Business Analyst – Software Products

About Skillmind Software:

Skillmind Software is a leading Kenyan software company specializing in HR, payroll, and people-management systems such as HR Genie and other integrated business applications. We build scalable, cloud-based, AI-enabled, enterprise-targeted solutions that serve organizations across Africa. Our mission is to streamline workforce operations, deliver data-driven insights, and drive automation in HR, attendance, payroll, leave, and performance systems.

As we expand our product offerings and deepen integrations, we seek a strong Business Analyst to bridge business needs and technical delivery, helping ensure our solutions continue to deliver real value to customers.

Role Overview:

The Business Analyst will work closely with stakeholders (product, sales, operations, customers) and the technical team (developers, QA, DevOps) to translate business needs into well-defined software features and improvements. You will be responsible for gathering requirements, analysing processes, mapping workflows, defining user stories and acceptance criteria, and guiding execution throughout the software development lifecycle. This role demands strong domain knowledge (HR, payroll, attendance, workforce systems), excellent interpersonal communication, and deep technical understanding of software products and architectures. You will act as a liaison, facilitator, quality gatekeeper, and product partner to help shape features, ensure alignment, and drive successful project execution.

Key Responsibilities:

Requirements & Discovery

• Engage stakeholders to elicit, clarify, and validate business requirements
• Conduct workshops, interviews, surveys, and JAD sessions to discover needs and pain points
• Perform gap analysis, feasibility studies, and impact assessments
• Define and document functional and non-functional requirements (performance, security, usability, scalability)
• Model "as-is" and "to-be" business processes and workflows

Solution Design & Specification

• Create user stories, epics, use cases, and acceptance criteria aligned with product objectives
• Produce wireframes, mockups, and prototypes with UX/UI collaboration
• Work with architecture and engineering teams to ensure proposed designs are technically feasible
• Prioritize requirements and maintain the product backlog

Project Execution & Delivery Support

• Participate actively in Agile ceremonies (sprint planning, backlog grooming, standups, retrospectives)
• Clarify requirements and respond to development or QA queries during implementation
• Monitor progress, track scope changes, manage trade-offs, and escalate as needed
• Ensure proper versioning, change control, and traceability of requirements

Testing & Validation

• Develop test scenarios, test cases, and acceptance criteria
• Coordinate or carry out User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
• Validate delivered features against requirements and manage change requests
• Oversee product sign-off and coordinate release readiness

Post-release Evaluation & Continuous Improvement

• Gather feedback from clients and users and track usage metrics
• Measure feature performance and identify improvement opportunities
• Populate backlog for enhancements or bug fixes
• Document lessons learned and recommend process improvements

Stakeholder Management & Communication

• Serve as the primary liaison between business teams and technical teams
• Communicate status, risks, issues, and trade-offs effectively
• Facilitate workshops, demonstrations, walkthroughs, and training sessions
• Prepare reports and dashboards that translate technical status into business insights

Domain & Technical Knowledge

• Maintain strong understanding of HR, payroll, attendance, and workforce management domains
• Stay current on industry trends and regulatory compliance
• Understand underlying technologies such as web services, APIs, and database schemas
• Be willing to dig into data, logs, and technical design documents when needed

Required Skills & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business, or related field
• 4–7+ years of experience as a Business Analyst in software or SaaS companies
• Demonstrable track record in end-to-end delivery of software products or modules
• Deep familiarity with Agile (Scrum, Kanban) and hybrid project methodologies
• Strong competence in writing BRDs, FRDs, user stories, acceptance criteria, and traceability matrices
• Experience with tools such as JIRA, Azure DevOps, or similar
• Ability to create process flows, wireframes, use-case diagrams, and UI mockups
• Good skills in data analysis, SQL querying, and understanding database structures
• Excellent communication, analytical, and problem-solving abilities
• Strong stakeholder management and interpersonal skills
• Attention to detail, ability to handle ambiguity, and deliver under tight deadlines

Preferred / Nice-to-Have:

• Experience in HR, payroll, attendance, or workforce management software domain
• Exposure to AI/ML, automation, and system integrations (REST APIs, microservices)
• Certification such as CBAP, CCBA, Agile BA, or PMI-PBA
• Exposure to QA or testing automation best practices
• Experience in product management or product-facing BA roles
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS) and modern architecture concepts
• Experience with BI and analytics tools (Power BI, Tableau, etc.)

Personal Traits:

• Curious and analytical mindset
• Empathetic communicator who understands user and stakeholder needs
• Strong collaboration and conflict-resolution skills
• Self-driven, proactive, and ownership-oriented
• Adaptable to change and comfortable navigating ambiguity
• Ability to mentor junior analysts or guide cross-functional teams

Reporting & Team Structure:

• Reports to: Head of Product / Product Manager / Director of Engineering
• Works closely with: Product Management, Engineering, QA, UX, DevOps, Sales, and Customer Success
• May mentor or lead junior BAs depending on project scope

What We Offer:

• Competitive salary and performance-based bonuses
• Opportunity to work on impactful, large-scale products across Africa
• Professional development and certification support
• Flexible working arrangements
• Collaborative and growth-oriented culture
• Join Skillmind Software and play a key role in defining, shaping, and delivering innovative enterprise software that powers HR and business transformation across Africa.