Ingenta is seeking a proactive Business Analyst to join our team to manage customer change requests in the scholarly academic publishing space. This role requires strong customer interaction, requirements gathering, and process analysis skills. The ideal candidate will have experience working with academic publishing workflows and an ability to collaborate with stakeholders across the organization to deliver solutions that meet customer needs. You will be responsible for translating customer requests into actionable requirements and ensuring that new features or system enhancements are developed and implemented effectively.
As part of a small, agile team, you will have a direct impact on the evolution of our publishing systems, contributing to a better experience for authors, editors, and reviewers alike.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
* Requirements Gathering:
* Engage directly with customers (publishers, organisations, associations, NGO's) to gather, document, and prioritize change requests related to our publishing systems.
* Conduct discovery sessions, interviews, and surveys to capture customer needs, pain points, and expectations.
* Translate customer requirements into clear, actionable specifications for the development and design teams.
* Business Process Analysis:
* Analyse existing publishing workflows, identify inefficiencies or bottlenecks, and propose optimized solutions.
* Collaborate with technical teams to ensure that any changes align with system capabilities and scalability needs, especially in areas like manuscript submission, peer review, and metadata management.
* Customer Communication & Expectations Management:
* Serve as the key point of contact for customers regarding change requests, ensuring continuous communication throughout the process.
* Set clear expectations with customers about timelines, deliverables, and project scope, ensuring alignment throughout the lifecycle of the request.
* Proactively provide updates to stakeholders, highlight risks, and manage any changes to project scope.
* Documentation & Reporting:
* Create detailed business requirement documents (BRDs), user stories, and process flow diagrams to clearly communicate customer needs.
* Maintain and update product documentation, ensuring that all changes are tracked and requirements are met.
* Develop testing and acceptance criteria in collaboration with customers and technical teams to ensure that solutions meet business goals.
* Solution Design & Implementation Support:
* Work with developers, project managers, and quality assurance teams to ensure solutions meet customer requirements and are delivered on time.
* Provide functional support during the design, testing, and implementation phases.
* Assist in user acceptance testing (UAT) to verify that all deliverables meet customer expectations.
* Post-Implementation Support:
* Provide ongoing support to customers post-implementation, assisting with training and troubleshooting.
* Gather feedback from customers and analyze system performance, making recommendations for future improvements.
REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
* Hands-on experience with Oracle (including PL/SQL packages) and PostgreSQL
* Strong SQL skills and ability to write complex queries, procedures, and data transformation logic
* Solid experience with data aggregation, analytics, and warehousing techniques
* Familiarity with usage statistics standards (e.g., COUNTER) or similar reporting protocols
* Experience working with large datasets in a production environment
* Proven ability to manage and debug ETL pipelines and optimize data workflows
* Knowledge of XML-based content formats (JATS, ONIX, NLM) is desirable
* Familiarity with scripting (e.g., Python, Bash) for automation is a plus
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
* Education:
* Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Information Systems, or a related field (or equivalent work experience).
* Experience:
* 2+ years of experience as a Business Analyst, preferably in the scholarly academic publishing industry.
* Proven track record of managing customer-facing change requests and translating those into actionable requirements.
* Experience working with publishing systems, content management platforms, and workflow automation is highly desirable.
* Skills & Competencies:
* Strong customer-facing skills, with the ability to effectively communicate with non-technical users and technical teams.
* Ability to manage multiple change requests, prioritize tasks, and deliver results in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
* Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with the ability to identify process inefficiencies and propose improvements.
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills, particularly in documentation and reporting.
* Familiarity with Agile methodologies and experience working in an Agile team is a plus.
* Technical Skills:
* Familiarity with data analysis tools and SQL (or similar) for analyzing large datasets is a plus.
* Basic understanding of academic publishing systems (e.g., Open Journal Systems (OJS), Editorial Manager, etc.) and workflows is a plus.
* Proficiency with business analysis tools such as Microsoft Visio, Lucidchart, or similar for process mapping.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
* Certifications:
* Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP), Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP), or other related certifications.
* Domain Knowledge:
* Previous experience in academic publishing, specifically in editorial workflows, manuscript management, or content submission systems.
* Software/Tools Knowledge:
* Familiarity with content management systems, manuscript submission platforms, and data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI).
KEY TRAIS WE ARE LOOKING FOR
* Customer-Centric: You have a passion for understanding and meeting customer needs and can translate customer feedback into effective solutions.
* Self-Starter: You can work independently, manage multiple tasks simultaneously, and take the initiative to identify opportunities for process improvements.
* Collaborative: You work well within a team environment, bridging the gap between business users, customers, and technical teams.
* Attention to Detail: You are highly organized and can accurately capture, track, and communicate business requirements.
* Adaptability: You are comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving environment and can pivot quickly based on changing business needs or customer requirements.
WHY JOIN US?
* Impact: Your work will directly impact the experience of authors, editors, and academic institutions, making scholarly publishing more efficient and accessible.
* Growth: As part of a small, agile team, you will have the opportunity to take on a wide range of responsibilities and grow professionally.
* Collaboration: Work closely with cross-functional teams to innovate and improve academic publishing workflows.
* Flexibility: We offer a flexible working environment where you can balance independent work and collaboration with a dynamic team.
Ingenta is a publicly listed and independent company with a 40-year history of creating and providing reliable software products and services and over 30 years running rights royalty management that can support any industry. Ingenta’s mission is to be a strategic partner in providing functionally superior solutions that allow companies to operate effectively and securely while being able to take advantage of technical advancements in a controlled way. The company works with all sectors but specializes in the trade, scholarly, academic, and educational areas.
Our employees are full time staff members that are highly experienced professionals who are passionate about their field and located in your regions. Ingenta has been here from the beginning, so we know exactly what it takes to operate your business online. Take advantage of our experience and knowledge to unlock your tomorrow today.
Only applications with accompanying cover letter will be considered. Please send accompanying cover letter to recruitment@ingenta.com quoting job reference ING319.