IT Business Analyst Contract

Work Location: Hybrid South Plainfield, NJ; minimum 3 days/week onsite
Duration: 5 months, with potential extension up to 1 year and possible right-to-hire

Position Overview

This position is a direct report to the Sr. IT Program Manager and will support the Utility Applications portfolio, consisting of approximately 8 projects with a combined portfolio value of approximately $20 million.

The IT Business Analyst will provide portfolio-level support and assist with planning activities, business case development, initial-phase requirements gathering, project analysis, and reporting. This individual will work closely with Project Managers and other stakeholders to help define project scope, schedules, estimates, benefits, and business requirements.

This role requires strong analytical, project management, and communication skills, with the ability to work across multiple projects and stakeholders. The position is focused on business analysis, portfolio planning, and project support rather than systems analysis.

The portfolio supports customer technology within the utility side of the business. Specific projects and applications cannot be disclosed at this time.

Job Responsibilities

In that capacity, this position is responsible for the following:

• Provide portfolio support across approximately 8 projects within the Utility Applications portfolio.

• Help lead planning activities and work closely with Project Managers and other stakeholders throughout the initial phases of projects.

• Gather, document, and help define business requirements during early project planning and initiation.

• Own functional specifications and serve as a functional expert with a deep understanding of business needs and product capabilities by defining business requirements, performing quality assurance, and defining reporting and alerting requirements.

• Own the Business Case Challenge Team (BCCT) development process for the portfolio by working with Product and Project teams on scope, schedule, estimates, and benefits.

• Assist with the development and analysis of business cases to support project and portfolio decision-making.

• Work on analytical projects which may include continuous improvement projects; data extraction; technical / financial review and analysis; compiling, monitoring, and analyzing performance metrics toward achievement of scorecard targets; reviewing and revising documentation; preparation of presentations; and other ad-hoc assignments.

• Align and support the strategic direction of the broader IT organization. Contribute to strategic vision/plans and identify process enhancements that improve customer experience and simplify the current landscape.

• Keep informed of technical and managerial advances in IT, including leading the introduction of best practices.

• Support compliance with project cost, schedule, and budget requirements. Analyze performance dashboards and scorecards to quantify and measure outcomes and identify persistent problems.

• Develop reporting and dashboards to provide portfolio visibility to business management.

• Develop, review, evaluate, and formulate project plans, schedules, and budgets.

• Utilize Power BI for portfolio reporting, dashboards, and data analysis.

• Review project and portfolio information maintained by Project Managers in Smartsheet. Prior hands-on Smartsheet experience is not required.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 5 6 years of relevant Business Analyst, project management, portfolio support, or related experience.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

• Strong project management and project planning skills.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with Project Managers, business stakeholders, and IT teams.

• Experience gathering and documenting business requirements, particularly during project initiation and planning phases.

• Experience developing or supporting business cases, project scopes, schedules, estimates, budgets, and benefits.

• Experience supporting multiple projects or a project/program portfolio simultaneously.

• Experience developing and/or working with dashboards, reporting, metrics, and performance scorecards.

• Working knowledge of Power BI.

• Ability to review and interpret project data maintained in tools such as Smartsheet.

Preferred Qualifications

• Utility industry experience is a plus but not required.

• Experience supporting technology projects, application portfolios, or customer-facing technology initiatives is preferred.

Note: This is primarily a business analysis, project planning, and portfolio support role. It is not a systems analysis position.