IT Business Analyst- Sr./Specialist

State of Washington•Thurston County – Olympia, WA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) seeks to fill an IT Business Analyst Senior/Specialist. This full-time (3-year) project position is based in Olympia, Washington. During the initial training period, employees are required to work in the office up to three (3) days per week. Upon successful completion of training, there may be an opportunity to transition to a flexible telework schedule. While this position offers a balance of in-office collaboration and telework, it is not fully remote. OSPI is the primary agency charged with overseeing public K–12 education in Washington state. Working with the state's 295 public school districts and 7 state-tribal education compact schools, OSPI allocates funding and provides tools, resources, and technical assistance so every student in Washington is provided a high-quality public education. At OSPI, we recognize that our employees are the key to the success of the agency. We are committed to our work but value the balance with our personal lives. We demonstrate our commitment to employees by providing an environment that stimulates professional growth and values them for their expertise. OSPI is a great place to work and has several initiatives to help create a great working environment, including: We support a healthy work/life balance by offering flexible/alternative work schedules and mobile and telework options. (Depending on job duties and work location.) We have an Infant at Work Program that is based on long-term values of newborns and infant-parent bonding. Eligible employees who are new parents or legal guardians can bring their infant (six weeks to six months) when returning to work. (Depending on job duties and work location.) We value and are actively involved in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within OSPI by way of cross-divisional, collaborative committee. The focus of the committee includes employee engagement and education; reinforcing OSPI values; and maximizing the value of diversity and identifying strategies for inclusion. Vision: All students prepared for post-secondary pathways, careers, and civic engagement. Mission: Transform K-12 education to a system that is centered on closing opportunity gaps and is characterized by high expectations for all students and educators. We achieve this by developing equity-based policies and supports that empower educators, families, and communities. Values: Ensuring Equity, Collaboration and Service, Achieving Excellence through Continuous Improvement, Focus on the Whole Child. Equity: Each student, family, and community possesses strengths and cultural knowledge that benefits their peers, educators, and schools. Ensuring educational equity: Goes beyond equality; it requires education leaders to examine the ways current policies and practices result in disparate outcomes for our students of color, students living in poverty, students receiving special education and English Learner services, students who identify as LGBTQ+, and highly mobile student populations. Requires education leaders to develop an understanding of historical contexts; engage students, families, and community representatives as partners in decision-making; and actively dismantle systemic barriers, replacing them with policies and practices that ensure all students have access to the instruction and support they need to succeed in our schools. The IT Business Analyst (BA) Senior/Specialist plays a pivotal role as the primary steward of ensuring the Statewide IEP platform business and technical requirements are implemented with high fidelity. This specialized position will work largely independently with an advanced systems analyst skillset to collaborate with the product team, the vendor, administrative staff, data stewards, and IT personnel through requirements analysis, complex data integrations, development, testing and implementation. This position will use expert problem solving and excellent communication skills to ensure quality implementation of IEP platform system functionality that follows state and federal regulations. The IT BA will prepare for and lead ongoing support for the new statewide IEP platform through system and process documentation related to the statewide IEP Platform, IT systems and data management.

Requirements

9 or more years of progressive experience as an information technology business analyst.
15 credits or competence units from an accredited college. May substitute for two years of experience.
2 years of leading customers and other technical staff in the elicitation, analysis, validation, and documentation of system and data requirements for systems that have a statewide impact.
3 years of leading other business analysts and/or technical staff in developing use cases, functional requirements, software specifications, and training documents that meet customer requirements.
2 years of conducting quality control through business test plans, software testing, and documenting results.
2 years of leading or coordinating projects that involve multiple business areas using project and software methodologies.
Must maintain residency in the state of Washington.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Information Technology (IT) or closely related field and five (5) years recent professional experience in business analysis leading the elicitation, elaboration, and management of requirements, and documenting technical and functional requirements, specifications, and system diagrams.
An associate degree in Computer Science, IT or closely related field; OR completion of a two (2) year accredited vocational training program in IT or related program and seven (7) years recent professional experience as in business analysis leading the elicitation, elaboration, and management of requirements, and documenting technical and functional requirements, specifications, and system diagrams.
Understand the standards and practices for software quality assurance standards and best practices.
Nine (9) years of recent professional experience in business analysis leading the elicitation, elaboration, and management of requirements, and documenting technical and functional requirements, specifications, and system diagrams.
Understand the standards and practices for software quality assurance standards and best practices.
3 years of experience using Microsoft tools (Outlook, Excel; Word, PowerPoint, and Visio) to produce information technology customer documentation.
1 year of experience developing software proposals
Demonstrated ability to learn and consult with business processes.
Demonstrated ability to communicate using effective verbal, nonverbal, written, and listening skills.
Ability to appropriately document and escalate issues and problems.

