Business System Analyst

Position Summary

The Business System Analyst (BSA) serves as a key liaison between business stakeholders and technology teams, driving the analysis, design, implementation, and continuous improvement of systems and processes that support Penn Foster Group's mission of providing accessible, high-quality education and workforce development solutions.

This role partners with departments across Student Services, Admissions, Academic Operations, Finance, Marketing, Workforce Development, and Technology to identify business needs, optimize processes, and deliver scalable technology solutions. The BSA translates business requirements into functional specifications, supports system enhancements, and helps ensure enterprise applications—including Student Information Systems (SIS), Learning Management Systems (LMS), Financial Services, Data Platforms, and integrated platforms - effectively support organizational goals and student success outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Business Analysis & Stakeholder Engagement

• Partner with business leaders and subject matter experts to understand operational challenges, strategic objectives, and system needs.
• Facilitate requirements gathering sessions, workshops, process reviews, and stakeholder interviews.
• Elicit, analyze, document, and validate business, functional, and non-functional requirements.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to stakeholders by recommending process and technology improvements.
• Build strong relationships across business units to ensure alignment and successful solution adoption.
• Act as the ‘Tip of the Spear’ by working with stakeholders to understand the problem statement, business impact, scope and success criteria before pulling in the Technical Leads for level of effort.

• Facilitate weekly stakeholder and business domain prioritization sessions for projects and ad hoc requests, ensuring alignment with company Bets. Push back when requests are unclear or lack a well-defined business need and impact.

• Understand when Ad Hoc requests can be bundled into projects with the goal to minimize Ad Hoc requests

Process Improvement & Solution Design

• Analyze current-state business processes and identify opportunities for efficiency, automation, and improved user experiences.
• Develop future-state process maps, workflows, and business solutions.
• Collaborate with technical teams to design scalable solutions that support business and student lifecycle objectives.
• Evaluate the impact of proposed system changes on users, processes, integrations, and reporting.
• Translate complex business and technical requirements into service blueprints for clarity to non-technical partners to facilitate simplification and prioritization.

Systems & Technology Support

• Support enterprise platforms including Student Information Systems (SIS), Learning Management Systems (LMS), Financial Services, Data Platforms, and related integrated applications.
• Document system requirements, functional specifications, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
• Participate in system implementations, upgrades, enhancements, and integration projects.
• Assist in managing data quality, reporting requirements, and process standardization efforts.
• Work closely with vendors and internal technology teams to resolve system issues and implement enhancements.

Project Delivery

• Collaborate with Product Managers, Technology teams, and functional domain experts throughout the project lifecycle.
• Support backlog refinement, prioritization, sprint planning, and release activities within Agile environments.
• Monitor project progress and proactively identify risks, dependencies, and potential roadblocks.
• Ensure solutions are aligned with business objectives and organizational priorities.
• Act as the Technical Product Manager for the team, helping to run sprint rituals and Jira planning

Testing & Quality Assurance

• Develop test plans, test cases, and user acceptance testing (UAT) scenarios.
• Coordinate and facilitate UAT with business stakeholders.
• Validate that delivered solutions meet documented requirements and quality standards.
• Support defect identification, prioritization, and resolution activities.

Documentation & Training

• Create and maintain business process documentation, system workflows, and knowledge base materials.
• Develop training materials and user guides for new processes and system enhancements.
• Support organizational change management and user adoption efforts.

