Business Analyst at Sanderson Government and Defence, Multiple Locations, £Contract Rate

Location: Hybrid - primarily remote, with occasional attendance at client site in Westminster, London (approximately once per month)
Contract: 24 August 2026 - 31 March 2027
Day Rate: £350-£400 per day
IR35: Outside IR35
Security Clearance: Active SC preferred; candidates with SC clearance in progress may be considered

We are seeking an experienced Senior Business Analyst to join a small, collaborative team supporting the HMPPS NOMIS External API Team.

The team is responsible for delivering and supporting integration services that enable data sharing between prison systems and external organisations, including services within the NHS and wider prison and justice ecosystem.

This is a hands-on Senior BA role for someone who can operate independently, work confidently with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, and bring structure to complex or ambiguous requirements.

You will play a key role in translating stakeholder needs into clear, actionable requirements and supporting the team across API integrations, data flows, user stories, acceptance criteria, process mapping and backlog management.

This is a non-coding role, but you must be comfortable working with APIs, integrations and technical concepts such as Swagger/OpenAPI, service-to-service communication and data flows.

• Lead requirements gathering and analysis across complex business and technical areas.

• Facilitate workshops with stakeholders to understand business needs, processes, problems and desired outcomes.

• Translate stakeholder requirements into clear and actionable user stories, acceptance criteria, backlog items and functional requirements.

• Work closely with developers and technical architects to understand and document API integrations and data flows.

• Analyse service-to-service communications and identify dependencies, impacts and integration requirements.

• Work with Swagger/OpenAPI documentation to understand and communicate API requirements and behaviour.

• Produce clear business and process documentation, including process maps and requirements specifications.

• Support backlog refinement, prioritisation and preparation of work for Agile delivery teams.

• Collaborate closely with the Product Manager, Delivery Manager, Technical Architect and developers.

• Identify gaps, dependencies, risks and opportunities for improvement and ensure these are appropriately communicated.

• Support the team in improving its processes, ways of working and delivery maturity.

• Work across both project delivery and operational support activities, balancing competing priorities effectively.

• Engage confidently with senior stakeholders and subject matter experts across technical, operational and business environments.

• Ensure requirements remain traceable from initial stakeholder need through to delivery and acceptance.

• Support testing and acceptance activities by ensuring requirements and acceptance criteria are clear and measurable.

• Help identify opportunities for process improvement, service improvement and service design.

• Operate effectively within a small team, taking ownership of tasks and proactively identifying what needs to be done without requiring significant direction.

• Extensive experience working as a Senior Business Analyst within complex technology or transformation environments.

• Strong experience in requirements gathering and analysis.

• Proven ability to facilitate stakeholder workshops and manage diverse stakeholder groups.

• Strong business process mapping and analysis experience.

• Experience working within Agile delivery teams.

• Strong user story writing and acceptance criteria definition skills.

• Experience with backlog refinement and prioritisation.

• Practical experience using Jira.

• Good understanding of APIs and integration architectures.

• Experience analysing integrations, data flows and service-to-service communications.

• Ability to work with or interpret Swagger/OpenAPI documentation.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Proven ability to operate independently within a small, multidisciplinary team.

• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities.

• Experience working effectively in environments where requirements or delivery approaches may be ambiguous or evolving.

• SC clearance, or SC clearance currently in progress as a minimum.

• Experience within the Justice, Prisons & Probation domain.

• Previous experience working with MoJ or HMPPS.

• Experience of government digital or other complex public-sector programmes.

• Knowledge of prison and probation systems and processes.

• Experience delivering or supporting API and integration services.

• Process improvement and continuous improvement experience.

• Service design thinking and experience.

• Experience contributing to operating model development.

• Experience working across complex integration and data-sharing environments.

The successful candidate should be comfortable working with:

• APIs

• Swagger / OpenAPI

• Integration platforms

• Data flows

• Service-to-service communications

• Jira

• Agile delivery methodologies

• API integration and requirements analysis

Coding experience is not required, but candidates must be able to understand technical API and integration concepts and translate them into clear business and delivery requirements.

You will join a small, collaborative delivery team consisting of:

• Product Manager - part-time

• Delivery Manager

• Technical Architect

• 2 Developers

• Senior Business Analyst

The team is embedded within the HMPPS NOMIS External API function, working on integration services connecting prison systems with external organisations.

Because of the size of the team, the successful candidate will need to be comfortable wearing multiple hats, taking ownership and contributing beyond traditional BA documentation.

We are particularly interested in candidates who are:

• Proactive and self-starting, with the confidence to take ownership.

• Comfortable working in ambiguous environments and able to create structure from uncertainty.

• Strong communicators who can build effective relationships with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Hands-on and delivery-focused rather than purely documentation-focused.

• Comfortable working independently with limited direction.

• Able to balance strategic analysis with practical delivery activity.

• Confident working alongside developers and technical architects on API and integration requirements.

• Comfortable balancing project delivery with operational support requirements.

Applications are unlikely to be progressed where candidates demonstrate:

• Limited stakeholder engagement experience.

• A predominantly documentation-focused BA approach.

• No exposure to APIs or integration environments.

• Limited Agile delivery experience.

• An inability to operate independently within a small team.

• A requirement for significant day-to-day direction.

• Difficulty working with ambiguity or changing priorities.

• Weak communication or stakeholder-management skills.

• Limited initiative or ownership.

• An inability to balance operational support alongside project delivery.

Role: Senior Business Analyst
Contract: 24 August 2026 - 31 March 2027
Rate: £350 - 400 per day
IR35: Outside IR35
Location: Primarily remote, with approximately one day per month onsite in Westminster, London
Clearance: Active SC preferred; SC in progress may be considered
Interview: Single-stage video interview, approximately 45 minutes
Start: 24 August 2026
Extension: Potentially available depending on the ongoing HMPPS roadmap

Please note: Due to the nature of the role and associated security requirements, candidates must hold or be progressing towards the required SC clearance.

Reasonable Adjustments:

Respect and equality are core values to us. We are proud of the diverse and inclusive community we have built, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and perspectives. Our success is driven by our people, united by the spirit of partnership to deliver the best resourcing solutions for our clients.

If you need any help or adjustments during the recruitment process for any reason, please let us know when you apply or talk to the recruiters directly so we can support you.