Responsibilities

Business Analyst lead for Statewide IEP Platform Implementation: The Business Analyst lead for the statewide IEP platform implementation will serve as the primary liaison for managing both business and technical requirements. This role involves ensuring that all requirements are accurately documented, communicated, monitored, validated, and tested in the new system by the contracted vendor. This will require facilitation and collaboration with many partners including the product owner team, statewide IEP vendor, OSPI IT personnel, contracted developers, other state agencies business and IT partners to resolve complex issues as they arise. This position will make recommendations and provide guidance to the project team and business partners on planning, business and system requirements for implementation of the new system. Additionally, the position may assist in evaluating proposed system and technology procurements for the IEP platform.
Elicit and Document Requirements: The analyst ensures that information systems supporting special education programs align with IDEA and WAC 392-172A data and reporting requirements, guaranteeing compliance and meeting reporting needs. They conduct interviews and workflow analysis sessions with special education staff and administrators to identify data reporting needs and compliance requirements. Utilizing documentation tools such departmental templates, the analyst produces clear Business Requirements Documents (BRDs) tailored to specific state and federal reporting cycles, including IDEA and Child Count as it relates to the statewide IEP platform.
Validate and Ensure Data Quality Improvement in Special Education Data Systems: Collaborate with the data leads and program teams to enhance the reliability of federally mandated special education data collection systems by developing validation processes and improving applications that boost data quality, maximize efficiency, and ensure accurate, timely federal reporting (e.g., Section 618, SPP/APR).
Analyze and Model Data Processes: The analyst assesses current data collection processes within student information systems (SIS) and special education software to identify data quality issues or compliance gaps. Using advanced process modeling techniques and data analysis tools like MS Excel and SQL, the analyst designs optimized data workflows that ensure data integrity and streamline reporting. Additionally, develops, and maintains detailed business process maps and workflows that define how data moves between the statewide IEP system, existing data collections (e.g., CEDARS, EDFacts), and internal applications, supporting cross-system understanding and minimizing manual data handling.
Participate in System Integration Planning and Testing: Participate in planning and testing for system integration, including data mapping, interface design, and user acceptance testing to ensure seamless interoperability and data integrity between the statewide IEP system and state or other data platforms. Facilitate testing and quality assurance by developing test scripts tailored to special education data fields and coordinating User Acceptance Testing (UAT) sessions for system updates or new software implementations. Utilize testing methodologies to validate that data systems accurately capture required elements before data certification. Support the development of data dashboards, reporting tools, and visualizations that translate complex data into accessible information for educators, administrators, and families to advance educational benefit and transparency through data use as it relates to the Statewide IEP platform.
System administration, monitoring and evaluating system performance and collects user feedback: Administer, manage configurations and update forms and workflows in the Statewide IEP platform. Identify enhancements that improve usability, accuracy, and program alignment to maintain a continuous improvement cycle for the statewide IEP platform and related data systems. Coordinating cross-agency data integration efforts (e.g., attendance, assessment, accountability) collaborate Statewide IEP datasets with Special Education data team for integration and comprehensive student data representation and to support program initiatives and improved student outcomes. Participate in change management and communication planning related to system updates, ensuring partners are informed and impacts are well understood prior to implementation to reduce risk and enhance adoption of new systems or processes.
Communicate and present findings: The analyst prepares detailed project reports, data dashboards, and summary presentations using productivity software (e.g., MS PowerPoint, Google Slides, MS Excel) to effectively communicate data quality metrics, audit results, and data-driven insights to department leadership, school staff, and external auditors.
Support implementation and training: The analyst works with the vendor and other developers in guiding training materials and user guides tailored to data entry protocols, employing standard documentation practices to support district staff during system rollouts and ensure correct data stewardship practices are followed related to the Statewide IEP platform.
Facilitates and participate in Agile or other project processes: Assists and supports sprint planning and annual software development roadmap planning. Build sprints based on collaboration with the product owner, and product and development teams. Facilitates grooming of backlog and involves product owner. Participates in code release with vendor or Information Technology (IT) team creates and distributes release notes for business stakeholders.
Participate in meetings and develop resource materials: Participate in daily stand-ups. Provide weekly work estimations for business team meetings. Assists with business team meetings and facilitates requirements gathering, design, and demo meetings. Creates user manuals and business rule documentation as needed.