Lead Business Analyst

About the role

The Financial Times seeks a Lead Technical Business Analyst to shape the future of change delivery across the Product & Technology organisation. In this pivotal role, you will own the assessment, discovery, and technical analysis of new initiatives entering the FT's change portfolio. You will translate complex business and technical challenges into clear, actionable requirements while establishing best practices for business analysis. As a trusted advisor, you will mentor other analysts and guide teams to make informed investment and delivery decisions. Your work will directly support the FT's strategic objectives and empower colleagues to deliver impactful solutions. This role offers the opportunity to influence at scale within a collaborative, curious, and ambitious environment.

Key facts

What you'll do

Lead the assessment and triage of new change initiatives entering the Product & Technology portfolio to determine scope and priority.

Facilitate discovery workshops with stakeholders to clarify business needs, define outcomes, and refine requirements.

Produce high-quality business, functional, and non-functional requirements that underpin successful solution design and implementation.

Partner with Product Managers, Architects, Engineers, and Delivery teams to evaluate solution options, technical feasibility, and delivery complexity.

Identify risks, dependencies, assumptions, and implementation constraints early in the change lifecycle to inform decision-making.

Support business case development, investment decisions, and portfolio prioritisation by providing clear analysis and actionable recommendations.

Contribute to portfolio planning by offering insights into delivery effort, resource requirements, and roadmap sequencing.

Build and maintain trusted relationships across Product, Technology, Editorial, Commercial, Data, and Corporate teams to enable cross-functional collaboration.

Define and champion business analysis standards, tools, and best practices to improve consistency and quality across the organisation.

Coach and mentor other Business Analysts while driving continuous improvement across portfolio intake and discovery processes.

Requirements

Significant experience as a Senior or Lead Business Analyst within technology, digital product, or transformation environments.

Extensive experience leading discovery, requirements gathering, and solution assessment activities in complex environments.

Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate complex business and technical challenges into clear, actionable requirements and recommendations.

Experience working closely with engineering, architecture, product, and delivery teams throughout the change lifecycle from inception to deployment.

Strong understanding of software development lifecycles, systems integration patterns, and modern technology platforms.

Experience supporting business cases, investment decisions, and portfolio planning with structured analysis and evidence-based recommendations.

Excellent stakeholder management, facilitation, and communication skills, with the ability to influence at all levels of the organisation.

Commitment to using AI tools thoughtfully and ensuring that all information provided remains authentic and accurately represents your skills, experience, and qualifications.

Nice to have

Experience within media, publishing, digital subscription, or technology-led organisations where business models and user needs are distinct.

Experience supporting portfolio management, governance, or demand management functions to align change with strategic priorities.

Knowledge of Agile, Lean delivery approaches, and modern product operating models to enable iterative and responsive solution development.

Exposure to enterprise architecture, cloud technologies, or data platforms to assess technical implications and integration requirements effectively.

Practical notes

Candidates should be aware that the use of AI throughout the application process may be monitored to ensure a fair and transparent hiring process for all.

Please beware of fraudulent job postings and offers claiming to be from the Financial Times. All legitimate opportunities will direct you to apply through the official Financial Times careers site, and the FT will never ask for financial information, payments, or referrals to third parties during the hiring process. If you have any concerns about the legitimacy of a job posting or suspect any scam activity, please contact talent@ft.com.

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