Job Description

We're looking for a Lead Business Analyst to join our Finance Technology team, based from NEXT Head Office in Leicestershire!

The Role:

As a Lead Business Analyst at NEXT, you will play a pivotal role in continually evolving our processes and working practices to make our department as efficient, effective, and forward-thinking as it can be. Working closely with cross-functional systems teams, Product Owners, and your line manager, you will provide vital continuity of service through business-as-usual (BAU) support, enhance current integrations, and boost visibility through robust monitoring and reporting. Your expertise will directly shape and deliver key projects committed to this season’s plan, next season’s plan, and beyond.

For this specific position, domain expertise in finance accounting processes—such as Record to Report (R2R), Accounts Payable (AP), and Procurement—is essential to help us refine our financial systems.

What You’ll Take On:

• Engage and collaborate with stakeholders at all levels to understand, document, and bridge the gaps between current and desired business states.
• Analyse business processes and workflows to identify inefficiencies, using data to propose cost-effective, well-thought-out system solutions.
• Create and review clear project documentation, including detailed User Stories (using standard syntax and GHERKIN criteria), Risk Logs, Support Documentation, and illustrative wireframes.
• Lead key Agile ceremonies, driving backlog refinement meetings, sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives to actively manage and prioritise workloads.
• Extract and model data using tools like SQL and Excel to evaluate alternative solutions, ensuring system integrity requirements (like security, auditing, and logging) are fully met.
• Mentor and guide fellow BAs and Product Owners within your team, supervising their work, training them on Agile practices, and supporting their professional development.

What You’ll Bring:

• A strong background in Retail business processes and a solid understanding of the end-to-end IT development lifecycle.
• Expertise in Agile methodologies, with a practical approach to backlog management systems (experience with Microsoft Azure DevOps and business intelligence tools is a distinct advantage).
• Advanced analytical and technical skills, particularly in using SQL and Excel for complex data extraction, problem-solving, and trend identification.
• Outstanding communication and negotiation skills, with the confidence to build positive relationships across the business and lead teams to a consensus on scope and design.
• An organised, multi-tasking mindset that thrives in a fast-paced environment and handles busy moments with clarity and composure.
• A collaborative, customer-first mentality, acting as an ambassador for NEXT who proactively seeks feedback and continuously drives improvements.

At NEXT, we are committed to your growth; you will be supported with opportunities to expand your business knowledge, stretch your capabilities beyond your day job, and refine your personal brand within our active community of practice.

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You know Next, but did you know we’re a FTSE-100 retail company employing over 44,000 people across the Next group. We’re the UK’s 2nd largest fashion retailer and for Kidswear we’re the market leader. At the last count we have over 450 stores, plus the Next Online and it’s now possible to buy on-line from over 80 countries around the world! So we’ve gone global!