Business and Solutions Analyst

Purpose of the Job

The Business and Solutions Analyst is directly responsible for all delivery aspects of partner implementations, integrations, new solutions, etc., for the business and its customers. VALUE is a supply chain service provider, delivering services to major suppliers/principals and leading retailers in the country.

Each principal, supplier, and/or retailer brought into the programme involves a technical integration project to connect their systems to the VALUE processing platform. API protocols are used between the parties, and real-time messages are exchanged. Internally, several microservices/systems are developed and must be maintained and/or optimised to deliver accurate information and tools to the VALUE business.

Securing new business through highly effective pre-sales consultancy (together with the relevant VALUE sales or businessperson), solving problems through creative solution design, and delivering through tenacious, real-world project execution is the essence of the Business and Solutions Analyst role.

This role is part of the VALUE IT Applications team, responsible for providing technical and systems capability to the business. It will report to the CIO for the immediate future, although this may change as the business evolves.

Key Responsibilities

Job Cards

• Develop and maintain a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of the VALUE processing platform, as related to the execution of integration projects
• Provide pre-sales consultancy to prospective and current suppliers, principals, and customers in conjunction with colleagues from the Business. Proactively present VALUE’s preferred technical architectures and integration methods to maximise functionality, platform consistency, and commercial advantage, while minimising costs, risks, and time-to-market
• Provide business process/solution capability in conjunction with principal, supplier, and customer technical staff to design end-to-end integration solutions covering all aspects of message processing
• Create integration project plans, in conjunction with the PMO-allocated resource, internal resources, and any related third parties, to ensure the successful delivery of projects based on the proposed solution
• Initiate the project within the IT team, securing resources from the shared IT development, integrations, and applications pool via established resource request procedures. Clearly communicate final project plans and delivery expectations to all relevant stakeholders
• Document business processes, analyse them for optimisation/streamlining, and present solutions to the business for sign-off before engaging with the IT development and integrations teams
• Take full ownership and accountability for the execution of a wide variety of integration, development, and/or process optimisation projects, utilising the above project plans to deliver according to business and/or stakeholder expectations. Execution will include, but is not limited to: facilitating physical network connectivity; facilitating technical calls between VALUE IT and partner engineering staff; ensuring development adheres to relevant specifications and solution designs; facilitating file exchange connectivity; facilitating the DEV and UNIT testing process; and preparing the necessary requests and documentation for the sign-off process
• Lead efforts to scope, size, document, and—once signed off—ensure smooth implementation and training of relevant users, if applicable
• Maintain visibility on all project efforts through weekly reporting to the CIO and other relevant stakeholders
• Act as a technology “Functional Expert” to the VALUE business, customers, suppliers, and principals, and assist in the resolution of incidents/issues as required
• Actively promote the key messages of standardisation, consistency, and quality to all functions of the VALUE business and its stakeholders
• Perform other duties as deemed appropriate by the CIO
  
  

Minimum Requirements

• Grade 12 (Matric)
• Proven experience of partner integration projects, ideally within a supply chain, logistics / retail environment
• Significant project management experience, demonstrated ability to work on many projects simultaneously
• Strong English language, both spoken and written
  
  

Skills Required

• Technical experience through the design / specification / development of IT solutions
• Familiarity with integrations protocols
• Experience in any aspect of delivery of integrations to external as well as internal solutions
• Experience in business operations and understanding of its processes
• Process analysis experience
• Systems understanding with test experience
• Training experience to various groups from junior to exec levels