Apprentice Business Analyst in Shefford

Team: Resources and Organisational Change, Business Improvement

Job Family: Advising - CBG4

Salary: £24,796 - £25,185 per annum pro rata

Hours: 37 hours per week

Contract: Hybrid - Fixed Term for duration of apprenticeship (2 roles available)

Location: You will be expected to attend a CBC office location as often as needed to carry out your role, which will be no less than once per month.

Closing Date: 12pm 14th August 2026

Interview Date: w/c 24th August 2026 these will take place in person at Priory House, Shefford.

About the role:

We are currently recruiting for two Apprentice Business Analyst positions within our Resources and Organisational Change team. This Apprenticeship opportunity combines paid employment with structured off-the-job learning. The program involves studying for a Level 4 Apprenticeship in Business Analysis.

Upon successful completion of the apprenticeship, you will earn a valuable qualification alongside practical work experience. Demonstrating the right aptitude and commitment may lead to opportunities for career progression within the Business Analyst Team, which is committed to supporting the growth and development of its members.

These roles are part of the Business Analyst Team, which is responsible for supporting the delivery of strategic and operational change across the organisation. This involves understanding stakeholder needs, identifying improvement opportunities, analysing business processes, and fostering data-informed decision-making.

Apprentice Business Analysts will play an integral role in enhancing service delivery and optimising resource use within the organisation. The apprenticeship offers the chance to develop skills in gathering business requirements, identifying process improvement opportunities, and supporting change initiatives across various service areas.

The successful apprentices will collaborate closely with experienced Business Analysts and work across multiple departments, contributing to transformation projects aligned with organisational priorities that deliver tangible benefits to residents and stakeholders.

The Apprenticeship:

• Collaborate with a wide variety of business areas and stakeholders
• Apply structured techniques to investigate wants, needs, problems and opportunities
• Learn to identify problems and business need opportunities.
• Learn to analyse business processes to identify improvement opportunities to create more effective and efficient ways of working.
• Learn to present findings in a meaningful and logical way appropriate to the audience.

About you:

We are seeking a candidate who is comfortable working with data and eager to develop new skills. This opportunity may be suitable for individuals who have recently completed statutory education and are seeking to broaden their knowledge, or for graduates looking to expand their expertise in a new field. The role will involve a combination of remote and in-office work. While access to personal transport is preferred, it is not a mandatory requirement, as long as candidates can reliably commute to and from the office when needed.

Our organisation operates within a dynamic council environment, and familiarity with the Microsoft 365 suite of products would be advantageous. The key qualities we are looking for include enthusiasm and the confidence to learn and adapt on the job. If you believe you possess these attributes, we would be pleased to hear from you.

Important Information:

• 2 A-Levels or equivalent Level 3 Qualification
• 5 GCSEs grades A-C / 9-4, or equivalent, including Maths and English are required as the role does require strong numerical reasoning and analytical capability
• Candidate must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for at least the previous 3-year period on the first day of their apprenticeship.
• Although the role involves working from home, Hybrid working means that there will be a requirement to attend the office on a regular basis, therefore the suitable candidate must be able to travel to Priory House in Shefford.

Interviews will take place mid – August 2026 at Priory House, Shefford. The successful candidate will start the apprenticeship course with a provider at the next available cohort intake. Apprenticeship course provider location: PMI Capella.

What we will do for you:

• Support you to achieve knowledge, skills and behaviours required for your apprenticeship
• Experienced assessor and mentor to assess your work and practice
• Individual learning programme tailored to your own needs
• E-learning, training, and monthly tutorials specific to your apprenticeship
• 6hrs paid time to be used for learning and development opportunities
• Provide you with a range of employee benefits including paid leave for 25 days per year, retailer benefits, employee assistance programme, access to excellent in-house training and the opportunity to join the Local Government Pension Scheme

Please note that we reserve the right to close this vacancy before the advertised closing date if a high volume of suitable applications is received.

Our Offer:

We have a number of rewards and benefits available to our staff, to view these please visit our Rewards and Benefits page. Our aspiration is to be a truly flexible employer. We welcome discussion on location, hours and working pattern as part of the application process.

You will be expected to demonstrate how you meet the key accountabilities and competencies in this Recruitment Pack. Our Competency Framework and Qualification Guidance are to be read in conjunction with our Recruitment Pack.

For an informal discussion about this position, please contact: Mike Ford at Mike.Ford@CentralBedfordshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 4516, or, Rachael Harrington at rachael.harrington@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 6507.

To maintain a fair and consistent approach for applicants, it is Central Bedfordshire Council's policy to only consider applications made via our online application system and we therefore thank you for not submitting your application offline.

Our National Careers Service team offer a free monthly workshop covering CV writing and how to complete the statement sections of the Central Bedfordshire Council online application form. This MS Teams workshop is open to anyone from the UK and lasts around 1.5 hours.

Your application to us is a reflection of who you are professionally and should give us an accurate and authentic picture of your skills, experiences and if applicable qualifications. Before you submit your application, we will ask you to confirm if you have used AI.

All new starters will join us on a four‑month probationary period. During this time, if you are offered a Hybrid role you will be required to attend a Central Bedfordshire Council office location more frequently to support thorough and well‑supported onboarding into your role. Please keep this in mind if you anticipate extensive travel to Central Bedfordshire.

Please note we are unable to offer sponsorship for our roles. Successful applicants that may require a visa will need to consider the options for obtaining and/or maintaining the legal right to live and work in the UK for the duration of the contract offered.