CSBA is a nonprofit association representing nearly 1,000 PreK-12 school districts and county offices of education throughout California.

This position is in a hybrid work environment based out of West Sacramento. This is a full-time limited-term position for a three-year term offering full benefits.

Under the general direction of the Chief Technology Officer, the Business Analyst will support significant software technology development programs for CSBA and its members. This position will contribute to the development of technical solutions to business needs by defining, analyzing, prioritizing, and documenting business requirements, while clearly communicating recommendations and outcomes to leadership, vendors, and staff. This position researches and analyzes issues as it relates to program subject matter with a complex understanding of data analysis, software development and lifecycles, business analysis, requirements management, and strategic planning for the organization. This position will organize, guide and direct the activities of the cross-functional project teams and prioritize tasks to meet deliverables and commitments on time; perform a variety of other duties as assigned.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Systematically elicit, document, and prioritize stakeholder business needs to inform technology solutions, process improvement, or data-driven insights.
• Dissect complex problems, identify pain points, and translate into actionable specifications.
• Lead interviews, workshops, surveys, and research to ensure a comprehensive understanding of business needs.
• Utilize analytical tools and techniques to interpret complex datasets to uncover patterns, trends, and opportunities.
• Create reports, dashboards, and visualizations to communicate findings effectively.
• Recommend informed decisions that drive efficiency, cost savings, and growth.
• Map and evaluate existing business processes to identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, redundancies, and areas for optimization.
• Develop strategies and solutions to streamline workflows, enhance operational efficiency, and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Measurably demonstrate increases in operational efficiency and productivity resulting from implemented improvements.
• Build mutual trust through active engagement between Information Technology and its stakeholders.
• Model clear, consistent, and effective communication to ensure alignment on common goals, requirements, and deliverables.
• Enhance department reputation with stakeholders through demonstrated value.
• Zealous advocate for stakeholder needs.
• Work closely with cross-functional teams to design and document solutions to address business requirements.
• Create functional specifications, user stories, and system workflows to guide the development and implementation process.
• Own success of the solutions and a continuous improvement cycle to evolve them further.
• Partner with project management resources to implement project processes (scoping, planning, implementation, post-launch support, resource allocation, constraint management).
• Contribute to timely delivery of successful project outcomes within project constraints.
• Monitor project progress, identify risks, proactively address issues to mitigate potential delays or setbacks.
• Guide teams through transitions, adopting new technology, process changes, or organizational shifts.
• Facilitate thorough testing and validation of solutions to ensure they meet business requirements and quality standards.
• Collaborate with testing teams to develop test cases, execute test procedures, and validate outcomes.
• Uphold and model CSBA’s vision, mission, values, policies, and practices.
• Contribute to association and departmental strategic plans and objectives by developing and applying subject matter expertise in assigned areas.
• Participate in the short- and long-term strategy and direction for the association and the department.
• Monitor changes in regulations, legislative issues, education policy trends, and innovations.
• Maintains current understanding of education industry, from state and federal laws to local district politics.
• Demonstrate respect, honesty and professionalism at all times.
• Perform a variety of other duties as assigned.

Knowledge of:

• Principles and best practices of large-scale technology-based business analysis, requirements management, and stakeholder engagement.
• Principles and best practices of software development lifecycle methodologies, including Agile and Waterfall.
• Software tools supporting large-scale software development initiatives including project schedules, project status, DevOps, and requirements management.
• Research, analytical and statistical experience, including both qualitative and quantitative analysis.
• Administrative principles and practices, including goal setting, program development, implementation, and evaluation.
• School Board, School District, and County Board organization and work.
• California’s Education System and overall Education Policy knowledge.
• Federal, state, and local government organizations, research methods and techniques, including planning of studies and investigations, statistical procedures, general principles, concepts and terminology used in research.

Ability to:

• Work independently and collaboratively in a hybrid environment.
• Elicit, analyze, and synthesize complex ideas and concepts into structured specifications of business needs.
• Ruthlessly manage scope and priority, capturing all ideas but ensuring the most critical are addressed first.
• Successfully and creatively address conflict, keeping all parties engaged and invested in the outcome.
• Facilitate and engage large teams consisting of various types of roles and skill sets.
• Plan, coordinate, and facilitate effective meetings and stakeholder engagement, encouraging open discussion and mutual understanding.
• Effectively capture business needs and objections in functional and non-functional business requirements for a system and/or process/workflow.
• Represent the voice of the customer in a technology solution, demanding quality business outcomes and ensuring mutual success.
• Communicate and document project statuses and key decisions to key stakeholders.
• Research, analyze, and write reports.
• Maintain high standards with regard to content and form of written work.
• Work both independently and in collaboration with colleagues to meet individual and team goals.
• Balance multiple work responsibilities, tasks, projects while keeping to appropriate timelines.
• Maintain confidentiality.

Education & Experience

• Any combination of training and experience equivalent to a bachelor’s degree or higher with major coursework in education leadership, business administration, computer science or related field or equivalent education and/or experience and three (3) to five (5) years of experience in business analysis, information technology, education policy research and analysis, and project management.

Environment Elements & Physical Demands

• Employee works in a primarily sedentary office environment with moderate noise levels, controlled temperature conditions, and no direct exposure to hazardous physical substances.
• Employee is personally responsible for following health and safety guidelines, instructions, and policies.
• Must possess mobility to work in a standard office setting and use standard office equipment, including a computer; vision to read printed materials and computer screen, and hearing and speech to communicate in person, and over the telephone; must be able to bend, stoop, kneel, reach, push and pull drawers open and closed in the execution of duties.
• Must be able to sit at computer for long periods of time and have the dexterity to access, enter, and retrieve data using a computer keyboard or calculator, and operate standard office equipment.
• Employee must possess the ability to lift, carry, push, and pull materials and objects weighing up to 25 pounds, hand truck available to assist.
• Must be able to travel overnight on occasion throughout the state of California.
• Must have the dexterity and mobility to facilitate or present information to a group, access, enter, and retrieve data using a computer keyboard or calculator, and operate standard facilitation equipment.
• Hybrid work environment based out of CSBA’s headquarters.