Business Analyst – Innovation & Discovery

Job description

Locations: Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham or Leeds (one of these locations)

Working style: Hybrid

We are seeking a Business Analyst to join a highly collaborative, discovery-focused environment, working at the very earliest stages of technology and innovation initiatives. This role is firmly positioned in the front end of change, shaping ideas, defining problems, and creating clarity long before solutions are formally approved or delivered.

This is not a traditional Business Analyst role aligned to a delivery roadmap or established product. Instead, it is suited to someone who enjoys working with uncertainty, helping stakeholders articulate what they want to achieve, and turning loosely formed concepts into structured, decision-ready propositions.

The Opportunity

Senior stakeholders across Tax and Audit often have a clear vision for how technology could enable better outcomes, whether that’s improving efficiency, enabling new services, or solving complex business problems, but those ideas are typically high-level and unstructured.

As a Business Analyst, you will:

• Partner closely with senior stakeholders to explore early-stage ideas and opportunities
• Lead discovery interviews, workshops, and ideation sessions to surface requirements, assumptions, constraints, and risks
• Challenge thinking constructively, helping stakeholders refine their ideas and focus on real business value
• Translate ambiguous concepts into clear, structured documentation, including problem statements, scope definitions, options, and recommended next steps
• Produce outputs that allow the wider business to assess feasibility, value, and strategic alignment before committing to delivery

Your work will directly influence which ideas progress into the formal product and technology roadmap.

How You’ll Work

Operating as a key linchpin between business and technology, you’ll collaborate closely with:

• Engineering teams
• Integration specialists
• Power Platform and SharePoint teams

You’ll ensure proposed solutions are realistic, technically grounded, and aligned with how platforms and tools are actually used across the business. While you won’t own delivery, your work will provide the foundation that enables delivery teams to succeed if an initiative is approved.

Importantly, there is:

• No fixed roadmap
• No Product Owner providing refined requirements
• No predefined solution

This is a true discovery-led BA role, requiring comfort with evolving information, shifting priorities, and minimal structure.

What This Role Is — and Is Not

This role is:

• Focused on early-stage discovery and innovation
• Highly collaborative and stakeholder-driven
• Suited to someone who enjoys shaping ideas from scratch

This role is not:

• Delivery-focused BA work
• Managing backlogs or writing user stories for established products
• Incremental change or small feature enhancements

About You

You will likely be a Business Analyst who:

• Has experience operating successfully in ambiguous or greenfield environments
• Is confident engaging and influencing senior, non-technical stakeholders
• Can facilitate workshops and discussions that drive clarity and alignment
• Has worked within large software or platform-led organisations, or as an internal consultant-style BA working with senior stakeholders and external clients
• Is comfortable balancing business needs with technical realities

You are curious, analytical, and pragmatic, able to ask the right questions, challenge assumptions, and turn complexity into something clear and actionable.

Location & Flexibility

We welcome candidates based in Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, or Leeds, with hybrid working available.

Extra information

Status

Open

Education Level

Secondary School

Location

Manchester

Type of Contract

Full-time jobs

Published at

09-02-2026

Full UK/EU driving license preferred

No

Car Preferred

No

Must be eligible to work in the EU

No

Cover Letter Required

No

Languages

English