Business Analyst Practitioner in Leeds

Job Title:Business Analyst Practitioner

Salary: PO4 £47,665 - £50,908

Hours:37 hours

Contract:Fixed Term for 12 months

Location:Merrion House, Leeds

An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Commissioning and Governance Service, Children and Families Directorate, for a Business Analyst Practitioner (PO4) on a 12 month fixed term contract, with the potential for extension.

You’ll will be part of our Ofsted 'Outstanding' rated Children and Families service and employed by Leeds City Council where we have a culture of excellence and are continually striving to drive up standards.

Unlike a traditional commissioning role, this position sits within the Commissioning and Governance Service and focuses on transformational, practice-led commissioning. The role is centred on improving outcomes for children and young people, securing value for money, and delivering sustainable cost improvements through innovation, collaboration and responsive commissioning in a dynamic market environment.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

About you

You will bring to the role:

• Excellent leadership qualities and experience
• Experience in commissioning and/or project management and/or front line working with children and families with transferable skills.
• Flexibility to lead on all aspects of commissioning, contract management and quality assurance across the Children and Families Directorate.
• A passion for learning with the ability to challenge and drive change.
• A restorative mind-set, focussed on improving outcomes for children and young people.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Children and Families Commissioning & Governance Service. This specific role sits within the central team of the White Rose Partnership. The partnership works in a consortium with 15 Local Authorities and Providers across the Yorkshire and Humber Region to commission high quality services which provide positive outcomes for children and young people through our 3 EMP's:

• Independent Fostering(IFA)
• Independent Children's Homes and Independent Schools(Residential)
• Colleges for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities(SEND)

The role is critical to the development of a regional collaborative approach to ensure that we meet the vision and 5 priorities of the Partnership:

• Partnership- To work in partnership with Local Authorities, Partners, Providers and Children and Young People to commission the best possible services.
• Sufficiency- To develop regional sufficiency to meet local need.
• Cost- To improve value for money though regional frameworks, market shaping and regional working.
• Quality- To improve quality assurance mechanisms and approaches across the region.
• Innovation- To identify and encourage opportunities for innovation and to work with all partners to drive service improvement

Regardless of your previous experience all successful candidates will be required to undertake continuous professional development. You will gain or strengthen best practice knowledge of various aspects of children's service delivery, technical commissioning skills including commercial acumen and value for money techniques. As a core service in Children and Families, you will be integral to decision taking.

This is a senior role within the Commissioning & Governance Service. We are keen to recruit the right person that has the ingredients to develop into an exceptional commissioner. There will be a full induction to develop the person who can demonstrate the right knowledge and aptitude.

Regardless of your previous experience the successful candidate will be required to undertake continuous professional development. You will gain or strengthen best practice knowledge of various aspects of children's service delivery, technical commissioning skills including commercial acumen and value for money techniques. As a core service in Children and Families, you will be integral to decision taking.

What we offer you

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

• a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
• membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
• flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
• a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
• a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the Children's or Adults' barred list as applicable will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy.

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures.

We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.

This role is based in the UK.

Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Please ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job purpose

Lead business analysis activity with colleagues and customers to understand needs, map, and improve services and business processes, and turn evidence into clear requirements and user stories that enable delivery teams to improve customer experience and strengthen internal business practice across Leeds City Council and the Yorkshire and Humber Region. Deliver analysis work independently across discovery and delivery, balancing user outcomes, operational reality, statutory duties, and value for money.

Responsibilities

Service analysis and improvement

• lead analysis of services, processes, and customer journeys to identify issues, inefficiencies, risks, and opportunities
• plan and deliver service redesign activity that improves customer experience and supports delivery of council plans and priorities
• produce and maintain current and future state process maps, ensuring proposed changes are realistic, deliverable, and owned by the right ...