About the job

Job summary

The Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) profession enable the Home Office to keep the UK safe and secure. They do this by designing, building, and running the services that help people apply for visas or passports, support policing and counter-terrorism operations, and protect the UK’s borders.​​

Team members have specialized knowledge and a calling to build on it. We want the best people to come to the Home Office and work in the diverse roles and communities they’re passionate about. This is how we produce exceptional outcomes.​​

The Home Office has created a government-leading bespoke career framework that enables career planning, while ensuring our people can be the best they can be. The framework includes Heads of Role, who are industry specialists. They build communities, set standards for what ‘good’ looks like, and ensure we have the right people in the right jobs at the right time.​​

We also have a profession management unit, which aims to provide the best professional experience to all our technical staff with a real passion for – and focus on – continuous professional development. We invest heavily in our people as part of growing our collective capability.​

You can keep up to date with our work on the Home Office DDaT blog 

Job description

A Lead Business Analyst will have a good understanding of strategic arenas and will lead large and complex projects. You will have functional and people management responsibilities and mentor others in the Business Analysis community.

You will help to develop best practice and assist with communities of practice activities (internally and across government). You will also make sure outcomes are aligned with the service vision and business strategy by connecting the current and future business models and delivering to the future business architecture strategy. You will also support and inform product iteration, evolution and optimisation.

You will build and own your stakeholder relationships, often forming strategic relationships with senior stakeholders both internally and externally. You will challenge constructively and act as a critical voice to stakeholders and delivery colleagues in order to achieve solutions that are fit for purpose. You will lead effective communication with all stakeholders to support design, build and delivery teams in meeting user needs and business objectives.

Due to the busy nature of this role, the successful candidate will be required to work full time hours and candidates should take this into consideration when submitting their application.

Person specification

Your main day to day responsibilities will be:

• Defining, planning and leading Business Analysis delivery on significant assignments. This will include providing recommendation and rationale to programme/project leads to critically shape project scope and to the Principal Business Analyst to accurately and dynamically inform resource planning across the Profession.

• Working with the Head of Role to develop and embed clear and consistent Business Analysis standards, guidance and templates across the Profession.

• Understanding and defining the problem to be solved and ensuring strategic decision-making supports business outcomes as well as user needs.

• Planning and leading significant areas of Business Analysis delivery, owning the challenge and driving through to conclusions.

• Developing a specialist area and delivering coaching and mentoring to staff within this area to develop their Business Analysis and professional skill set, confidence and strategic thinking. Overseeing the work of other business analysts to ensure work is focused on the right solution to deliver business value.

• Advising the business around which metrics to put in place to ensure the product is adding business value and to identify service improvement opportunities.

• Modelling complex processes/procedures using established techniques with understanding of their purpose and importance.

You will also be expected to carry out the following day to day activities:

• When necessary, elicit, analyse and validate business requirements and user needs, as well as business strategy problems, in the most appropriate and effective manner and format.

• Uncover policy and other constraints & requirements from a wide variety of other stakeholders.

• Support business process testing, through development of scenario-based acceptance criteria and BDD (behaviour driven development) to support automated testing. Occasionally this may also mean executing detailed test scripts and promoting the benefits of testing.

• If required, help to build business cases alongside a business area owner, who is ultimately responsible.

Essential Skills

The successful candidate must be able to clearly demonstrate evidence of the following essential criteria:

• Building strong, strategic relationships with the ability to understand, empathise, negotiate and influence individuals and groups.

• Collaborating with user researchers and championing user research to focus on all users. Defining approaches to understand the user story.

• Recent experience of working in the delivery of technology.

• Strategic thinking skills with the ability to turn longer term goals and business outcomes into strategic and tactical solutions as required.

• Guiding your team to decide the best approach, helping them to visualise outcomes, prioritise work and agree minimum viable product.

• Eliciting requirements and needs and leading investigations and implementations of changes to programme scope

The essential skills listed are reflective of the Home Office DDaT Profession Capability Framework (based on the industry standard SFIA framework).

Please see below for the relevant SFIA skills required for the role:

Strategy and Architecture
• Advice and Guidance
o Consultancy (CNSL) – Level 5

Change and Transformation
• Business Change Management
o Business Analysis (BUAN) – Level 5
o Business Modelling (BSMO) – Level 4
o Requirements Definition and Management (REQM) – Level 5

Development and Implementation
• User Experience
o User Experience Analysis (UNAN) – Level 4

Relationships and Engagement
• Stakeholder Management
o Relationship Management (RLMT) – Level 5

Desirable Skills

Ideally, you will also have the following skills or some experience in:

• Line management or coaching/mentoring
• Contributing to the creation and maintenance of the target operating model.
• Driving the creation, analysis and collection of information to create recommendations for service improvement
• Communicating in a variety of methods with the ability to apply the appropriate method to each scenario/audience

Qualifications

BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis or equivalent, relevant experience is essential

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,000, Home Office contributes £15,390 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV, Suitability Statement (Max Limit:1000 words)

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Please note your Statement of Suitability should concisely explain your motivation for applying for this role and offer evidence of how you meet the Essential Criteria as set out in the job advertisement.

The sift will be based on the Statement of Suitability.

The CV is for information purposes only and will not be marked.

Candidates shortlisted will be invited to an interview which will test your technical skills and experience. 

Candidates will also be required to prepare and deliver a 10-minute presentation or scenario-based task. Further details will be provided if invited to interview.

Sift and Interview dates

The sift will commence 08 February 2024

Interviews will be held online and are expected to take place from 01 March 2024

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to time constraints we may not be able to offer alternative interview date(s). It is therefore expected that candidates who are successful at sift stage will make themselves available during the above time frame given.

Further information

Please read the essential skills for this position carefully. We will only consider those who meet the listed requirement.

If you have previously made an unsuccessful application for a role with the same essential skills and are not able to demonstrate how you have developed these skills since your last application please reconsider applying as your application is unlikely to be successful.

For meaningful checks to be carried out, individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 3 years if the role requires CTC clearance, 5 years for SC clearance and 10 years for DV. A lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder/Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice.

We often have similar roles available at different grades. If a candidate is suitable for a similar role, or a lower grade than they have applied for, we may offer the candidate that role without the need to go through a further selection process providing the role has the same behaviours and essential skills

A reserve list may be held for a period up to 12 months from which further appointment may be made.

We encourage applications from people from the widest possible diversity of backgrounds, cultures and experiences. We particularly welcome applications from women, people with disabilities and LGBT+ as they are currently under-represented in the Home Office at this grade level. Appointments will be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.

Hybrid working enables employees to work partly in their workplace(s) and partly at home in line with the Home Office Hybrid Working policy. A hybrid working pattern may be available, where business needs allow for this role. Applicants can discuss what this means with the vacancy holder if they have specific questions on what this entails.

This post is eligible for DDaT RRA. Successful candidates with exceptional skills and experience may apply for a Recruitment Retention Allowance. This allowance is subject to an initial review within six months of taking up the post and thereafter an annual review in line with departmental priorities and could be reduced or withdrawn at any time.

Every day, Home Office civil servants do brilliant work to develop and deliver policies and services that affect the lives of people across the country and beyond. To do this effectively and fairly, the Home Office is committed to representing modern Britain in all its diversity, and creating a welcoming, inclusive workplace where all our people are able to bring their whole selves to work and perform at their best.

We are flexible, skilled, professional and diverse. We work to recruit and retain disabled staff and area Disability Confident Leader. We are proud to be one of the most ethnically diverse departments in the civil service. We are Stonewall top 100 Workplace Equality Employer and a Social Mobility Foundation top 75 employer.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant's details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

For further information please see the attached notes for candidates which must be read before making an application.

Existing Civil Servants should note that some of the Home Office terms and conditions of employment have changed. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the Terms and Conditions they will adopt should they be successful in application and should refer to the notes for candidates for further details.

Transfer Terms: Voluntary.

If you are invited to an interview you will be required to bring a range of documentation for the purposes of establishing identity and to aid any pre-employment checks.

Please see the attached list of Home Office acceptable ID documents.

Any move to the Home Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at here

Reasonable Adjustments

If a person with disabilities is at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs

Complete the “Assistance Required” section in the “Additional Requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a language service professional

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.