Business Analyst

Rice University, ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities, is seeking a Business Analyst for its Project Management Office. This role involves enabling informed decision-making and operational efficiency for IT projects by supporting project intake, prioritization, and collaboration with various university departments.

Responsibilities:

• Plan and manage analyses and studies of business processes, functions, organizations, and teams
• Provide consultation and expert advice to supervisors, managers, and other business stakeholders on system- or process-related topics
• Design and develop models and practices to support sound business decisions
• Determine best practices and recommend improvements to current practices
• Identify, analyze, create, and recommend solutions to improve business processes and operations
• Participate in the design and modification of business and IT systems
• Guide stakeholders through the intake process, ensuring well-defined scope, impacts, resource requirements, value propositions, cost ranges, and business cases
• Validate proposals for completeness and alignment with strategic priorities
• Elicit, document, and validate business and technical requirements
• Develop process flows, use cases, and other artifacts to support solution design and implementation
• Analyze workflows and identify opportunities for efficiency or automation
• Support TS&S resource capacity information gathering and analysis as part of job responsibilities
• Engage with subject matter experts, functional leads, and IT teams to define resource needs
• Collect and analyze data to evaluate the feasibility, cost-benefit, and scheduling of proposed projects
• Identify opportunities to streamline the intake and prioritization process
• Gather stakeholder feedback and iterate on tools and templates (e.g., intake form, scoring matrix)
• Perform all other duties as assigned

Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree
• 3+ years of experience with business case development, ROI analysis, and resource planning
• Complex problem-solving skills to identify complex problems and review related information, develop and evaluate options, and implement solutions
• Excellent analytical skills to arrange information or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules
• Active listening skills to give full attention to what is being said, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including report preparation and presentations, to gather information and share recommendations and outcomes
• Excellent critical thinking skills to use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems
• Deductive reasoning skills to apply general rules to specific problems to produce logical answers
• Strong knowledge of business analysis methodologies and tools (e.g., process modeling, use case analysis, functional requirements analysis, gap analysis, impact analysis, stakeholder analysis)
• Proficiency in tools such as Asana, Smartsheet, Excel, or other project/portfolio management platforms
• Skills in process mapping, stakeholder facilitation, and requirements gathering
• Ability to synthesize data into actionable insights and visual reports for executive audiences
• Understanding of IT governance structures, escalation pathways, and committee-driven decision-making
• Master's degree or MBA highly preferred
• Familiarity with higher education environments
• Five (5) years of experience in business analysis and process design
• Two (2) years of experience in portfolio/project definition, planning, and estimating
• Experience in process design in at least 2–3 relevant business processes (HCM, P2P, Finance/Accounting, Research Administration, Capital Projects/Maintenance, Enrollment, Registration, etc.)
• Six Sigma or similar process improvement experience
• Experience working with or supporting IT governance, portfolio management, or project intake processes
• Knowledge of change management practices