Business analyst
Find out what a business analyst in government does and the skills you need to do the role at each level.
Last updated 30 August 2024 — See all updates
Contents
- — What a business analyst does
- — Business analyst role levels
- — 1. Trainee business analyst
- — 2. Junior business analyst
- — 3. Business analyst
- — 4. Senior business analyst
- — 5. Lead business analyst
- — 6. Head of business analysis
- — Roles that share business analyst skills
What a business analyst does
Business analysts help teams to:
- analyse and understand a business problem or opportunity
- undertake research and analysis to understand how a business or business area works, considering the people, organisation, processes, information, data and technology
- identify areas for improvement, explore feasible options, analyse the effects of change and define success measures
- identify and elaborate user and business needs to enable effective design, development and testing of services and business change
- make decisions related to prioritisation and minimum viable product by using analysis led insights
- ensure new products and services meet business and user needs, and are aligned with organisational goals
- understand any business and policy constraints that need to be considered, and assess the implications
Business analyst role levels
There are 6 business analyst role levels, from trainee business analyst to head of business analysis.
The typical responsibilities and skills for each role level are described in the sections below. You can use this to identify the skills you need to progress in your career, or simply to learn more about each role in the Government Digital and Data profession.
1. Trainee business analyst
A trainee business analyst receives direction from more senior business analysts. At this level, you will work with others or under supervision to build and develop your skills.
This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:
- AO (Administrative Officer)
- EO (Executive Officer)
Skill | Description |
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Requirements definition and management Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Stakeholder relationship management (business analysis) Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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2. Junior business analyst
A junior business analyst receives direction from more senior business analysts but is responsible for the output of specific tasks. At this level, you will have limited skills and will work with others or under supervision. You will support stakeholder relationship management.
This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:
- EO (Executive Officer)
- HEO (Higher Executive Officer)
Skill | Description |
---|---|
Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Requirements definition and management Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
|
Stakeholder relationship management (business analysis) Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
|
Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: awareness Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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3. Business analyst
A business analyst leads small to medium size projects and supports larger and more complex projects.
At this role level, you will:
- manage stakeholder relationships
- work independently
- have a good understanding of your work area
- develop the business analysis community by sharing best practice and mentoring others
This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:
- HEO (Higher Executive Officer)
- SEO (Senior Executive Officer)
Skill | Description |
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Requirements definition and management Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Stakeholder relationship management (business analysis) Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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4. Senior business analyst
A senior business analyst has a good understanding of strategic arenas and leads large or complex projects.
At this role level, you will:
- have functional or people management responsibilities, or a combination of both
- mentor others
- develop best practice
- own stakeholder relationships
- manage community of practice activities within a business area
This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:
- SEO (Senior Executive Officer)
- G7 (Grade 7)
Skill | Description |
---|---|
Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Requirements definition and management Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Stakeholder relationship management (business analysis) Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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5. Lead business analyst
A lead business analyst has a good understanding of the enterprise arena and works in highly complex problem spaces, typically spanning multiple products or services.
At this role level, you will:
- be a leader in the business analysis community (across government and externally)
- have functional management or people management accountabilities, or a combination of both
- actively share knowledge and be seen as a go-to person in the field
- mentor others
- own the main stakeholder relationships
This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:
- G7 (Grade 7)
Skill | Description |
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Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Consultancy (business analysis) Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Enterprise and business architecture (business analyst) Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Requirements definition and management Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Stakeholder relationship management (business analysis) Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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6. Head of business analysis
The head of business analysis leads the business analysis function across the enterprise area and builds business analysis capability for the organisation.
This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:
- G6 (Grade 6)
Skill | Description |
---|---|
Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
|
Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Consultancy (business analysis) Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
|
Enterprise and business architecture (business analyst) Level: working Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
|
Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
|
Requirements definition and management Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
|
Stakeholder relationship management (business analysis) Level: expert Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
|
Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Level: practitioner Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels |
You can:
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Roles that share business analyst skills
Role | Shared skills |
---|---|
Business architect | |
Content strategist | |
Digital portfolio manager | |
Graphic designer | |
Interaction designer |
Updates
Published 7 January 2020
Last updated 30 August 2024
30 August 2024
- The skill level descriptions for 'business modelling', 'business process improvement' and 'business process testing' have been updated to improve clarity and ensure consistency across the framework. No change was made to the meaning of skill level descriptions.
31 May 2024
- The indicative job grades for the 'trainee business analyst' role level have been updated from 'AA and AO' to 'AO and EO'. This change is based on the latest data on the most common grades for these role levels across government.
30 August 2022
- The business analyst role has been fully updated, with new role levels and redefined skills. Role levels have been added for trainee business analyst, lead business analyst and head of business analysis. The principal business analyst role level has been removed.
7 January 2020
- First published.