Principal Business Analyst

Principal Business Analyst (Data Platforms) Contract – 6 months initially Rare – Daily inside IR35 Location: London (Hybrid) Must attend site 3 days per week – UK based applicants<br />Sector: Investment Management, Financial Services or Capital Markets. (prior experience a must) About the Opportunity Are you an experienced Business Analyst with a passion for data and technology? Do you enjoy working closely with stakeholders to deliver business-critical solutions that drive real business value? We're recruiting for a Principal Business Analyst to join a highly respected global investment organisation, supporting the continued evolution of its enterprise Data Platform. This is a fantastic opportunity to work on strategic initiatives across a complex data landscape, partnering with business and technology teams to deliver innovative, scalable data solutions. You'll play a key role in shaping data-driven change across multiple business functions, working on projects ranging from operational data and reporting through to analytics and AI initiatives. The Role Working within a collaborative Agile environment, you'll act as the bridge between business stakeholders and technical delivery teams, ensuring data solutions are aligned with both immediate business needs and long-term strategic objectives. Key responsibilities include:

• Lead business analysis activities across multiple concurrent data and technology projects.
• Engage with business stakeholders to gather, challenge and document complex requirements.
• Facilitate workshops and drive consensus across technical and non-technical teams.
• Translate business requirements into clear functional specifications, user stories and acceptance criteria.
• Produce process flows, data mappings and business documentation.
• Work closely with Data Engineers, Architects, Developers and QA teams throughout the full software development lifecycle.
• Perform data analysis using SQL to investigate, validate and reconcile large data sets.
• Support testing, UAT and production releases, ensuring successful delivery of solutions.
• Identify business process improvements and recommend data-driven solutions.
• Manage project risks, dependencies and delivery priorities across multiple workstreams.
• Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders across both business and technology functions. About You We're looking for someone who combines excellent Business Analysis skills with a strong understanding of data. You'll ideally have:
• Proven experience as a Business Analyst delivering complex data or technology projects.
• Strong SQL skills, with experience querying and analysing large datasets.
• Experience working with SQL Server, Snowflake or similar cloud-based data platforms.
• Excellent requirements gathering and documentation skills.
• Strong stakeholder management and workshop facilitation experience.
• Experience producing user stories, process maps, acceptance criteria and functional specifications.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Experience working across the full Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).
• Ability to manage multiple priorities within a fast-paced environment. Desirable Experience
• Experience within Investment Management, Financial Services or Capital Markets.
• Understanding of front-office, investment or operational data.
• Knowledge of reference data, pricing, transactions, holdings, performance or risk data.
• Experience working within Agile delivery environments.
• Understanding of data governance, data quality and data lineage.
• Exposure to modern cloud data platforms and enterprise data architecture.
• Experience supporting production releases and operational readiness. If you're an experienced Business Analyst with a strong data background and enjoy working with complex technology platforms, we'd love to hear from you