Salesforce Service Cloud Business Analyst

About SA Home Loans

SA Home Loans is South Africa's leading independent provider of mortgage loans, and our purpose is to change lives by enabling more South Africans to own homes. We are passionate home finance specialists who provide competitive products and an amazing experience to help clients achieve their ownership goals. SA Home Loans' vision is to be South Africa's most trusted home loan provider.

Business Analysts at SA Home Loans

Business analysts at SA Home Loans work with stakeholders to identify and analyse the necessary capabilities, including business processes, data requirements, user interfaces, and other system features. Furthermore, business analysts collaborate with project managers, technical architects, other business analysts, software development teams, and testing teams in the specification, design, and implementation of IT system solutions.  The aim is to ensure that SA Home Loans' digital platforms effectively and efficiently achieve the strategic goals that the company sets for itself.

Key Responsibilities:

The key responsibilities of a business analyst at SA Home Loans are as follows:

Stakeholder Collaboration:
Work together with business stakeholders, like product owners and user groups, to clearly understand their problems, goals, and needs that can be addressed with new business features and functions.

Requirements Management:
Lead workshops and other business interactions to elicit, analyse, validate, and document detailed business requirements, translating them into clear user stories, acceptance criteria, and functional specifications. The goal is to create high-quality design documents, which include business requirements specifications, work breakdown structures, process mapping (that incorporates business rules, data, and technical requirements), and user stories that support project management and software development processes.

Solution Design:
To serve as the functional subject matter expert (SME) for Service Cloud. Collaborate with senior business analysts, technical architects, DevOps teams, developers, integration specialists, and data teams to design solutions that leverage the core features of Service Cloud. The aim is to ensure that business analysis and design outcomes align with enterprise architecture principles and standards.

Adherence to Agile Standards
involves working effectively within an Agile environment by ensuring that requirements are signed off and meet the necessary standards for incorporation into scrum ceremonies, such as sprint planning, stand-ups, sprint reviews/retrospectives, and backlog refinement.

Testing:
Participate in the systems acceptance processes, which include both system acceptance testing and user acceptance testing.

Change Management
: Provide input and perform a consultative role in change management programs associated with digital transformation initiatives.

Be creative and proactive
by asking "why", thinking laterally, and understanding needs and problems before designing a solution. Maintain a relentless focus on value and propose alternative solutions to meet business needs.

Aligned values and self-development

Business analysts at SA Home Loans are expected to fulfil the following responsibilities:

• Have a strong and committed drive to make a difference.
• Business analysts are expected to take responsibility for their personal development, as they will be on a continual learning curve regarding the technology and business interactions at SA Home Loans.
• Align their personal values with the department's culture, ethos, goals, and values.

Education Requirements

• A Matric certificate and preferably a BCom in Information Systems, or another similar high-quality tertiary education qualification such as a diploma or degree, are required.
• A recognised business analyst professional certification, such as the IIBA CBAP, is desirable but not mandatory.

Required Experience and Salesforce Skills

Experience:
4-7 years as a business analyst, including at least 3 years of hands-on project work specifically with Salesforce Service Cloud. Experience in the financial services industry would be advantageous.

Certifications:

• Salesforce Certified Service Cloud Consultant (Highly Preferred)
• Salesforce Certified Business Analyst (Preferred)
• Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator (Optional)

Core BA Skills:
Proven expertise in requirements elicitation, gap analysis, and business process mapping (e.g., BPMN).

Service Cloud Expertise
: Demonstrated functional knowledge of Service Cloud, including but not limited to:

• Omni-Channel (routing of work items – chat, call, cases, etc. – and routing strategies)
• Case Management (tracking, queuing, routing, escalation, action plans)
• Service Console (including Customer-360)
• Knowledge, Entitlements
• Multi-channel features, including Service Cloud Voice, Digital Engagement, Email-to-Case, etc.
• Automation through flows and AI automation
• Reporting and Analytics

Agile Methodology:
Business analysts must possess experience working in Agile/Scrum environments, with proficiency in writing detailed user stories and acceptance criteria.

Tools:
Familiarity with tools such as Confluence, Jira, Miro, (or other diagramming tools), and Microsoft technologies like SharePoint is preferred.

Communication:
Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, enabling the management of stakeholders and the ability to convey complex ideas to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Preferred Experience and Salesforce Skills

Salesforce Financial Services Cloud (FSC) experience is highly preferred and considered a significant advantage, particularly in the following areas:

• Data model for Mortgage and Insurance
• Omni Scripts, Data Mappers (Raptors), and Flex Cards
• Decision Tables, Decision Matrices and Expression Sets

Other Clouds:
Knowledge of Sales Cloud, Experience (Community) Cloud and Data 360 (formerly Data Cloud), and how they integrate with Service Cloud.

General Competencies:

Business analysts at SA Home Loans should possess the following general competencies:

• A design thinking approach to problem-solving that identifies the core need, searches for alternatives, and validates the best course of action with the appropriate group of business and technology stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills are necessary for engaging with all levels of business and technology teams.
• A high level of professionalism is essential for effectively interacting with external business partners in both project engagements and "run-the-business" activities.
• The ability to work in complex team environments that necessitated cross-functional collaboration.
• Collaborating with other business analysts on the team to effectively address cross-functional business requirements.
• Collaborating with the Project Management Office ensures that deliverables are achieved according to the planned roadmap.
• Actively contributing to the achievement of the goals of the broader Enterprise Architecture function at SA Home Loans.
• Business analysts at SA Home Loans possess self-motivated accountability, problem ownership, and willingness to drive and embrace change.

Technical Orientation:

Business analysts at SA Home Loans possess a technical orientation, including:

• Business analysts at SA Home Loans demonstrate a strong enthusiasm for digital transformation and continuous improvement by leveraging technology to meet the needs of the business. This role requires a high-level understanding of IT systems and a broader technical awareness.
• The individual has the ability to communicate clearly and precisely within a structured technical domain.
• Business analysts understand and work comfortably within various SDLC methodologies (SA Home Loans predominantly follows Agile practices pragmatically adapted to meet its needs).