Business Analyst position or equivalent work experience.
• Bachelor’s degree or  equivalent work experience
• Excellent analytical skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills including active listening.
• Ability to anticipate project issues based on experience to help the team avoid or resolve the issues.
• Knowledge of PC applications including SQL and MS Office products.
• Knowledge of common business applications and analytical tools.

Preferred Skills/Experience:

• Experience playing the Scrum Master role for at least two years for a software development team that was diligently applying Scrum principles, practices, and theory.
• Knowledge of other Agile approaches: XP, Kanban, Crystal, FDD, etc.
• Knowledge and/or experience with writing user stories and acceptance criteria. 
• Applicable knowledge of the technologies used by the team.
• Previous experience as a team lead.
• Excellent mentoring skills.

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