Position Description and Job Skill Set
Description of the job functions the contractor will be expected to perform.
The Mississippi Department of Child Protective Services seeks a Senior Business Analyst to support a proof-of-concept demonstration using natural language processing and other machine learning methods to improve the intake process. This work is critical to demonstrate the potential of the latest technology to improve the lives of children at risk.
The Senior Business Analyst (SBA) will play a key role in realizing strategic initiatives for the State by optimizing workflows, partnering with customers at all levels of the organization, and collaborating with technical resources to develop tools and methods that improve the intake process. The SBA must possess excellent communication skills, a proven record of delivering meaningful results, and the ability to work in an Agile environment. Furthermore, the SBA should be familiar with the data systems commonly used by Child Protective Services.
Key Responsibilities
• Ensure the Objectives of the Project are Satisfied
o The SBA will ensure the State’s objectives of protecting children and reducing the use of State resources are maintained throughout the proof-of-concept.
o The SBA will add to the project objectives based on requests from the State.
• Lead Exploratory Interviews, Discovery Sessions, and Workshops
o Organize exploratory interviews, discovery sessions, and workshops with State representatives to understand and document current workflows and shortcomings.
o Identify key stakeholders and document their specific views on the current intake process.
o Work with technical team members to capture the technical implications of the shortcomings.
• Contribute to the Development of a New Intake Process
o Participate in discussions related to the development of the new intake process to ensure the objectives of the State are being met.
o Provide workflow insight; Reconcile the current workflow with the proposed revised workflow. Identify issues and benefits from the user’s perspective.
o Contribute to the development of key metrics associated with measuring the prototype’s efficacy.
o Document as appropriate for the purposes of transparency to the State.
o Provide written and verbal communications to clarify technical points as appropriate.
• Engage State at All Levels
o Partner with key stakeholders at all levels within MDCPS to ensure their understanding, participation, and support of the project.
o Gain support by understanding what is working and what could be improved in the current intake process.
• Ensure Transparency and Communications
o Provide short status reports on a bi-weekly basis and a monthly summary report.
• Coordinate Conference Room Demonstrations
o Organize the conference room demo for key stakeholders.
o Provide the framework for the demonstration to ensure the objectives of the State are satisfied.
o Work with the technical staff to ensure the major functionality of the application is presented and understood by the key stakeholders.
o Document feedback from the demonstration.
• Roadmap
o Contribute to the development of a roadmap that illustrates how the developed technology could be integrated into the State’s ecosystem of technologies and processes.
• Final Report
o Draft a final report of the project documenting all significant aspects.
o Provide a review copy of the report to the State. Capture comments from State officials.
o Update the final report based on comments from State officials. Resubmit the final report.
• Lead the Agile Development Process
o Provide scrum leadership
o Create documentation as agreed on with State representatives.
Required Skills/Experience
Provide the minimum required skills and/or experience the contractor must possess to qualify for this position. These requirements will be transferred to the Score Sheet and candidates without these requirements reflected on their resume will NOT be presented to the manager for consideration.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in business administration, finance, or a related field.
• Minimum ten (10) years of experience in a business analyst role for either state, local, or corporate clients.
• Proven expertise delivering CCWIS solutions, including but not limited to, intake processes, call center operations processes, and case actioning.
• Working experience on design, configuration, and delivery of at least (2) COTS CCWIS systems, including systems by RedMane Technology.
• An understanding of how to advance a strategy and devise tactics to achieve incremental goals.
• Knowledge of developmental projects related to algorithm design, implementation, and testing is a plus.
Additional Skills / Experience (as listed)
• Skilled at conducting workshops, interviews, and discovery sessions.
• Can map workflows, analyze business outcomes, and devise improvements that minimize labor and cost, while improving outcomes using technological tools envisioned in the POC.
• Successful collaboration with technical team members.
• A successful history of using Agile methods to manage complex developments.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• A history of quantifying the value of business outcomes based on measured data.
• Experience identifying key stakeholders, at all levels, and winning their support.
• Prior success in understanding high-level requirements and converting requirements into day-to-day action.
• Skill in managing budgets, scope, project risk, and delivering results.
• Can create clear documentation.