Business Analyst - Reading, Berkshire

Business Analyst - Reading, Berkshire, RG1 8DBContract: PermanentSalary: Competitive salary up to £60,000 per annumAs a Business Analyst, you will play a key role within the Digital and Transformation teams at Thames Water, supporting the delivery of business and technology change initiatives that enable the organisation to achieve its strategic objectives.

Working closely with Project Managers, Product Owners, Scrum Masters, and business stakeholders, you will help ensure solutions meet business needs and align with Thames Water’s governance and delivery frameworks. You will gather, analyse, and document requirements while supporting teams to deliver outcomes that drive value across people, processes, and technology.

This role contributes to Thames Water’s digital transformation by identifying opportunities for improvement, shaping solutions, and ensuring robust business analysis practices are applied throughout the project lifecycle. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to support effective delivery, governance, and continuous improvement.

What you’ll be doing as a Business Analyst

• Investigate and analyse business situations, identifying problems, opportunities, and root causes.
• Work with stakeholders to gather, analyse, and document functional and non-functional requirements.
• Create, refine, and manage Epics, Features, and User Stories within Azure DevOps.
• Facilitate backlog refinement sessions and support sprint planning activities.
• Collaborate with Product Owners and Scrum Masters to prioritise and maintain a healthy backlog.
• Ensure requirements are baselined, traceable, and managed through change control processes.
• Conduct feasibility assessments, including option analysis, cost/benefit evaluation, and risk analysis.
• Support the development of business cases aligned with organisational strategy and objectives.
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders and support stakeholder engagement and communication plans.
• Facilitate workshops to map As-Is and To-Be processes using BPMN to drive efficiency and improvement.
• Support user testing preparation, ensuring appropriate coverage of scenarios and acceptance criteria.
• Facilitate change impact assessments and support change assurance activities.
• Ensure alignment with Thames Water’s delivery framework and governance standards.
• Produce high-quality business analysis artefacts to support project milestones and decision-making.

What you should bring to the role

• Experience working as a Business Analyst in a digital or technology project environment.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to collaborate across operational and project teams.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, including root cause analysis.
• Ability to work semi-independently and manage workload in a dynamic environment.
• Attention to detail with the ability to simplify complex concepts for stakeholders.
• A proactive, customer-focused mindset with a collaborative approach to delivery.
  Base location – Hybrid – Clearwater Court, Reading
  Working pattern – 36 hours Monday to Friday.

Technical experience and skills

• Experience working as a Business Analyst across digital or IT projects.
• Strong understanding of Agile and Waterfall delivery methodologies.
• Experience using Azure DevOps (ADO) for backlog and requirements management.
• Experience in requirements gathering, documentation, and traceability practices.
• Experience in process mapping using BPMN and relevant tooling (e.g., Bizzdesign).
• Experience supporting testing activities and change management processes.

Desirable qualifications and experience

• Experience working within the water industry or other regulated environments.
• Experience supporting feasibility assessments and business case development.
• Experience working with cross-functional delivery teams in complex environments.

Desirable technical skills and qualifications

• BCS Business Analysis Diploma or equivalent certification.
• Product Owner, Scrum, or Agile-related certifications.
• Knowledge or experience of DevOps tools, practices, and delivery approaches.
• Experience using BPMN tools such as Bizzdesign.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary up to £60,000 per annum, depending on experience.
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus bank holidays)
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)

Who are we?
We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water
Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.