Business Analyst - Lansing, MI

Top Skills & Years of Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Information Systems, Public Administration, or a related field.
• Seven (7) years of experience as a senior business analyst or equivalent in a government, retirement system, or financial services environment.
• Demonstrated experience in business process documentation and cross-functional collaboration.
• Familiarity with Agile SDLC, process modeling, and system testing methodologies.
• Experience with public pension or retirement systems.

Role description:

The Business Analyst (BA) supports the planning, development, and implementation of business processes, systems, and projects within the State of Michigan Retirement System. The BA works closely with cross-functional teams—including IT, member services, finance, and external stakeholders—to ensure business requirements are met, systems are optimized, and operational goals are achieved. Serving as a liaison between business units and technical teams, this role contributes to the effective and secure delivery of retirement benefits to state employees.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Business Analysis & Process Improvement:

• Analyze, document, and validate business processes, system requirements, and interactions related to retirement benefits administration.
• Collaborate with subject matter experts to define and refine business needs for system enhancements, policy changes, and new initiatives.
• Create and maintain comprehensive documentation including requirements, user stories, workflows, and use cases.
• Support solution design, testing phases (e.g., UAT), and implementation activities.
• Recommend improvements to business processes for increased efficiency and service quality.
• Monitor project deliverables, timelines, and milestones to ensure alignment with business goals.
• Assist in preparing training materials and conducting stakeholder education.
• Conduct gap analysis and assess impact of policy or regulatory changes.
• Provide data analysis and reporting to support compliance, performance tracking, and decision-making.

Security & Compliance Support:

• Perform tasks in support of internal/external security and standards reviews.
• Conduct security risk assessments and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Assist with the development and maintenance of security documentation (e.g., System Security Plans, Assessment Reports, Authorization packages).
• Support security audits by gathering documentation and demonstrating control effectiveness.
• Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Planning
• Contribute to the development, documentation, and testing of Disaster Recovery Plans (DRPs) for critical systems.
• Assist in defining recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs).
• Collaborate with business units to develop and maintain Business Continuity Plans (BCPs).
• Conduct business impact assessments and ensure DRP/BCP strategies align with operational needs.
• Participate in tabletop exercises and simulations to test and validate plans, document and address gaps.
• Ensure DRP/BCP efforts comply with State of Michigan policies, NIST, FISMA, and other applicable standards.

Vulnerability Management:

• Coordinate and schedule system, application, and network vulnerability scans in collaboration with infrastructure and security teams.
• Analyze scan results, prioritize risks, and support mitigation planning.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Information Systems, Public Administration, or a related field.
• Seven (7) years of experience as a senior business analyst or equivalent in a government, retirement system, or financial services environment.
• Demonstrated experience in business process documentation and cross-functional collaboration.
• Familiarity with Agile SDLC, process modeling, and system testing methodologies.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with public pension or retirement systems.
• Working knowledge of pension administration platforms.
• Proficiency in Azure DevOps or comparable tools.
• Experience with SQL or analytics tools such as Power BI or advanced Excel.
• Industry certifications such as CBAP, PMI-PBA, or equivalent.
• Knowledge of state and federal retirement-related regulations.