Lead the Portfolio. Shape the Strategy. Define the Practice.
If you thrive in ambiguity, can move effortlessly between big‑picture strategic conversations and deep dive analytical detail, and set standards that others aspire to, you'll excel here.
I am working with a Housing Association based in the North West to recruit for a Principal Business Analyst. We are looking for someone who is a strategic thinker, a natural influencer, and a leader who brings intelligence, critical thinking and strong analytical capability to everything they do.
They have a uniquely mature Business Analysis Practice, and as the Principal BA, you will sit right at the centre of it. You will lead the BA capability across the full change portfolio, shaping future demand, defining strategic approaches, and guiding the organisation through complex, cross‑functional change.
In this role, you will lead the Business Analysis Practice across the organisation, managing three Lead BAs and driving quality, consistency and continuous improvement. You'll take ownership of the BA contribution across the entire change portfolio, ensuring our work is aligned to the Digital, Data & Technology Strategy and supports our long‑term ambitions.
A key aspect of your role will be shaping demand and strategy. You will often be the first person to assess new ideas, determine the best approach, test thinking, and secure buy‑in from stakeholders for major programmes.
You will build and maintain enterprise‑wide capability models and process architectures that inform strategic decision‑making. You will oversee pre‑project analysis, including feasibility studies, business cases and early scoping, to ensure initiatives start from a well‑defined and evidence‑based position.
Your leadership will extend to establishing and embedding best‑practice frameworks for requirements management, process re‑engineering and configuration management. You'll guide cross‑functional change, ensuring that programmes initiated in one part of the business land effectively across all impacted departments. Throughout, you'll adapt your communication style with ease, moving from technical detail to board‑level clarity depending on the audience. You will also champion modern delivery tools and methodologies, helping teams understand what "good" looks like and how to achieve it.
If you have experience in the following youll be a great fit:
Leading or managing a BA Practices or domains within a complex organisation.
Strong track record of delivering impactful change across agile, waterfall and hybrid delivery environments.
Solid analytical background that includes fit‑gap analysis, cost‑benefit analysis and developing robust business cases.
Cross‑functional change with an enterprise‑wide perspective and confident in navigating and articulating strategic requirements at director level.
Exceptional Stakeholder management where you can flex your communication style depending on who you're speaking to.
BCS or equivalent Qualification
This is a hybrid role with 2 days a week onsite in their office in the North West.
The salary on offer is £78,000 with some great benefits.
Please apply to this advert, message me on LinkedIn, or email me at to learn more.
If you don't have an updated CV, no problem, send what you have, and we'll take it from there.