Senior Automation Analyst - 6 month FTE at Old Mutual South Africa

Job Description

• The Senior Automation Analyst is responsible for enhancing operational efficiency through the implementation of automated solutions. This role involves analysing business processes, designing automation strategies, selecting appropriate tools and ensuring smooth implementation and maintenance of automated systems. The Senior Automation Analyst also provides training and support to stakeholders and monitors automation performance to achieve optimal business outcomes. The incumbent is individually accountable for achieving results through own efforts.

CUSTOMER:

• Possesses a deep understanding of customer latent needs, wants, mindsets, and values, guiding solution development.
• Gain an understanding of Old Mutual products and the associated rules including relevant business rules.

RISK:

• Analyses and communicates project risks and mitigation strategies.
• Continuously assess risk and implement mechanisms and processes to overcome these risks.

PEOPLE LEADERSHIP:

• Provides input to Human Capital for change management engagements.
• Ensure the team follows industry standards and maintains high-quality documentation.
• Instigate and continually encourage a collaborative and innovative team environment.
• Conduct knowledge sharing through forum presentations and internal training.
• Mentor junior staff to ensure they get opportunities to apply the skills that they have learnt.
• Project management support for automation projects from inception to completion, ensuring that they are delivered on time, within scope and budget.

COST OPTIMIZATION/DRIVE AUTOMATION:

• Collaborate with business stakeholders to create an inventory of business processes that have the potential for automation.
• Identifies new process opportunities and accurately analyses and estimates new solution costs and effort, quickly assessing feasibility (process complexity and readiness for automation) and impact (potential cost savings, operational efficiency gains).
• Define a framework to identify good automation candidates through techniques like selection criteria:
• High volume and repetitive tasks
• Rule-based processes
• Standardized and well-documented processes
• Processes prone to human error
• Processes with stable and mature inputs
• Define technical standards and best practices for automation projects.
• Define a framework to monitor, track and report on the benefits brought about the automated solutions.
• Select Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will help measure the success of automated solutions.
• Work with stakeholders to gather and analyse requirements, translating them into technical specifications.
• Conduct training sessions and workshops to promote automation best practices and tools.
• Educate the business on Automation, champion, and drive Automation initiatives

STRATEGIC PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT: 

• Works closely with architects to determine broader architectural direction when constructing a solution.
• Plays a key role in the analysis of inter-related projects and determining dependencies between projects.
• Research and integrate new technologies and methodologies in automation to ensure the organization remains at the cutting edge of industry advancements.
• Stay updated on the latest trends and advancements in automation technologies and methodologies.
• Influence the design, development, testing, and deployment of automation solutions.
• Provide consultation for all applications related projects so that decisions can be made as to the most appropriate delivery methodology.

OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY:

• Analyses and clearly documents business process requirements for the automation build including exception handing scenarios and process metrics such as volumes, SLAs, and cycle times.
• Gathers existing process documentation and reviews with process SME/s.
• Creates both Functional and Non-Functional user stories.
• Designs complex automation workflows to improve efficiencies.
• Uses critical thinking to foresee issues by understanding dependencies throughout the entire process.
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of automation initiatives and implement improvements as needed.
• Work consistently according to standard operating procedures
• Identify areas where the quality of automation may be improved.
• Seek feedback from clients/ stakeholders and continuously seek ways of improving on quality.
• Ensure seamless integration of automation solutions with existing systems and processes
• Pursues test driven design so that test scripts can be written and automated in parallel with development.
• Adopt a proactive approach to prevent problems from arising in the future.

STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION:

• Central point of communication between automation development teams and business process SMEs
• Work closely with developers to understand and assist with the creation of the solution design, ensuring they deliver a solution that meets the business requirements.
• Responsible for obtaining sign off from the appropriate business process owners prior to deploying the solution into production.
• Partner with the business and ensure in-depth understanding of processes, existing workflows, identify redundancies, and eliminate them to improve operational efficiency.
• Arrange regular sessions with customers to inform, educate and facilitate feedback.
• Build and maintain solid relationships with business unit stakeholders.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams to ensure smooth integration of automation solutions.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE (REQUIRED FOR THE JOB)

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Business or related field.
• 4+ years proven experience as an Automation Analyst, Business Analyst or similar role.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills to work effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Strategic thinking and problem-solving skills to identify opportunities for improvement in the customer journey.
• Experience with Automation tools (e.g. Blue Prism, Bizagi etc.) and AI/ML.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE (PREFERRED, NOT A REQUIREMENT)

• Experience in Project Management and Agile Methodologies.
• Understanding of Database management and design.
• Understanding of SQL, Python or scripting languages.
• Experience with SQL, Python or scripting languages.
• Understanding of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).