Principal Business Analyst

Location: London
Department: Finance, Tax & Treasury Technology (within a global technology change function)
Reports to: Head of Finance, Tax & Treasury Technology

We are looking for a highly experienced Principal Business Analyst to play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering complex technology and business change initiatives. The successful candidate will lead on system impact assessments, requirements gathering, and process re-engineering, with a focus on Finance AUM reporting, fee billing, and rebates.

This is a senior-level position that requires both a deep technical toolkit and a strong understanding of the financial services industry. The successful candidate will be a recognised champion of best practice, driving continuous improvement and ensuring alignment across global teams.

• Lead end-to-end system impact assessments, covering architecture, integrations, interfaces, and technical dependencies.

• Own requirements gathering and process mapping, ensuring new operating models and platform transformations are clearly defined and deliver measurable outcomes.

• Develop impact analysis documentation, capturing operational, data flow, and technical changes.

• Facilitate workshops with global technology teams, vendors, and business stakeholders to validate and prioritise requirements.

• Translate complex technical findings into clear insights for senior executives and non-technical stakeholders.

• Support programme managers in defining target operating models and major transformation initiatives.

• Contribute to cutover planning, data migration, and legacy system decommissioning strategies.

• Maintain high-quality delivery artefacts and ensure adherence to governance and change lifecycle frameworks.

• Perform data analysis to inform requirements, business cases, and decision-making.

• Provide consultancy and guidance to both business and technology stakeholders.

• Advanced analytical skills: business process modelling, technical diagramming, requirements capture, and workshop facilitation.

• Proven experience in system and technical impact assessments within large-scale transformation programmes.

• Strong knowledge of end-to-end SDLC methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, hybrid).

• Ability to prepare business cases, including cost-benefit analysis and articulation of business value.

• Proficiency in mapping data flows, integrations, and architectures (Visio or similar tools).

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage stakeholders at all levels.

• Solid understanding of investment/asset management operations, covering fund management, trading, settlements, reconciliations, cash management, accounting, performance, and reporting.

• Hands-on experience delivering Finance AUM platform implementations, vendor evaluations (RFI/RFP), system migrations, and operational control frameworks.

• Familiarity with relevant AUM platforms and technologies is highly desirable.

• Experience working with global teams, managing cross-cultural collaboration across different time zones.