MDE - Business Analyst 5

Senior Business Analyst

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) is seeking a Senior Business Analyst to support the Office of Educational Supports (OES) in enhancing and maintaining the Consolidated Application within the NexSys platform. This application is critical for distributing federal formula grants to Michigan Local Education Agencies.

This role will serve as a strategic liaison between OES, regional field services consultants and managers, internal MDE cross-office teams (including the Office of Systems, Evaluation, and Technology - OSET), the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (DTMB), and vendor partners. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in supporting business areas to complete business requirements, perform user acceptance testing, supporting end user documentation and training, with proven leadership experience in cross-functional environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Stakeholder Engagement & Communication
  • Facilitate meetings with business stakeholders, technical teams, and external consultants.
  • Act as the primary point of contact for field consultants regarding application issues.
  • Communicate issue status, resolutions, and updates to relevant stakeholders.
• Operational & Technical Liaison
  • Manage and prioritize operational support requests and enhancement tickets in Azure DevOps.
  • Collaborate with OSET and vendor teams to ensure timely resolution of technical issues.
  • Translate business needs into clear, actionable technical requirements.
• Leadership & Team Coordination
  • Lead and mentor a team of business analysts.
  • Delegate tasks effectively and ensure alignment with project goals.
  • Facilitate and lead requirement-gathering sessions with both business and technical teams.
• Documentation & Knowledge Management
  • Maintain comprehensive documentation on the project SharePoint site.
  • Ensure all process changes and decisions are well-documented and accessible.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• 4+ years of proven experience as a business analyst.
• 2+ years of experience working with grant management systems or government-funded programs.
• Strong understanding of the software development lifecycle (SDLC).
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and interpersonal skills.
• Leadership capabilities in cross-functional team environments.
• Proficiency with tools such as Microsoft SharePoint, Azure DevOps, and Microsoft Office.

1st round interviews will be conducted via Microsoft Teams with a potential 2nd round in-person.

Work location is hybrid, 2 days in office are required (Tuesday & Wednesday preferred) and 3 days working from home. (Candidate can be full time in office, if desired.)

Contract Length: 6 months.

Contract may be extended to 12 months based on capacity and budget.

Skill - Required / Desired - Required Years of experience

Exposure to Complex IT web Applications, within the past 5 years - Required - 5 Years

Experience in gathering and documenting business feedback and incorporating changes into current processes - Required - 5 Years

Ability to lead meetings, conduct training & information sessions, communicate at a level appropriate to the audience, make oral and written reports and presentations - Required - 5 Years

Experience working as a liaison between the development team and project manager or business client in a software development project - Required - 3 Years

Experience with Microsoft SharePoint - Required - 1 Year

Experience with Azure DevOps; including creating User Stories and queries - Required - 1 Year

Experience with Federal, State or local grant management systems - Highly Desired - 2 Years

Experience developing wireframes, mockups, & prototypes in Figma or comparable design software - Highly Desired