IT Business Analyst

Overview

About POET At POET, it is our mission to be good stewards of the Earth by converting renewable resources to energy and other valuable goods as effectively as humanly possible. For over thirty-five years, our drive and passion to change the world has enabled us to become the largest producer and marketer of bioethanol and a leader in sustainable products in the world.

Culture We’re all on the same team. We always communicate. We park our egos at the door. These aren’t just slogans on our walls. It’s the way we do things  provide an environment for team members to maintain a healthy work-life balance. It’s the best way to optimize health, wellness, and productivity in a sustainable way. We work hard. We play hard.

We have frequent team events, volunteer efforts, and we know how to celebrate wins.

The IT Business Analyst is a key member of the IT Business Office, focused on identifying business value and translating business needs into actionable solutions. Each BA is aligned to a specific business area, enabling focused expertise, strong stakeholder relationships, and a deep understanding of the area’s priorities. This role supports both tactical and project-related work while contributing to larger transformational initiatives in partnership with the Technology Portfolio Manager.

The ideal candidate is a client-facing business professional with strong analytical skills, structured thinking, and clear documentation abilities. This role requires navigating ambiguity, balancing multiple priorities, and enabling effective delivery of both day-to-day and project-based work. This is an on-site role located in Sioux Falls, SD.

Responsibilities include:

• Partner with your assigned business area to understand business needs, analyze submitted requests, and define scope in support of business objectives.
• Identify, articulate, and align business value with submitted requests and project initiatives to support prioritization, decision-making, and delivery outcomes.
• Translate business needs into actionable business, functional, and non-functional requirements that guide solution design and delivery.
• Collaborate with IT delivery teams in an agile delivery environment, supporting backlog refinement, sprint reviews, and ongoing solution discussions to ensure alignment with business objectives.
• Develop and maintain documentation, including process flows, requirements, acceptance criteria, and decision artifacts, to enable consistent delivery.
• Support solution validation through defining acceptance criteria and participating in validation and business approvals.
• Manage scope, assumptions, risks, and stakeholder expectations for assigned work.
• Contribute to portfolio-level visibility by supporting prioritization, planning, and sequencing of work.
• Communicate business value, impacts, and tradeoffs effectively to technical and non-technical audiences.
• For BA III candidates, provide informal coaching or mentorship and contribute to continuous improvement of IT Business Office practices.
• Perform other duties as needed to support successful delivery outcomes.

• 2–5 years of experience in business analysis, systems analysis, or a related business or functional role involving process analysis, problem-solving, or continuous improvement.
• Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Business, Information Technology, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

• A professional, client-facing mindset with the ability to build trust and credibility with business partners.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, ask effective questions, and bring structure to complex problems.
• Sound judgment and objectivity when evaluating business needs, risks, and tradeoffs.
• A collaborative approach and ability to work effectively across IT and business teams.
• Adaptability in a changing environment while maintaining discipline and consistency.
• High personal integrity, accountability, and ownership of outcomes.

• This position operates in…