Data & Reporting

• Champion our drive for Self Service, acting as an SME and advisor to the business, and recognizing where and when additional training opportunities would be required
• Become a SME on our reporting platforms - PowerBI, Tableau, and Business Objects
• Understand how to navigate our sematic layer on Databricks to answer and research data related questions.
• Collaborate with reporting and analytics teams to define business reporting requirements.
• Analyze data trends and identify opportunities to improve operational performance and student outcomes.
• Support data governance and continuous improvement initiatives.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Information Systems, Education Technology, Computer Science, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience as a Business Analyst, Business Systems Analyst, or related role.
• Experience gathering, documenting, and managing business requirements.
• Strong understanding of business process analysis and process improvement methodologies.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Experience with Agile methodologies and tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, or similar platforms.
• Experience with process mapping tools such as Figma, Lucidchart, Visio, or Miro.
• Hands on experience with reporting platforms such as PowerBI, Tableau, and Business Objects.
• Excellent knowledge of SQL, reporting tools, and data analysis concepts.
• Experience using ChatGPT and Claude to accelerate and automate the work process.
• Experience using SQL for navigating and querying data on Databricks.  

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working within higher education, online education, EdTech, workforce development, or student services environments.
• Experience with Salesforce, CRM platforms, SIS, LMS, ERP, or other enterprise applications.
• CBAP, CCBA, PMI-PBA, Salesforce, or Agile certifications preferred.
• Experience on our reporting platforms - PowerBI, Tableau, and Business Objects.

Core Competencies

• Business Analysis
• Requirements Management
• Process Improvement
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Systems Thinking
• Solution Design
• User Acceptance Testing
• Change Management
• Project Collaboration
• Data Analysis
• Communication & Facilitation
• Continuous Improvement

Success Measures

Success in this role will be measured by:

• Delivery of high-quality business requirements and solution documentation.
• Successful implementation of system enhancements and process improvements.
• Improved operational efficiency and user experience across business functions.
• Stakeholder satisfaction and engagement.
• Increased adoption and effective utilization of our Self Service capabilities.
• Contribution to student success, retention, and organizational performance goals.
• Reduction in manual processes and operational bottlenecks.

Working Conditions & Hiring Process: (Do Not Edit)

• U.S. Work Location Requirement: All employees must reside in and perform work within the United States. We do not support international remote work arrangements for this role. 
• Travel Expectations: While this is a remote position, occasional travel may be required for team meetings, company events, conferences, summits, etc. Candidates must be willing and able to travel as needed. 
• On-Camera Work Environment: We operate in a highly collaborative, remote, on-camera culture. Employees are expected to be on camera during meetings unless extenuating circumstances apply. 
• Recorded Video Interviews: All video interviews conducted during the hiring process will be recorded to support internal hiring consistency and process improvement.
• Background Checks: Employment with Penn Foster Group is contingent upon successfully completing applicable pre-employment screening requirements, which may include verification of employment history, education, and criminal background, where permitted by law. 
• Identity Verification (Form I-9): As part of our onboarding process, all hires must complete employment eligibility verification in compliance with federal law. This includes remote Form I-9 verification, which may require an in-person identity verification step with an authorized representative. 

About Us: At Penn Foster Group, we are transforming online learning to help learners by uniting Penn Foster, CareerStep, Ashworth College, James Madison High School, the New York Institute of Photography, the New York Institute of Art and Design, and other education platforms. Together, we create an accelerated path to greater economic mobility through real-world skills and knowledge that enable them to achieve long-term success in the workplaces of the future. Our history dates back to 1890 when our founder, Thomas Foster, pioneered distance education by offering training by mail for coal miners to get the necessary skills for safer jobs. Today, with the partners who use our education and training programs, we continue that mission of providing accessible training and education for in-demand skills and are building a workforce that’s prepared for the future job market.

Equal Employment Opportunity: We strive toward Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Penn Foster Group by intentionally building teams that are diverse – in identities, lived experiences, and ideas to create a culture where people feel connected to each other and have a sense of belonging. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion because it is the foundation that enables us to achieve what we set out to do as an organization – from maximizing the number of learners who can reach their goals while giving them the kinds of experiences we want them to have, to becoming the type of company we want to work in.

What We Offer: We offer a robust benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, flexible spending, generous paid time off, sponsored volunteer opportunities, a 401K with a company match, plus free access to all of our online programs.