Senior Business Analyst; Trade Systems

Overview

Job Title: Senior Business Analyst (Trade Systems)

Job Location: Abu Dhabi

• Serve as a pivotal link between stakeholders, product owners, and development teams to drive delivery and continuous improvement of Customs Risk Management and Trade Single Window solutions.
• Translate complex business needs into practical, high-impact digital solutions; lead requirements elicitation, process modeling, backlog prioritization, and solution validation.
• Act as a key bridge between clients, stakeholders, and the development team, fostering alignment and a unified understanding of solution goals throughout the project lifecycle.
• Lead elicitation and analysis of business and functional requirements for Single Window and Customs Risk Management solutions, including AI-driven use cases and data needs.
• Prepare Business Requirements Documents (BRDs) and Business Requirements Specifications (BRS) that are comprehensive, traceable, and compliant with governance and quality standards.
• Model and analyze business processes using BPMN and UML; develop AS-IS and TO-BE representations to support design and process re-engineering.
• Act as Product Owner or proxy, refining and maintaining the product backlog and ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and milestones.
• Facilitate stakeholder workshops, requirements walkthroughs, and solution demonstrations to strengthen client confidence and adoption.
• Analyze and optimize business processes, identifying bottlenecks and automation opportunities for existing Customs and Trade Single Window solutions in line with international trade facilitation frameworks (e.g., WCO Data Model, UNECE Recommendations, UNESCAP Trade Facilitation Standards).
• Define and validate user stories, business rules, and acceptance criteria; ensure system functionality reflects intended outcomes.
• Oversee configuration and validation of business rules, reference data, and integration interfaces for consistency across systems.
• Plan, coordinate, and lead User Acceptance Testing (UAT); document outcomes and drive iterative improvements before production deployment.
• Provide analytical oversight during defect triaging, assess impacts, prioritize resolutions, and ensure timely closure of defects and enhancements.
• Maintain end-to-end traceability of requirements from elicitation to deployment for auditability and quality assurance.
• Promote and enforce documentation and modeling standards; ensure deliverables meet professional best practices in BA, systems design, and process modeling.
• Mentor and support junior analysts to foster analytical maturity and process discipline.

• 8+ years of experience as a Senior Business Analyst, preferably in Customs, trade facilitation initiatives, or related government IT systems within the trade ecosystem.
• Well-versed in WCO Data Model, EDIFACT, WCO SAFE, UN/CEFACT, UNESCAP Trade Facilitation Framework, WCO Kyoto Convention, and WTO TFA; able to translate these into functional and data requirements.
• Deep understanding of global trade processes, supply chain operations, and customs procedures; experience with import/export workflows, risk management, valuation, classification, and post-clearance audit mechanisms.
• Experience with product ownership or acting as a proxy Product Owner in Agile environments.
• Proficiency with requirements management tools, workflow systems, and BPMN/UML tools (e.g., MS Visio, Miro, Draw.io).
• Strong stakeholder engagement, negotiation, and facilitation skills.
• Proficiency in English;
  Arabic is a plus.
• Knowledge of project management and change control processes; ability to work in Agile or hybrid environments.
• Ability to work in cross-functional, geographically distributed teams.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Information Systems, Supply Chain Management, or a related field.