IT Business Analyst - Journey

Why work for OFM The Office of Financial Management (OFM)serves as the backbone of Washington state government. Our mission is to make our state a better place by connecting people, budgets, policies, data, and systems for state agencies and the Legislature. Our team includes budget advisors, researchers, and other experts, all dedicated public servants working towards an equitable future for every Washingtonian.

If you want to play a key role in enhancing how state government serves its citizens, you’ve found the right place. Join us in making a meaningful difference for every Washingtonian!

The job opportunityWe are hiring a Business Analyst to help shape how Washington State delivers business and technology solutions. In this role, you’ll partner with business leaders, subject-matter experts, and technology teams to understand complex needs, uncover opportunities, and turn ideas into practical solutions that improve enterprise applications and business processes. You’ll lead project discovery, help define business objectives and requirements, and bring people and perspectives together to create solutions that work for the people and organizations who rely on them. If you enjoy solving complex problems, asking the right questions, connecting the dots, and turning business needs into meaningful results, this is an opportunity to make a statewide impact. You’ll use Agile practices and modern application development approaches to help teams adapt to changing needs, improve how work gets done, and deliver better outcomes. Bring your curiosity, analytical skills, collaboration, and passion for making a difference—we’ll provide the opportunity to work on complex, enterprise-level challenges that matter across Washington State.

What you’ll work on: Provide business discovery and analysis for complex projects.• Engage with stakeholders to have a full and clear understanding of the business needs, issues, cycles, processes, tools, technology, and expectations needed for the business to meet their objectives with an ability to adapt to any situation.

• Know the relationships and dependencies of the systems and processes that interact or impact the business’s ability to meet its objectives, including both new and existing systems and processes outside OFM.
• Use in-depth business and IT system knowledge to identify business process improvements, future needs, potential risks, and broad issues related to their primarily focused business areas and enterprise applications.
• Effectively communicate specific business needs, related processes, and complicated nuances to technology development teams.
• Participate in projects, scrums, agile development teams, and other work efforts as a subject matter expert and provide guidance to lower-level staff and others less familiar with the business area.
• Assist with planning and prioritizing work for their primary business areas and enterprise applications.
• Lead meetings and/or workshops across multiple environmental or administrative programs to support enterprise applications with statewide agency customers to realize the scope and requirement needs of the project. Knows the questions to ask, define business problems, determine needs, and solve problems to facilitate the collection of business requirements to ensure end-user requirements are met for these Enterprise applications used by agencies statewide.

Perform the role of customer liaison for OFM’s projects.

• Play a key role in driving, influencing, and participating in planning and development within an Agile environment, contributing to the team's commitment to continuous improvement.
• Use agile methodologies to deliver iterative business plans around requirements gathering, design, development, and delivery of customer-facing value within an allocated timeframe.
• Serve as the liaison between the customer and the delivery/development teams.
• Review and approve the outcomes and deliverables of other staff members as the customer liaison and subject-matter expert.
• Resolve conflicts over resourcing and/or other issues related to the product, the team, and customers, including escalating information or changes between the customer and the technical/scrum team.

Provide the role of SCRUM Master and Project Coordinator to keep the project team on task and provide constant feedback to the customer.

• Serve as SCRUM Master to ensure projects and work efforts deliver the desired outcomes and benefits. Recognized as a resource to others while serving as an agile process coach and trainer, driving change, tying actions to customer value, fostering team chemistry, removing impediments, protecting the team from distractions and unplanned work, improving process, and removing waste, and leading collaborative decision making.
• Understand the holistic view of projects, technology roadmaps, and environments in order to complete tasks.
• Provide project coordination and address issues and risks as they arise.
• Review and assist with the content of project charters, schedules, communication plans, and stakeholder lists.

Provide and participate in Continuous Process Improvement for the program, ITS division, and other agency-level process improvement efforts.• Participate in LEAN process improvement efforts throughout the agency on program initiatives, either as a lead, contributor, reviewer, and/or approver.

