Business Analyst

Job summary

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has a clear mission - to grow the economy. Our role is to help businesses invest, grow and export to create jobs and opportunities right across the country. We do this in three ways.

Firstly, we help to build a strong, competitive business environment, where consumers are protected and companies rewarded for treating their employees properly.

Secondly, we open international markets and ensure resilient supply chains. This can be through Free Trade Agreements, trade facilitation and multilateral agreements.

Finally, we work in partnership with businesses every day, providing advance, finance and deal-making support to those looking to start up, invest, export and grow.

The Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) directorate develops and operates tools and services to support us in this mission. The team have been nominated four times in a row for ‘Best Public Sector Employer’ at the Women in Tech awards!

Job description

Are you passionate about solving complex problems, improving digital services, and making a real impact for users and businesses? Our Business Analysts identify and draw upon a variety of evidence to define, analyse and document challenging business problems and user needs. They lead on mapping how user and organisational needs align with the business architecture and fit with the service vision and business strategy. You’ll work within agile, multidisciplinary teams to ensure product decisions are grounded in robust business analysis. Your work will help align user needs with organisational goals, enabling the delivery of inclusive and accessible digital services.

You will collaborate with service owners, product managers, delivery leads, user-centred design colleagues and technical specialists to define and document business problems, user needs and opportunities for improvement.

You will be encouraged to challenge constructively and act as a critical friend to achieve solutions that are fit for purpose. Effective skills in facilitating collaboration and communication with all stakeholders will be key to support the design, build and delivery of products and services that meet user needs.

You will support the Head of Profession to build a sustainable, diverse, and engaged Business Analyst community within DBT. You will do this by actively engaging in the Business Analyst community who work together towards a common goal and share ideas openly, establishing standards and consistency to support rapid delivery through sharing and learning from one another.

Read more about what it is like to become a business analyst in DDaT in our blog.

Main responsibilities

You will:

• Investigate, analyse and articulate business and user problems, identifying opportunities and providing recommendations to address them
• Collaborate effectively with stakeholders, and project teams to define measures of success for user-centred improvements, supporting prioritisation decisions that align with policy and organisational goals
• Define and document requirements, using models and frameworks to build shared understanding and inform decision-making
• Conduct business analysis activities across one or more workstreams, collaborating within your multidisciplinary team to shape the design and delivery of digital services that meet user and business needs
• Conduct business process analysis and re-engineering, producing clear and accessible documentation to support service improvements
• Translate user and business needs into actionable user stories and measurable outcomes that guide design, development, testing and adoption
• Help cultivate a collaborative, inclusive culture by sharing knowledge, and supporting continuous learning and development through active engagement in the Business Analyst Community of Practice

Person specification

It is essential that you:

• Have strong demonstrable experience of conducting business analysis in a digital environment, with evidence of collaborating with stakeholders and multi-disciplinary team colleagues to deliver high quality work (Lead Criteria)
• Adapting to delivery methodologies: You can define and apply appropriate business analysis approaches, taking account of the team’s chosen delivery methodology, negotiating priorities, and championing iterative delivery to drive early and continuous value
• Requirements Definition and Management: You have experience using a variety of techniques to elicit requirements from stakeholders and users. You apply a structured approach to documenting, prioritising and managing requirements aligned with the delivery methodology. You are skilled in negotiating solutions that balance business objectives with user needs
• Business process improvement: You can model complex business processes, including the use of systems analysis, to define business performance problems and opportunities, and support the design, testing and implementation of process improvements
• Stakeholder relationship management: You communicate confidently with stakeholders at all levels, tailoring your approach to build relationships and resolve conflict where necessary. You collaborate effectively with other DDaT roles in multidisciplinary teams focusing on user and business needs

It is desirable that you have:

• Experience contributing to and/or leading community of practice activities, promoting continuous learning, sharing knowledge, and supporting the growth and development of a community.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Developing Self and Others
• Making Effective Decisions

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Adapting to delivery methodologies
• Context, problem and option analysis
• Business process improvement
• Requirements definition and management
• Stakeholder relationship management
• User experience analysis

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• A flexible, hybrid working environment with options like condensed hours
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• Annual leave starting at 25 days rising to 30 days with service
• Three paid volunteering days a year
• An employee benefits programme including cycle to work

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

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

As part of the application process you will be asked to upload a two-page CV (in font size 12) and complete a 1000-word personal statement outlining how you meet the essential skills and experience listed above. You can use bullet points and subheadings if you prefer.

Sift will be from week commencing 19th January 2026

Interviews will be from week commencing 9th February 2026

Please note these dates are indicative and may be subject to change.

If there is a high volume of applications, we will sift looking at the lead criteria ‘Have strong demonstrable experience of conducting business analysis in a digital environment, with evidence of collaborating with stakeholders and multi-disciplinary team colleagues to deliver high quality work’ from the personal statement only. You may then be progressed to full sift or straight to interview.

How we interview

At the interview stage for this role, you will be asked to demonstrate relevant Technical Skills and Behaviours from the Success Profiles framework. These are role specific and in line with the Business analyst - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework.

You will also be asked to deliver a presentation and will be informed on the topic following the sift.

How we offer

Offers will be made in merit order. If you pass the bar at interview but are not the highest scoring you will be held on a 12-month reserve list in case a role becomes available. If you are judged a near miss at interview, you may be offered a post at the grade below the one you applied for.

This role requires SC clearance. DBT’s requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet this requirement will result in your application being rejected and your offer will be withdrawn.

Checks will also be made against:

• departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records)
• UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records
• your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency
• security services record
• location details

More about us

This role can only be worked from within the UK, not overseas. If you are based in London, you will receive London weighting. DBT employees are contracted to work in a hybrid pattern, spending 2-3 days a week (pro rata) in the office. Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DBT, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.

You can find out more about our office locations, how we calculate salaries, our diversity statement and reasonable adjustments, the Recruitment Principles, the Civil Service code and our complaints procedure on the Candidate Pack attached to this advert

Find out more about life at DBT, our benefits and meet the team by watching our video or reading our blog!

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : DDaT Recruitment
• Email : Ddat.recruitment@businessandtrade.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Ddat.recruitment@businessandtrade.gov.uk

Further information

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact DBT by email at Resourcing@trade.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Civil Service Commission Complaints

Attachments

DDaT Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 506kB)