Business Analyst

Role: Business Analyst

Location: Houston, TX

Type: Contract 

Duration: 12+ months

Overview

We're looking for a Senior Business Analyst who can independently partner with business and technology stakeholders to identify process pain points, uncover gaps, and drive measurable improvements. This role requires strong capability in business process mapping, data analysis, requirements documentation (BRD and related artifacts), and leadership across UAT and testing to ensure solutions meet business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Stakeholder Partnership & Discovery

• Lead workshops, interviews, and working sessions with cross-functional stakeholders to elicit business needs, pain points, and improvement opportunities.
• Proactively drive conversations, asking the right questions, challenging assumptions, and aligning stakeholders on problem statements and priorities.
• Translate stakeholder inputs into clearly defined business objectives, scope, and success metrics.

Business Process Mapping & Optimization

• Document current-state (AS-IS) processes using standard methodologies (e.g., BPMN, swimlane diagrams, SIPOC as applicable).
• Identify inefficiencies, control gaps, bottlenecks, duplication, and manual workarounds; quantify impact where possible.
• Design and validate future-state (TO-BE) processes, ensuring alignment with business goals, compliance needs, and operational feasibility.
• Support change impact analysis and help define rollout/transition approaches.

Requirements & Documentation (BRD and Beyond)

• Produce high-quality documentation such as BRDs, functional requirement documents, user stories, process flows, business rules, and acceptance criteria.
• Ensure requirements are complete, testable, traceable, and aligned to stakeholder expectations.
• Maintain requirements traceability throughout delivery, including scope control and change management support.

Data Analysis & Insight Generation

• Use data to validate problems, measure baseline performance, and support solution recommendations.
• Perform data analysis (trends, root cause, exceptions, segmentation) to identify drivers of process issues.
• Define reporting requirements and help establish KPIs to measure post-implementation improvements.

UAT, Testing & Quality Support

• Define UAT strategy and approach aligned with business objectives.
• Create and manage test artifacts: UAT plans, test scenarios, test cases, test scripts, and defect triage processes.
• Coordinate with business users during testing cycles, ensuring timely execution and clear feedback loops.
• Partner with QA and development teams to validate fixes, confirm acceptance criteria, and support go/no-go decisions.

Required Skills & Experience

• 5+ years of Business Analyst experience (or equivalent) delivering process and/or system improvements.
• Proven expertise in business process mapping and process redesign (AS-IS/TO-BE).
• Strong experience in requirements elicitation and documentation, including BRD creation and associated artifacts.
• Hands-on experience leading UAT end-to-end (planning, case creation, execution coordination, defect management).
• Strong data analysis skills (ability to interpret data, identify insights, and support decisions).
• Demonstrated ability to influence and align diverse stakeholders, including senior business leaders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to translate complex concepts into clear narratives and visuals.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving mindset; comfortable with ambiguity and complex process environments.
• Experience in Energy & Utilities vertical a huge plus

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience).