Sr. Business Analyst

Senior Business Analyst The New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) seeks a qualified contractor to provide comprehensive project management, business analysis, application support, testing, training, data management, business intelligence, and reporting services for its Special Education systems. The project supports the implementation and ongoing enhancement of the ATLAS platform, modernization of Special Education applications, development of regulatory and operational reports, maintenance of enterprise data repositories, user training, and continuous operational support. The Contractor will provide a multidisciplinary team of technical and functional experts to ensure the successful delivery of system enhancements, data integration, reporting solutions, quality assurance, and end-user support while maintaining compliance with federal, state, and NYC DOE Special Education requirements. The Senior Business Analyst serves as the lead functional analyst, directing business analysis activities across multiple project initiatives. This individual works closely with DOE stakeholders, project management, developers, testers, and business users to identify business needs, evaluate alternative solutions, document requirements, and ensure successful delivery of system enhancements and reporting solutions. Responsibilities Lead and mentor Business Analysts assigned to the project. Collaborate with business stakeholders, project managers, and technical teams to identify business needs and recommend effective technology solutions. Facilitate stakeholder interviews, workshops, and requirements gathering sessions. Analyze current ("As-Is") and future-state ("To-Be") business processes and recommend process improvements. Develop and maintain Business Requirements Documents (BRDs), Functional Requirements Specifications (FRS), use cases, user stories, process flows, and traceability matrices. Refine business cases and support project prioritization and scope management. Produce project documentation, including workflow diagrams, business rules, and functional specifications. Support solution design, system testing, user acceptance testing (UAT), and implementation activities. Assist with change management, user communications, and knowledge transfer. Ensure requirements are complete, accurate, testable, and aligned with project objectives and DOE standards. Required Skills Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Information Systems, Computer Science, or a related discipline; Master's degree preferred. Minimum of 8–10 years of progressively responsible experience as a Business Analyst on large-scale information technology projects. Minimum of 3–5 years leading or mentoring Business Analysts and coordinating business analysis activities across multiple workstreams. Demonstrated experience gathering, analyzing, documenting, validating, and managing complex business and functional requirements. Proven ability to facilitate stakeholder interviews, Joint Application Design (JAD) sessions, workshops, and requirements elicitation meetings with executive leadership, business users, and technical teams. Experience documenting As-Is and To-Be business processes, business process modeling, workflow analysis, gap analysis, and business process improvement initiatives. Strong experience developing Business Requirements Documents (BRDs), Functional Requirements Specifications (FRS), use cases, user stories, process flows, business rules, and requirements traceability matrices. Experience supporting system design, application development, integration, testing, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), implementation, and production deployment. Proficiency with Microsoft Visio, Microsoft Project, Jira, Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) tools, Microsoft SQL Server, and Microsoft Power BI. Working knowledge of relational databases and SQL for data analysis and validation. Thorough understanding of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodologies, including both Waterfall and Agile delivery frameworks. Strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and decision-making skills. Excellent written, verbal, presentation, facilitation, and interpersonal communication skills. Ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively in a collaborative, cross-functional environment. Experience supporting New York City, New York State, K–12 education, or other government organizations is highly desirable. Experience supporting enterprise reporting, regulatory compliance, or large-scale system modernization initiatives is preferred. Ariel Partners