Business Analyst

Penn State University is seeking two Business Analysts to support key Workday functional areas. The Business Analyst serves as a strategic liaison between business stakeholders and technical teams, analyzing business needs, identifying opportunities for process improvement, and translating business requirements into effective Workday solutions.

Responsibilities:

• Partner with Human Resources, Payroll, Benefits, Talent Acquisition, and other university stakeholders to understand business objectives, challenges, and operational needs
• Elicit, document, analyze, and validate business, functional, and non-functional requirements
• Develop business process flows, use cases, user stories, functional specifications, and other project documentation
• Facilitate workshops, interviews, and requirements-gathering sessions
• Ensure requirements are clearly communicated and understood by technical teams
• Translate complex business needs into actionable Workday configuration and enhancement requirements
• Collaborate with data and analytics teams to define reporting requirements
• Support Workday business processes, integrations, reporting, security, and system enhancements within assigned functional areas
• Collaborate with functional and technical teams to evaluate system capabilities and recommend improvements
• Assist with Workday releases by assessing impacts, testing new functionality, and supporting implementation activities
• Identify opportunities to optimize business processes using delivered Workday functionality and best practices
• Analyze current-state and future-state business processes
• Conduct gap analyses and recommend innovative solutions that improve efficiency, user experience, and data quality
• Support continuous improvement initiatives across HR operations and technology platforms
• Develop recommendations that align with university policies, compliance requirements, and strategic goals
• Participate in and lead business analysis activities for Workday projects and enhancements
• Collaborate with project managers, system administrators, and technical teams throughout the project lifecycle
• Support user acceptance testing (UAT), test planning, defect resolution, and deployment activities
• Build effective working relationships with HR leaders, business partners, IT teams, and external vendors
• Act as a trusted advisor by delivering data-driven insights and solution-oriented recommendations

Requirements:

• Strong proficiency in business analysis methodologies and frameworks
• Experience with Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, or hybrid project methodologies
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio
• Experience with business process modeling tools and requirements management software
• Bachelor's Degree
• 6+ years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience accepted (if filled as Business Analyst - Senior Professional)
• 3+ years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience accepted (if filled as Business Analyst - Advanced Professional)
• Required Certifications: None
• Experience supporting Workday as a business analyst is preferred
• Familiarity with Jira or comparable tools is preferred