Lead Business Analyst, Manufacturing Costing

Lead Business Analyst, Manufacturing Costing

Are you an experienced professional who is enthusiastic about leveraging technology, agile principles to drive high impact products within organizations? If so, Pandora is embarking on an exciting digital manufacturing journey to create a new strong digital backbone for the biggest jewellery brand in the world. The digital manufacturing transformation will go on for multiple years and is foundational for the delivery of our Phoenix strategy. The programme is a fantastic opportunity to develop your career, build new capabilities and contribute to the future growth of Pandora.

We are embracing agile methodology structured around product teams with clear focus on business outcomes. Strong and enthusiastic Product Management is a key component of realizing these ambitions. In this newly created role, you will be part of the team shaping of our product domain to ensure Pandora is leveraging technology at the heart of evolving our manufacturing business and delivering growth. This is a direct functional role, with a high degree of collaboration to drive cultural change and raise the maturity levels of the agile delivery practices. Have we sparked your interest? If so, we would love to hear from you!

Job Description

As a Lead Business Analyst for Manufacturing Costing / Finance within Pandora Manufacturing Technology team, you will be responsible for the business process design, fit-gap analysis as well as validating functional deliverables of the system integrator / implementation partner (SI) such as organization structure, master data, configuration, and customization choices.

You will function as the connector between business needs and technology ensuring that we are always working on the things that creates value for our business. This also includes delivery of our new Digital Strategy, Crafting & Supply Strategy, and the ambition of creating the SMART factory and Data-driven manufacturing. You will work together with Finance, Supply Chain, Production and Manufacturing Quality teams to establish a new agile delivery engine to cross-functionally realize the strategic ambitions. You will focus on driving the product agenda for the most critical part of the strategy, i.e., shaping and implementing a new ecosystem for Manufacturing ERP capabilities across the plants.

Your key accountabilities will be to:

• Provide end-to-end expertise and guidance on business processes, innovations on existing business processes from functional and technical perspective
• Create features, user stories with relevant acceptance criteria, scenarios, and estimating business value and tech requirements of product backlog items
• Support Product Manager in developing and maintaining product backlog / required business capabilities including improvement opportunities
• Engage with all stakeholders (business, technical, product owner) to make sure that there is no gap at any level, prepare Business Analysis artefacts including process maps, design flow, specifications, and wireframes
• Deliver valuable insights, from business case to blueprinting to go-live, based on previous implementation experience with the end-to-end project lifecycle
• Lead gap analysis to uncover functionality that may require further configuration or an additional solution
• Conceptualize functional analysis and the modelling of business processes in relation to key results / targets, ensuring a cross-sectional view of the functional needs
• Identify and initiate process efficiencies to improve existing business processes. Monitor and apply regulatory / legal changes that affect business processes and system functionality
• Contribute to design and testing of reports, interfaces, forms, and conversions (including validation and reconciliation of data conversions)
• Coach and challenge testing strategy and execution, documentation, quality assurance and more along the way
• Explore new applications as a subject matter expert and may be first adopter for emerging technologies
• You will work with transformation and relentless improvement towards a more agile operating model creating faster time to market, better quality, and more efficiency
• You will function as the mentor of more junior Business Analysts by providing guidance on both business, functional, technical, and personal development aspects

What is needed to succeed

• 8+ years of business process improvement experience with agile mindset through applying the agile principles of business analysis to the outcomes you produce, while leveraging the agile manifesto for the work
• Strong implementation experience in SAP S/4HANA Product Cost Controlling, Intercompany Accounting, Material Ledger, Margin Analysis, Overhead Controlling, Factory Cost Management, Cost Structure for Direct and Indirect Costs, and integration with long-term planning solution   
• Experience in end-to-end process design of Controlling module with specific emphasis on Product Costing and Supply Chain Finance
• Must have strong proficiency in Business analysis planning and monitoring, Elicitation and collaboration, and Requirements lifecycle management
• Expert in Strategy analysis, Requirements analysis and design definition, and Solution evaluation
• Must have excellent communication skills, analytical thinking, and problem-solving skills
• Client-facing skills, including the ability to analyse complex problems, influence and negotiate with customers
• Independent, initiative-taking, and structured. Ability to ensure progress and commitment to deadlines
• Ability to create and clearly communicate the product vision and backlog to both stakeholders and team members
• Understand technology platforms, trends and can activate technical expertise in the organization
• Understanding of agile methods and processes, and capability of supporting agile project teams by providing advice and guidance on opportunities, impact, and risks, taking account of technical and architectural debt
• Business acumen and politically astute, ability to act with diplomacy and sensitivity to cultural diversity
• Professional Business Analysis certification (e.g., CBAP) and / or SAP certification would be an advantage