Senior Consultant - Business Analyst

About PACT Solutions

PACT Solutions is a specialist management and digital transformation consultancy working exclusively with higher education institutions across the UK.

We help universities solve complex challenges across strategy, student records, data, change and delivery. Our work often sits at the heart of major institutional transformation, helping partners improve the student journey, modernise operations and deliver change more effectively.

PACT has grown quickly and is now entering its next phase. We are moving from a founder-led boutique consultancy into a more scaled and structured business, while protecting the quality, culture and partner focus that have made us successful.

We combine the agility and collaborative spirit of a close-knit consultancy with the credibility, structure and professionalism needed to deliver meaningful digital transformation.

Our values sit at the heart of everything we do:

• Partnership: We work with you, not for you
• Integrity: We do the right thing, even when it requires difficult conversations
• Curiosity: We dig deeper to uncover what will truly deliver value
• Transformation: We focus on outcomes that create lasting, measurable improvement

The Role

We are looking for a Senior Consultant specialising in Business Analysis to lead analysis activity across complex transformation programmes within our higher education partners.

This is a senior, hands-on consulting role combining business analysis expertise with workstream leadership, stakeholder advisory and delivery assurance. You will work with senior leaders, operational teams, technical specialists and delivery colleagues to define complex problems, establish clear requirements and translate strategic objectives into practical, deliverable solutions.

Depending on the engagement, you may act as the lead Business Analyst within a multidisciplinary programme, take responsibility for a defined transformation workstream or oversee the work of other analysts and consultants. You will be expected to establish the appropriate analysis approach, manage delivery against agreed outcomes and ensure that outputs meet PACT’s consulting and quality standards.

You will work closely with colleagues across Strategy, Delivery, Systems & Integration, Data and Change. You will also contribute to the continued development of PACT’s consulting capability through mentoring, quality assurance, methodology development and support for proposals and new engagements.

Purpose of the Role

To lead high-quality business analysis across complex transformation programmes, helping partners move from strategic or operational challenges to clearly defined, evidence-based and deliverable outcomes.

1. Business Analysis Leadership

Lead the business analysis approach across programmes and workstreams.

• Define the scope, approach, deliverables and standards for business analysis activity
• Lead discovery, requirements gathering and analysis across complex stakeholder environments
• Facilitate workshops, interviews and decision-making sessions with operational, technical and senior stakeholders
• Define and validate functional and non-functional requirements, user stories, acceptance criteria and business rules
• Ensure requirements are prioritised, traceable and aligned with agreed business outcomes
• Identify assumptions, dependencies, constraints and gaps in available information
• Challenge unclear requirements and support stakeholders to distinguish underlying needs from proposed solutions
• Resolve ambiguity and conflicting requirements through structured analysis and facilitation
• Provide assurance over the quality and completeness of analysis outputs

2. Process and Service Improvement

Lead the analysis and redesign of business processes and services.

• Develop current-state and future-state process, service and operating model views
• Identify pain points, risks, inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement
• Lead process redesign activity across operational, academic and student lifecycle areas
• Assess the impact of proposed changes across people, process, technology and data
• Develop practical recommendations that balance user needs, strategic objectives and delivery constraints
• Support the definition of benefits, outcomes and measures of success
• Ensure proposed processes are scalable, sustainable and supported by clear ownership and governance

3. Senior Stakeholder Engagement

Build trusted relationships and provide effective advice across partner organisations.

• Engage confidently with senior leaders, subject matter experts, operational teams and technical stakeholders
• Act as a trusted adviser, using evidence and structured analysis to inform decisions
• Translate complex information into clear messages, options and recommendations
• Facilitate alignment between business users, delivery teams, technical specialists and suppliers
• Navigate conflicting priorities and support stakeholders to reach workable decisions
• Lead difficult or sensitive conversations constructively where requirements, scope or expectations are unclear
• Maintain partner confidence through clear communication, sound judgement and reliable delivery

4. Workstream and Delivery Leadership

Take responsibility for the successful delivery of defined analysis workstreams.

• Develop and manage analysis plans, activities, milestones and dependencies
• Coordinate inputs from partner stakeholders, PACT colleagues and third-party suppliers
• Work closely with programme and project managers to manage scope, risks, issues and changes
• Identify delivery risks early and recommend appropriate action
• Provide clear progress reporting and escalate decisions or barriers where required
• Support planning, governance and programme assurance activity
• Lead or support testing, validation, implementation readiness and acceptance activity
• Ensure delivered solutions remain aligned with agreed requirements and intended outcomes
• Manage workstream activity independently while maintaining appropriate engagement-level oversight

5. Solution and Transformation Advisory

Contribute to the design and evaluation of transformation solutions.

