Business Analyst II

Texas Health & Human Services Commission • Austin, TX

23h • $5,099 - $8,305 • Onsite

About The Position

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is seeking a Business Analyst II for a full-time position within the Information Technology Business Engagement (ITBE) team. This position supports the intake, coordination, tracking, and reporting of Information Technology (IT) requests and initiatives. Responsibilities include maintaining project and portfolio records, supporting IT governance activities, managing documentation and SharePoint resources, developing operational reports and dashboards, and assisting with process improvement efforts. The ideal candidate will have strong organizational, analytical, and communication skills, with experience in business analysis, project coordination, stakeholder support, and Microsoft 365 tools. This position provides an opportunity to support agency-wide technology initiatives while contributing to continuous improvement and operational excellence within DFPS.
As a Business Analyst in the IT Business Engagement team the position will perform complex (journey-level) business and systems analysis work that involves gathering, developing, and documenting user requirements, reviewing and assessing business processes, developing SOPs and process documentation, and providing research and special project work. The position will work in concert with appropriate stakeholders on IT solutions and business decisions to support the organization's short- and long-term business goals/strategy to ensure they align with IT strategies and project requirements, while also supporting operations and new hire training. Excellent communication and presentation skills are required for developing reports and presentations, and for interactions with internal and external stakeholders. Familiarity with child and adult welfare case management system requirements is desired.
The mission of DFPS is to protect children, the elderly, and people with disabilities from abuse, neglect, and exploitation by involving clients, families, and communities. We are looking to grow our teams with people who share our energy and enthusiasm to get behind our mission of protecting those among us who are most in need. This position is classified as a full-time position (40 hours a week). Work outside of regular hours may be required. Travel to other Austin offices may be required. Works under general supervision, with moderate latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment. This position is a full-time position that includes other State of Texas benefits as described in this SAO site: http://www.sao.texas.gov/SAOReports/ReportNumber?id=18-704

Requirements

• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business, MIS, CIS, Computer Science or similar. Work experience may be substituted for education on a year-for-year basis.
• At least three (3) years’ experience performing in the role of a Business Analyst on similar sized projects and in similar environments.
• At least one (1) year experience in strategic or business planning activities.
• Documented experience in analysis, mapping, and/or developing findings and recommendations for business processes.
• Documented experience with office productivity software including Microsoft Office Suite to include MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Project, SharePoint, and/or Visio.
• At least three (3) years’ experience in a role demonstrating business systems analysis expertise.
• Ability to work within cross-functional teams.
• Strong communication skills and ability to communicate with technical, non-technical, functional, management and executive staff.
• Knowledge of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and Project Management Life Cycle (PMLC) methodologies; high-level system design methodologies and techniques (entity/relationship models, data/process flow diagrams); object-oriented programming and of programming client/server applications.
• Knowledge of information gathering techniques with demonstrated experience for developing findings and recommendations from data collection.
• Knowledge of technical approaches used to deliver projects, products and services to large client organizations; and current and future IT trends and best practices.
• Ability to analyze legislation to determine and document agency impact analysis, fiscal notes and cost estimates.
• Skills in meeting facilitation and presentations for meetings involving cross-functional teams and including external stakeholders.
• The ability to use moderate judgment in identifying root cause of problems, and developing solutions to a variety of problems of moderate to large scope and complexity.
• Working knowledge of office productivity software including Microsoft Office Suite to include MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Project, SharePoint, Visio and/or SQL.
• Ability to analyze and process information quickly.
• Ability to identify and address existing and potential obstacles, issues and opportunities; and identify and mitigate key issues affecting the progress of organization and process solutions.
• Ability to translate up-to-date information into continuous improvement activities that enhance program area performance.
• Demonstrates excellent organization skills, e.g., defines and organizes tasks, responsibilities and priorities.
• Consistently demonstrates strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Ability to develop documentation that maps and illustrates processes and develop framework for process improvement.
• Demonstrated experience in expressing technical and business concepts and conclusions orally and in writing.
• Ability to communicate with all team members and stakeholders; technical teams and customers; work in a team setting; manage multiple tasks, projects and priorities; train and mentor junior level staff.
• Skill in analyzing business processes and developing business cases for new or modified customer-related products and services.
• Skills in problem root cause analysis and negotiating problem resolution.
• Ability to analyze and interpret program and technical information including regulations, policies, and business rules to aid in DFPS IT program goal and priority setting.
• Ability to work with moderate supervision and provide full transparency into all aspects of ongoing work assignments.

Nice To Haves

• Knowledge of Case Management applications or SACWIS application systems a plus but not required.
• Prefer experience in estimating project effort and timelines.

Responsibilities

• Manages, evaluates, and processes incoming Information Technology (IT) service requests.
• Develops reporting mechanisms to track and prioritize incoming technology requests compared to existing IT capabilities and agency funding.
• Conducts research and analysis to cost and document effects of legislative initiatives on IT systems and processes.
• Maintains a strong awareness to the agency strategy, funding, goals, child and adult welfare practices, IT platforms, and processes to ensure IT requests reflect the priorities and needs of the agency.
• Review and comment on complex project deliverables such as project charters, quality management and risk assessment plans, workflow diagrams, and business rules.
• Communicates planning and key decisions by program and IT leadership and management to appropriate audiences.
• Coordinates change management activities e.g., frequent communication to customers about the change and its impact.
• Negotiates agreements and commitments by effective facilitation and communication between business stakeholders and IT from initial requirements to final implementation.
• Develops presentations for senior and executive level management and governing bodies to communicate recommendations, options, risks, cost benefit analysis, end user impacts on business processes and system priorities.
• Ensures IT solutions and business decisions support the organization’s short- and long-term business goals/strategy and aligns with IT strategy.
• Analyzes technology trends to determine impact on achieving agency’s goals.
• Uses the service catalog to identify opportunities and perform assessments for developing solid recommendations based on business relevance, technology, implementation and deployment.
• Works with internal and external stakeholders to align technology solutions with business strategies.
• Documents IT solution decisions/risks/issues.
• Contributes to the business case process and develops corresponding documents as required.
• Coordinates stakeholder business planning and strategy meetings to include short- and long-term strategic planning sessions with customers and agency management.
• Coordinates work with other IT applications/interfaces within and external to DFPS to include other state and federal agencies.
• Maintains quality assurance policies, processes, best practices, and standards.
• Coordinates or performs root cause analysis for issues with IT systems or processes.
• Outlines recommendations for business process improvement.
• Solicits and manages stakeholders’ satisfaction for IT services using available tools and metrics.
• Ensures stakeholders’ expectations are met and identifies and resolves disconnects through negotiation or governance mechanisms.
• Develops and coordinates other special projects and performs other duties as assigned

Benefits

• 100% paid health insurance for you, and 50% paid for eligible family members
• Retirement plans with lifetime monthly payments after five years of state service
• options to save even more with 401(k) and 457 plans
• Paid vacation, holidays, and sick leave
• Optional dental, vision, and life insurance
• Flexible spending accounts for added tax savings on health and dependent care
• Employee discounts on things like gym memberships, electronics, and entertainment
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level