At Instil, we develop digital products for a range of blue-chip clients. Our work is impactful and varied, often at the leading edge of technology. Our clients choose Instil because we are seen as a cut above.

We are seeking an experienced Lead Business Analyst (BA) to join and help shape our growing BA team. As the Lead BA, you will play a pivotal role in driving business transformation and innovation for our clients, while providing leadership and mentorship to a team of talented Business Analysts.

As a Lead BA, you will bridge the gap between business needs and technology solutions, ensuring we deliver exceptional value to customers. You will work closely with client stakeholders and product teams to shape and deliver innovative solutions that advance our customers’ business objectives.

Why Instil?

At Instil, we pride ourselves on our work culture, which is rooted in flexibility, autonomy, and a healthy work-life balance. Our leadership team is committed to supporting your professional development and well-being, giving you the freedom to excel and make a meaningful impact.If you are ready to take the next step in your career and lead a high-performing business analysis team, we would love to hear from you!

Location Requirements

This role requires regular in office attendance. Therefore, candidates should be located in Northern Ireland.

Benefits include

• Competitive Salary & Annual Bonus
• Hybrid Working
• Flexible Working Hours
• Summer Working Hours
• 35 Days Holiday
• Private Pension (8% Employer, 5% Employee)
• Private Healthcare
• Life Assurance
• Cycle to Work Scheme

About You

•  You are passionate about delivering measurable business value through innovative technology solutions and thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic consultancy environment. You bring a proven track record of successfully leading and mentoring business analysis teams, fostering collaboration, and driving high-quality outcomes.
• You excel at shaping customer-centric solutions that align with strategic business objectives and have a strong ability to influence and build trusted relationships with stakeholders at all levels. Your expertise in driving digital transformation initiatives enables you to navigate complex challenges and deliver impactful results.
• You are a strategic thinker with excellent communication and facilitation skills, comfortable leading workshops, discovery sessions, and stakeholder engagements. Adaptable and curious, you quickly grasp new domains and industries, continuously seeking opportunities for improvement and innovation.
• Above all, you are motivated by solving real-world problems with empathy and insight, championing a product mindset that prioritises user needs and business success.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and Mentor: Guide, support, and develop a team of business analysts, fostering a culture of high performance, continuous learning, and knowledge sharing.
• Strategic Client Partnership: Act as a trusted consultant and advisor, working closely with customers and cross-functional teams to deliver product solutions aligned with business objectives and organisational strategy.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Lead stakeholder engagements at all levels, facilitating workshops, interviews, and alignment sessions to elicit, challenge, and refine business requirements.
• Vision and Direction: Provide vision and strategic direction to development teams and stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring all initiatives are aligned with client goals.
• Product Roadmaps: Create and maintain prioritised product roadmaps that reflect client goals, market opportunities, and evolving business needs, ensuring clear communication of priorities and progress.
• Requirements Management: Oversee the development and quality of epics and user stories with clear, actionable acceptance criteria, ensuring consistency across the team and projects.
• Market Insight: Maintain a deep understanding of market trends, competitor landscapes, and customer needs to inform strategic product and business decisions.
• Continuous Improvement: Identify, drive, and embed opportunities for business and process improvements, aligning solutions with best practices and industry standards, and fostering a system of continuous improvement.
• Team Development: Champion the professional growth of the BA and wider product team through coaching, mentoring, and establishing best practices.
• Product Discovery: Play a key leadership role in Product Discovery, ensuring solutions are validated, feasible, and aligned with user and business needs.
• Product Mindset: Advocate for a product mindset, fostering innovation and customer-centric approaches within Instil and client teams.
• Pre-sales Support: Support pre-sales activities, including proposal writing, client presentations, and solution design to help win new business.
• Outcome Focus: Ensure all deliverables are measurable, scalable, and contribute to the overall success and growth of our clients’ businesses, with clear business benefits defined and tracked through to realisation.
• Best Practice Leadership: Develop, implement, and embed business analysis standards, processes, and frameworks across projects and teams, acting as the organisational go-to for BA best practice and knowledge.
• Cross-team Collaboration: Serve as the key liaison between business, technical, and product teams, ensuring clarity, alignment, and shared understanding across all project stakeholders.
• Reporting and Communication: Present fluently and persuasively on all aspects of business analysis work, communicating effectively with executives, staff, and external audiences as required.
• Commercial Acumen: Apply strong commercial judgement to identify opportunities for business growth, profitability, and competitive advantage, ensuring all solutions contribute to the client’s bottom line.

Need to Have

• 8+ years of business analysis experience, with at least 2+ years in a senior or lead role, ideally within a software consultancy or technology-driven environment.
• Demonstrable experience leading and mentoring business analysis teams, fostering professional growth and driving high-quality outcomes.
• Proven ability to work directly with clients at all levels, understanding and shaping business needs, objectives, and strategic direction.
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with a track record of translating complex business challenges into actionable, scalable solutions.
• Extensive experience in writing user stories, developing product roadmaps, and managing product backlogs across multiple projects or teams.
• Advanced facilitation skills, including leading workshops (e.g., design thinking, discovery sessions, stakeholder alignment) and driving consensus among diverse stakeholders.
• Passion for solving human and business problems through curiosity, empathy, and a customer-centric mindset.
• Deep experience leading Product Discovery initiatives, validating ideas through research, prototyping, and user testing.
• Outstanding stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence, negotiate, and build trusted relationships at all levels.
• Expertise in agile methodologies and hands-on experience working within and leading agile teams.
• Proven adaptability to new domains, industries, and client environments, demonstrating flexibility and resilience.
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills, with the ability to manage multiple initiatives and drive results in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated pre-sales/bid-building experience, including collaborating with sales teams to shape client proposals, delivering compelling product demonstrations, and contributing to RFP/RFI responses to support successful business development.
• Eligibility to live and work in the UK without sponsorship.  (Please note we are unable to provide sponsorship)

Nice to Have

• Experience leading or coaching business analyst teams within a consultancy or technology-driven environment.
• Familiarity with Agile tools (such as JIRA), and business analysis best practices.
• Experience designing and implementing business analysis processes, standards, or frameworks across multiple projects or teams.
• Knowledge of advanced frameworks for customer understanding (e.g. journey mapping, empathy mapping) and experience developing customer journeys.
• Exposure to digital transformation initiatives, including legacy system modernization and adoption of emerging technologies.
• Understanding of UX principles, user research methodologies, and their integration into product strategy.
• Experience in data analysis, modelling, or supporting data-driven decision-making.

Equality

Instil is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff. Applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

We also strive to make our recruitment process fair and accessible to all. If you require any adjustments or accommodations at any stage, please let us know. We’re happy to have a confidential conversation to ensure the process meets your needs — because we know that every candidate’s journey is different.