Senior / Business Analyst
Turning Point (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Turning Point is a small, high end, boutique consulting firm headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska that provides systems integration, project management, business analysis and testing science services -- primarily in the Insurance and Banking sectors.  Turning Point is run by a small group of Principals who have developed contracts over the past few years with several Fortune 500 firms in Omaha and around the US.  Turning Point also has contracts with multiple firms that are looking for talented professionals for assignments around the US and around the world.

Turning Point has placed Project Managers, Business Analysts, Software Programmers and Quality Assurance professionals in a variety of consulting engagements or permanent positions with companies like:

·         The Principal Financial Group

·         Mutual of Omaha

·         First National Bank of Omaha

·         MerchantWired

·         The SHAZAM Network

·         And others

Now, one of Turning Point’s US clients has asked us to help them recruit and select a key hire, Senior / Business Analyst to work for them in North America.  Along with highly competitive salaries, exceptional benefits and very solid, real potential for advancement, the successful applicants will enjoy working with a company that encourages initiative, fresh ideas and working and winning as a team.  As such, they are looking for only the best people -- with excellent credentials, solid experience and strong initiative. 

Senior / Business Analyst -- Open Position Parameters:

Base Qualifications:

·         At least two, preferably five or more years experience as a Business Analyst involved in large, complex initiatives.

·         Must have direct experience working with Medicare / Medicaid. Other candidates need not apply.

·         Heavy preference for candidates with strong requirements gathering, flow charting, facilitation and gap analysis skills.

·         Strong understanding of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) and Project Management Lifecycle (PMLC).  

·         Professional designations or certifications such as UML, ITIL, Six Sigma, B2T, etc… preferred.

·         Exceptional oral and written communications skills, including an ability to facilitate discussion with diverse groups.

·         Strong diplomacy and leadership skills working in a team environment. 

·         25% travel flexibility.  US travel only.  

·         Authorization to work for any US employer.

·         Must be based in Philadelphia area.

·         Experience in the Insurance and / or Banking industries a distinct advantage. 

Position Description:

The Senior / Business Analyst will be a part of a larger team comprised of a Project Manager, other Business Analysts, Technical Consultants and Quality Assurance personnel.  They will be backed up by a team at the main office.  They must be based in the Philadelphia area.

Upon hire, candidates will spend time learning key methodologies and application skills relevant to the position, they will then be placed as a Business Analyst on a project team.  Training is intense, and requires strong prior experience and background as a Business Analyst with at least a modest technical aptitude.  Once successfully trained, general duties include:

Communicating and facilitating tasks:
 

·         You must be able to use multiple techniques, methods and processes to draw out, articulate, document and negotiate consensus on a final vision of the product and/or the core project requirements of all stakeholders, particularly the end-user.

·         You should be capable of defining acceptance criteria and in working with specialists to define acceptance criteria for all project deliverables.

·         You should be able to get ideas across in a non-confrontational manner in one-to-one situations, small groups, and before large audiences.

·         You should expect to regularly facilitate and lead client personnel in implementation discussions, using flow charting, diagramming, use case analysis and other skills to effect solid outcomes and understanding among all discussion participants.   

Planning and problem-solving tasks:
 

·         You will be a responsible member of a project implementation team, helping it accomplish its goals and produce the products required within constraints such as time, cost and agreed quality standards.

·         You will work within a team to effect an on time, on budget, no surprises project delivery.

·         You will be responsible for completing your assigned aspects of the project in coordination with other resources and under the direction of your project manager. Key deliverables include requirements development and documentation, systems testing, application training, and process engineering.

·         You must anticipate and catch deviations from an implementation plan or schedule early and work with all participants, particularly the client, to mitigate impacts of deviations to that plan.

·         You should identify, log, analyse and manage potential and actual issues and risks, taking corrective action by tackling day-to-day issues head on and reviewing how more serious issues and risks might impact on project scope, schedule, quality and cost.

·         Given training, you must be able to identify and resolve most non-code related application problems and assist technical team members in problem reproduction and resolution. 

Client management tasks:

·         You will work directly with the client team members or with their team leaders to estimate effort, plan activities and negotiate consensus among individual team members with regard to differences that affect project implementation.

·         You will need to liaise with the work or parts of the work that may be done by third party contractors, managed and co-ordinated by the Program Manager or other Project Managers.

·         You should be experienced in providing a client team with direction and vision, including motivating people to perform, listening to people, providing feedback, recognizing strengths.

Technical and quality tasks:
 

·         Without necessarily being an expert, you must have a basic understanding of relevant technologies being employed in the project and how these fit together with the application you will be responsible for implementing. 

·         You will one of the key individuals responsible for the project’s commitment to quality and will need to hold others to a high standard of excellence while executing tests against the application you will be responsible for implementing. 

Organizing tasks:

·         You will need to generate different types of project artifacts, including requirement specifications, gap analyses, schedules, project reports, communication (email) records, design specifications, meeting agendas, minutes and status reports.

·         You will be responsible for adhering to a structure for project documentation for your team, remain conscientious in using it, and ensure that the rest of the team understands and uses it.

To apply, please submit your resume to us at:  HRManager@turning-point-partners.com.  All replies will be answered, and promising candidates will be invited to have a conversation with one of our management team.  

Turning Point:  People. Process.  Performance.