Bus Analyst - Contractor

Job Responsibilities:
Conducts research; collects and interprets business requirements, and participates in the development and review of processes and procedures, workflow analytics, and reporting.
May analyze information technology requirements in business processes.
Assists in obtaining and identifying the business requirements needed to carry out and improve applicable business processes.
Translates business needs, processes and procedures into a workable system, and may articulate on specific software requirements by communicating about these requirements with applicable stakeholders.
Under supervision, develops and maintains all applicable policy and procedure documentation, and, as applicable, documents for IT applications, system specifications and test plans, according to existing standards and methodologies.
May work closely with business and technology staff to deliver project results while implementing risk analysis and meeting required deliverables.
Supports the development, analysis and distribution of relevant reporting.
Customer Focused - Knowledgeable of the values and practices that align customer needs and satisfaction as primary considerations in all business decisions and able to leverage that information in creating customized customer solutions.
Managing Risk - Assessing and effectively managing all of the risks associated with their business objectives and activities to ensure they adhere to and support the Enterprise Risk Management Framework.

Skills:
Data Analytics
Business Needs
Waterfall Model
Decision Making
Management Reporting
Business Processes

Prioritization Education/Experience:
Bachelors degree or related discipline required.
1%2B years experience required

Position Title: Bus Analyst
Reason for Open Position: Backfill / New Need
Position Location: Manager is not looking to source out of any other tech hub thats not listed below
Two Plaza 620 Liberty Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Strongsville Technology Center 8100 Mohawk Dr. Strongsville, OH 44136
Birmingham - Brock 701 32nd St. South Birmingham, AL 35233
Dallas Innovation Center - Luna Rd 11511 Luna Rd Farmers Branch, TX 75234
Phoenix - Biltmore 2850 E Camelback Rd Phoenix, AZ 85016

Locations By Preference:
Most Preferred EST preferred
Second Preferred Any hub location

Work Arrangement:
Can be remote while contractor but in order for conversion, must be near hub location and willing to go into office

Acceptable Time Zone(S):
EST preferred - Can be somewhat Flexible if located in hub outside of EST.

Schedule: M-F 8-5 EST (some flexibility depending upon location)
OT: Not expected, but possibility
Travel: No
Intended Length of Assignment: 120 days
Potential for Contract Extension: Yes
This position is contract with the right to hire if a need becomes available.
Manager will only look at candidates that are open to converting to a full time employee.
will not sponsor work visas if the decision is made to hire the contingent worker.

Function of the Group: Mix of Mitigating Risk/Generating Revenue/Cost Reduction
Initiatives/Projects: The Originations Platform team supports Home Lending's core technology ecosystem, including Empower, 's Loan Origination System (System of Record), and numerous vendor integrations that support the mortgage and home equity lending lifecycle. The team is responsible for evaluating vendor releases, implementing platform enhancements, maintaining system stability, and ensuring compliance with regulatory and investor requirements. Our work helps mitigate operational and regulatory risk by ensuring changes are thoroughly assessed and tested before production deployment. It also drives efficiency by reducing manual processes, enabling adoption of out-of-the-box platform capabilities, and streamlining release delivery cycles. These efforts support faster delivery of business value, improved customer and employee experiences, and lower operating costs.

Industry Background:
Preferred Backgrounds Include:
Mortgage lending or Home Lending operations
Loan origination systems (LOS) experience
Vendor management
Business analysis
Financial services technology

Team Dynamic:
The candidate will join a collaborative Platform team consisting of Business Analysts, Product Owners, technology partners, testing resources, and operational stakeholders. They will work closely with Home Lending business partners, vendor representatives, compliance partners, and technology teams to assess change impacts and deliver successful releases. The team culture is highly collaborative, solution-oriented, and focused on continuous improvement. Team members are encouraged to learn the business, understand the end-user experience, challenge existing processes, and leverage new technologies such as Copilot to improve efficiency and effectiveness. The role is designed with a structured onboarding approach. The selected candidate will initially spend time supporting the Home Lending Help Desk and learning Empower, key vendor platforms, products, and operational workflows before transitioning into more advanced Business Analyst responsibilities.

Role/Responsibilities:
Initial Responsibilities (Day 1 90 days)
Learn Home Lending products, processes, and system landscape.
Support Help Desk activities to develop Empower and vendor platform knowledge.
Research and document current business processes.
Review release notes and assist with impact assessments.
Execute test cases and document test results.
Participate in team meetings, refinements, and stakeholder discussions. Ongoing Business Analyst Responsibilities
Review vendor and Empower release notes to identify business impacts and testing requirements.
Create and execute test strategies, test cases, and regression testing plans.
Write user stories, acceptance criteria, and supporting documentation.
Facilitate requirement gathering and refinement sessions with stakeholders.
Perform process analysis and recommend improvements.
Conduct demos and walkthroughs for business stakeholders.
Leverage Copilot and automation tools to improve efficiency across requirements, testing, and analysis activities.
Coordinate with technology teams, vendors, and business partners to support successful delivery of releases and enhancements.

Must have Skills:
Business Analysis fundamentals (requirements gathering, user stories, acceptance criteria, process documentation).
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Experience testing software applications and documenting results.
Ability to interpret technical or vendor documentation and translate it into business impacts.
Microsoft Excel proficiency.
Experience with Microsoft Copilot, AI-assisted tools, or demonstrated interest in leveraging automation technologies.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Experience facilitating meetings with business and technology stakeholders.

Flex Skills (Note: I took this section as preferred, but not must have skills. Let me know if this is not what the question meant):
Mortgage lending or Home Lending experience.
Loan Origination System (LOS) experience such as Empower, Encompass, or similar platforms.
Azure DevOps, Jira, or other agile delivery tools.
Power Automate, Power BI, SQL, or other process improvement tools.
SOFT SKILLS: Strong analytical and critical thinking skills with the ability to assess system changes, identify impacts, and recommend solutions.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to interact with technical teams, business stakeholders, and external vendors.
Comfortable facilitating discussions such as requirements gathering, refinement sessions, demos, and testing reviews.
Self-starter with a strong learning mindset who can quickly develop expertise in complex mortgage processes and technology platforms.
Process improvement mindset with curiosity around emerging technologies, including AI and Copilot, to drive efficiency and automation.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and concurrent releases.

Education:
Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Information Systems, Finance, Computer Science, or a related field preferred.
Equivalent combination of education and relevant business analysis, testing, mortgage operations, or financial services experience will be considered.
Certifications such as Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP), Agile Business Analyst, Scrum, or similar are a plus but not required.

Screening Questions (Optional):
DNA

Interview Process:
Round 1: Hiring Manager Interview (30-45 minutes)
Round 2: Team Panel Interview (30-45 minutes)
Stack Ranking (Most Important to Least Important) Skill set, Location, Bill Rate, Former exp: 1. Skill Set 2. Bill rate 3. Location 4. Former Experience

Job Description:
This Business Analyst role is needed to expand dedicated platform support for the Empower ecosystem and accelerate adoption of out-of-the-box vendor capabilities.
Additional capacity will enable more proactive evaluation and implementation of base functionality, reduce reliance on custom solutions, and improve our ability to stay current on Empower releases, maximizing the value of our vendor investments while reducing operational and compliance risk.