Senior Business Analyst

Senior Business Analyst at DLA Piper

Our team of project, process and tech experts work with all global teams to deliver efficiency gains, tech solutions and process improvement to enhance our client offering and increase competitiveness. The team also work directly with clients to design bespoke solutions for their organisations and in-house legal teams.

The Senior Business Analyst plays a key role in driving operational improvement across DLA Piper by leading complex initiatives that enhance efficiency, streamline processes, and align with strategic goals. This role focuses on delivering impactful change across people, process, and technology, often beyond system implementations. By applying a process-led approach, the Senior Business Analyst ensures solutions are well-grounded and add measurable value to both internal teams and client outcomes. As part of the Business Improvement Team, they champion best practices and help shape what excellence in business analysis looks like across the firm.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end analysis on complex, cross-functional initiatives, ensuring delivery of actionable insights that support strategic decision-making and project success.
• Be part of a team of five specialists, providing direction, support, and oversight to ensure consistent delivery of high-quality analysis and outputs.
• Engage with clients and stakeholders, ensuring they are fully supported in the use of relevant products and services through clear guidance and accessible support channels.
• Continuously review and refine processes and tools, ensuring they remain fit-for-purpose and aligned with evolving business needs and priorities.
• Drive discovery and documentation of capabilities and processes, enabling clarity, consistency, and efficiency across teams and functions.
• Define and manage business requirements, ensuring alignment between current and future states and supporting successful implementation across delivery lifecycles.
• Facilitate effective stakeholder engagement, acting as a trusted advisor and ensuring clear communication of project progress, risks, and outcomes.
• Champion best practice development, mentoring junior analysts and embedding consistent methodologies across the team.
• Support implementation and training activities, ensuring operational readiness and smooth adoption of new processes and tools.

About you

• Demonstrates the ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver outcomes within tight and sometimes conflicting deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Builds trust and strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, enabling effective collaboration and influence.
• Brings significant experience in leading business analysis within complex matrix organisations, shaping approaches to deliver high-impact initiatives.
• Applies advanced problem-solving and analytical skills to diagnose complex business challenges and identify actionable solutions.
• Skilled in conducting root cause and impact analysis using a range of business analysis tools and techniques.
• Experienced in developing business cases and defining measurable benefits to support strategic decision-making and prioritisation.
• Proficient in requirements elicitation and management, including workshop facilitation, documentation of business requirements, and alignment with IT deliverables.
• Deep understanding of both Waterfall and Agile/Scrum methodologies, with practical experience applying these to manage business analysis activities.
• Expert in business process modelling, including use of BPMN 2.0 and tools such as Visio, with the ability to create capability models, process catalogues, and SIPOCs.
• Applies Lean/Six Sigma principles to analyse and improve complex processes, identifying opportunities for efficiency and optimisation.
• Communicates effectively across all levels of the organisation, producing high-quality written and verbal outputs tailored to diverse audiences.
• Navigates complex stakeholder landscapes, resolving conflicting needs and supporting informed decision-making.
• Understands system and data architecture at a high level, able to produce simple data models and analyse data trends using Excel.
• Brings a minimum of 7 years’ experience in business analysis, ideally within legal or consultancy environments.
• Holds a recognised business analysis certification (e.g. BCS, IIBA – CCBA, CBATL, PMI-PBA).
• Familiarity with enterprise platforms such as SuccessFactors, SAP, and ServiceNow.
• Experienced in defining operating models and developing customer journeys using Design Thinking tools.
• Provides mentorship to junior analysts, supporting capability development and consistent delivery across the team.

About us

We're a global law firm helping our clients achieve their goals wherever they do business. Our pursuit of innovation has transformed our delivery of legal services. With offices in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, we deliver exceptional outcomes on cross-border projects, critical transactions and high-stakes disputes.