• Support the development of target operating models, service designs and system-enabled processes
• Translate business requirements into inputs for system, data, integration and solution design
• Assess the feasibility, implications and trade-offs associated with different delivery options
• Develop structured options appraisals and recommendations
• Support partners in making informed decisions about processes, systems and ways of working
• Ensure alignment between strategic objectives, business requirements and technical delivery
• Consider the end-to-end impact of proposed changes rather than individual processes or systems in isolation
• Work with Change colleagues to ensure solutions can be successfully adopted and embedded

6. Quality Assurance and People Development

Support the quality and capability of PACT’s consulting team.

• Provide guidance and coaching to Business Analysts, Consultants and other delivery colleagues
• Review analysis deliverables and provide constructive feedback
• Establish appropriate standards and ways of working within assigned engagements
• Support colleagues in navigating complex stakeholder or delivery challenges
• Contribute to internal learning, knowledge-sharing and professional development activity
• Help maintain consistency and quality across PACT’s business analysis practice
• Role-model PACT’s values and expected consulting behaviours

7. Internal and Commercial Contribution

Contribute to PACT’s growth and continued development as a consultancy.

• Contribute to proposals, statements of work and engagement planning
• Support the definition of scope, deliverables, assumptions and resource requirements for new work
• Identify emerging partner needs and potential opportunities for further support
• Contribute to the development of PACT’s methodologies, templates, tools and intellectual property
• Share insight and learning from engagements across the wider business
• Support internal improvement initiatives and the development of PACT’s consulting offer
• Contribute to external content, events or thought leadership where appropriate

You will have the opportunity to:

• Lead meaningful business analysis activity across major university transformation programmes
• Work directly with senior stakeholders on complex institutional challenges
• Operate across strategy, systems, delivery, data, operations and change
• Take responsibility for significant workstreams and partner outcomes
• Develop your leadership, advisory and commercial consulting capability
• Coach and support the development of other consultants
• Influence the development of PACT’s business analysis practice, methodologies and services
• Progress within PACT’s consulting career pathway as your leadership, market expertise and commercial contribution grow

At PACT, we value people who take ownership, exercise sound judgement and are committed to delivering meaningful outcomes for our partners. Senior Consultants are expected to combine deep delivery capability with trusted stakeholder relationships, strong consulting standards and a positive contribution to the wider development of the business.

Essential Experience

• Significant experience delivering business analysis within complex transformation, digital change or service improvement programmes
• Experience leading business analysis workstreams or acting as the lead analyst within a multidisciplinary programme
• Experience defining and managing an end-to-end business analysis approach
• Strong experience gathering, analysing, documenting and validating complex business requirements
• Experience facilitating workshops and decision-making sessions with senior and diverse stakeholder groups
• Experience producing and assuring high-quality analysis outputs, including:
• Process and service maps
• Requirements documentation
• User stories and acceptance criteria
• Business rules
• Options appraisals
• Impact assessments
• Workshop and discovery outputs
• Business cases or benefits documentation
• Experience leading process redesign or operational improvement activity
• Experience supporting digital transformation, system implementation or technology-enabled change
• Ability to move between strategic objectives and detailed delivery requirements
• Strong analytical, critical-thinking and structured problem-solving skills
• Ability to simplify complex problems without losing important detail
• Strong stakeholder management, facilitation and influencing skills
• Confidence challenging assumptions and navigating difficult or ambiguous situations
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to lead defined workstreams, manage competing priorities and deliver with limited supervision
• Experience coaching, mentoring or quality-assuring the work of less experienced colleagues
• Strong consulting judgement, professional integrity and commercial awareness

Desirable Experience

• Experience working within a management, digital or technology consultancy
• Experience within higher education or a similarly complex, regulated organisation
• Understanding of university operations and student lifecycle processes
• Experience with student records, CRM, ERP, timetabling or other enterprise platforms
• Experience contributing to target operating model, service design or organisational design activity
• Experience working with data, integration or technical architecture teams
• Experience supporting procurement, supplier selection or system evaluation activity
• Experience using agile, waterfall and hybrid delivery approaches
• Formal business analysis training or certification, such as BCS, AgileBA, CBAP or equivalent
• Experience contributing to proposals, engagement scoping or business development activity