• Develop, implement, and adopt the selected standards. Participates in evaluating their effectiveness and assists with continual improvement to ensure they meet the needs of our internal and external customers.

What we need you to bring: Required Qualifications:Demonstrated Experience in the following:

• Analyzing business processes, system functionality, and data to assess impacts of issues, changes, or enhancements across multiple applications and stakeholder groups.
• Performing core business analysis activities, including eliciting, documenting, and managing requirements, user stories, acceptance criteria, test cases, and process documentation.
• Serving as a liaison between business users and technical staff, translating business needs into technical requirements and clearly communicating technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Developing or modifying SQL queries or using data-analysis tools to evaluate system inputs and outputs, identify anomalies, and support troubleshooting or requirements development.
• Using IT service management (ITSM) or similar tools to document, track, and communicate incidents, enhancements, and changes while providing customer-focused support.
• Creating and maintaining user documentation and delivering training, such as guides, procedures, release communications, or system training for enterprise applications.

Demonstrated Knowledge & Abilities in the following:

• The system development lifecycle (SDLC) and delivery methodologies such as Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid environments.

• Exercising independent judgment, prioritizing work, and managing competing demands while maintaining effective working relationships with customers, stakeholders, and technical teams.

• Taking initiative to learn and grow professionally.

• Meeting the needs of others through responsive and effective collaboration.

• Microsoft Office tools, including Excel, Visio, and Word.

• The ability to take action to learn and grow.

• The ability to meet the needs of others.

Desired Qualifications:• Four (4) years of recent information technology related experience performing business analysis functions including: elicitation, tracking, and documentation of business and functional requirements; development of business process models, mockups, user stories, epics and acceptance criteria, use cases, test cases, training materials and provide training to customers; performing as a liaison between business and technical staff; providing critical analysis of complex systems and business processes, functions, inputs and outputs, data analysis, technical environments and visually documenting those processes.

• At least two (2) years of direct experience in Agile frameworks and methodologies such as SCRUM or Kanban. Experienced in various Agile roles such as Product Owner, SCRUM Master, and SCRUM team member. SCRUM certification, such as Product Owner and/or SCRUM Master. Business Analysis certification.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to disseminate information and instruction; excellent leadership, facilitation, and interpersonal skills; ability to multitask; provide high-level support for more than one project at a time; organization and time management skills.

• Experience in one of the following areas:• Budget, Legislative or Executive applications or processes

• Financial/Administrative applications or processes

• Human Resource Management System (HRMS) application or processes.

We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one from a less traditional background. Don’t let doubts stop you from applying for this position. If you have transferable experience, please tell us about it or contact us with questions about the required qualifications and how your experience relates to them.What we offer At OFM, we foster a culture of integrity, innovation, inclusion, and belonging. We value both learned and lived experiences, believing that diversity makes us stronger. To support your health and well-being, we offer a variety of benefit programs for our employees.

Please visit our Recruitment Page for a full list of benefits available to employees. Here’s a quick glance at some of the unique benefits that OFM offers:

• An environment of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging
• Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance
• 12 paid holidays, 14 paid vacation days (minimum), and 12 days of sick leave per year
• State retirement programs

Application Process: Once you’ve decided to apply for a state government job, you’ll complete an online application to showcase your qualifications. Keep in mind that once you submit the application, a real person will read it. We do not use AI or any other technology to screen your application and reject it. Please ensure you provide clear, detailed information about your work history so your qualifications can be accurately assessed. We will contact the top candidates directly to schedule interviews. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please call 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6384.

When completing your application, please attach all of the following required documents:• Cover letter: describing your qualifications for this specific position

• Resume: that details your applicable experience and education.
• References: at least three professional references and their current contact information.

Questions: OFM's Staff ASL interpreter is available to all deaf and hard-of-hearing applicants. For questions about this recruitment or to request a reasonable accommodation in the application or interview process, please email us at [email protected].

The Office of Financial Management is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects diversity in culture, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, persons over 40 years of age, and disabled and Vietnam-era veterans are encouraged to apply.

This position is exempt from civil service rules. For more information, please see WAC 357-19-195.