Business Analyst/Product Owner

---

Job description

JOB TITLE: Business Analyst/Product Owner
PROGRAM: IT
DEPARTMENT: State Board of Elections
EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Permanent Full-Time
WORK AUTHORIZATION: US Citizenship/Green Card
CORE BUSINESS HOURS: 10:00am EST -4:00pm EST. Additional hours are flexible and may be necessary to fulfill business and program objectives.

The Canton Group is a privately held, family-owned and operated company with over 23-years of delivering award-winning websites, software and digital solutions to Fortune 500 organizations and Government Entities in an agency-driven environment. Located in the trendy waterfront neighborhood of Canton, Baltimore, we are part of a thriving residential and business community with numerous shops, restaurants, parks, and other amenities!

OVERVIEW:
We are seeking an experienced Business Analyst/Product Owner who can take the lead in translating the operational needs of the business into requirements for implementation as well as the management and coordination of IT projects for our client, Maryland State Board of Elections.

The Maryland State Board of Elections is to provide all eligible citizens of the State convenient access to voter registration; to provide all registered voters accessible locations in which they may exercise their right to vote, to ensure uniformity of election practices; to promote fair and equitable elections; and to maintain registration records, campaign fund reports, and other election-related data accurately and in a form that is accessible to the public.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

The BA/Product Owner will be responsible for defining epics, features and user stories and prioritizing the product Backlog to streamline the execution of program priorities while maintaining the conceptual and technical integrity of the components for the team. Solves application and process related problems by creating detail process and system design specifications; and works with other areas across the business units to support a total solution approach. Communicates business requirements for reports and applications development. Facilitates collaboration within and across business units and across IT functions. Resolves problems and improves business units' technical environments.

DESCRIPTION OF WORK:

• Documentation
  • Creates workflow diagrams/process mapping to depict the As-is and the To-be functionality.
  • Creates functional design documentation to describe, in detail, the proposed functionality. This along with workflow diagrams will be used by Development for to create and enhance enterprise applications and by Quality Assurance Testers to test the new/enhanced application systems.
  • Creates process documents to describe, in detail, the proposed new/enhanced business processes. This along with workflow diagrams will be used by a team/Division to implement new/improved processes.
• Elicitation
  • Works with Subject Matter Expects to understand the current business process, pain points, and future business needs and wants.
  • Gathers business requirements of the future business needs and/or wants.
  • Elicitation methods may include but are not limited to individual or group interviews, surveys, observation, and brainstorming.
• Backlog Management
  • Develop user stories with acceptance criteria based on business requirements, adding them to the product backlog.
  • Maintain and prioritize backlog based on priorities of the business.
  • Serve as the subject matter expert of the product and have strong knowledge of our systems overall.
• Collaboration
  • Develop rapport and trust with business owners and key stakeholders.
  • Meets with review teams (any combination of Subject Matter Experts, Developers, and Quality Assurance Testers, others as appropriate), to ensure the proposed solution meets the business need, is technologically feasible, is testable, and is accurate, complete, and consistent with other proposed and/or existing functionality within a Division and/or the Agency as a whole.
  • Advises review teams on pros and cons for different solutions.
  • Gains consensus among the review teams for new/enhanced functionality/processes.
  • Works with objectives of the program.
• Support
  • Peer reviews work product of other BAs.
  • Responds to questions from Development and Quality Assurance Testers during Development and Testing stages, respectively. Supports staff creating training or other supporting documentation for new/enhanced functionality/processes.
  • Supports fellow team members as required.
• Testing
  • Tests for new/enhanced functionality/processes that he/she proposed or proposed by another BA after System Testing but before User Acceptance Testing.
  • Participates in Production implementation verification.
• Other duties as assigned to complete project tasks and requirements per the needs of the BA team and the Agency as a whole including creating training materials and/or conducting training.

REQUIRED EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

• At least eight (8) years of experience in combined business process re-engineering, Business Analysis, and Product Ownership on IT Projects
• Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university or equivalent year's work experience three plus years of relevant work experience. An MBA or MPA is preferred.
• CSPO or CSM Certification Required
• Significant experience with the following:
  • Gathering and documenting business requirements
  • Writing detailed functional requirements documentation
  • Working directly with stakeholders to determine improved business solutions
  • Creating workflow diagrams or process mapping
  • Systems development life cycle (SDLC) methodologies
  • Agile methodology
• Ability to lead and/or participate in the following:
  • User Acceptance Testing
  • End user training sessions
  • Creation of end user documentation
• Excellent:
  • Critical thinking, problem solving skills, and sound judgment
  • Verbal and written communication skills
  • Presentation skills or ability to engage audiences of various organizational levels
  • Understanding of leading practices in business analysis
  • Track record of delivering timely and accurate work product in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to:
  • Be productive independently and remotely as well as in a group setting
  • Quickly learn new business concepts and processes
  • Adapt quickly to change
  • Travel in-state, as needed

Other KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE PREFERRED:

• Data Management experience and database knowledge
• Working knowledge of web application architecture
• An understanding of technology and current trends - the what, why, when, and how

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Must be able to lift 15 pounds at a time
• May be required to work on-call or long hours if necessary, in case of serious network malfunction.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EEO STATEMENT

It is the policy of the Canton Group to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. This policy relates to all phases of employment, including, but not limited to, recruiting, employment, placement, promotion, transfer, demotion, reduction of workforce and termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation, selection for training, the use of all facilities, and participation in all company-sponsored employee activities. Provisions in applicable laws providing for bona fide occupational qualifications, business necessity or age limitations will be adhered to by the company where appropriate.

As part of the company's equal employment opportunity policy, the Canton Group will also take affirmative action as called for by applicable laws and Executive Orders to ensure that minority group individuals, females, disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, other protected veterans, Armed Forces service medal veterans, and qualified disabled persons are introduced into our workforce and considered for promotional opportunities.
Employees and applicants shall not be subjected to harassment, intimidation or any type of retaliation because they have (1) filed a complaint; (2) assisted or participated in an investigation, compliance review, hearing or any other activity related to the administration of any federal, state or local law requiring equal employment opportunity; (3) opposed any act or practice made unlawful by any federal, state or local law requiring equal opportunity; or (4) exercised any other legal right protected by federal, state or local law requiring equal opportunity.

The above-mentioned policies shall be periodically brought to the attention of supervisors and shall be appropriately administered. It is the responsibility of each supervisor of the company to ensure affirmative implementation of these policies to avoid any discrimination in employment. All employees are expected to recognize these policies and cooperate with their implementation. Violation of these policies is a disciplinary offense.