Job Title: Senior Business Analyst (Trade Systems)
Job Location: Abu Dhabi
Job Role
The Senior Business Analyst serves as a pivotal link between stakeholders, product owners, and development teams, driving the successful delivery and continuous improvement of Customs Risk Management and Trade Single Window solutions. This role demands a strategic blend of product ownership, business process analysis, and systems thinking, underpinned by a strong grasp of the trade ecosystem and its key operational and regulatory interactions.
A solid foundation in end-to-end Customs and logistics operations is highly desirable, as the position requires the ability to translate complex business needs into practical, high-impact digital solutions. Leveraging prior experience in similar domains, the Senior BA will lead requirements elicitation, process modeling, backlog prioritization, and solution validation, ensuring that solutions align with both business objectives and the operational realities of target clients and trade stakeholders.
Roles & Responsibilities
Act as the key bridge between clients, stakeholders, and the development team, fostering alignment, transparency, and a unified understanding of solution goals throughout the project lifecycle.
Lead the elicitation and analysis of business and functional requirements for Single Window and Customs Risk Management solutions, including those related to AI driven use cases and relevant data needs, translating stakeholder needs into clear, actionable specifications.
Lead the preparation of Business Requirements Documents (BRDs) and Business Requirements Specifications (BRS), ensuring they are comprehensive, traceable, and compliant with established governance and quality standards.
Model and analyze business processes using industry-recognized standards such as BPMN and UML, developing clear AS-IS and TO-BE representations to support system design and process re-engineering initiatives.
Act as Product Owner or proxy, collaborating closely with cross-functional teams and product managers to refine and maintain the product backlog, prioritize features, and ensure alignment with strategic objectives and delivery milestones.
Facilitate stakeholder engagement through workshops, requirements walkthroughs, and solution demonstrations, supporting both pre-sales and post-sales activities to strengthen client confidence and solution adoption.
Perform business process analysis and optimization, identifying redundancies, bottlenecks, and automation opportunities for existing Customs and Trade Single Window solutions (including those already deployed to client sites) in alignment with international trade facilitation frameworks (e.g., WCO Data Model, UNECE Recommendations, UNESCAP Trade Facilitation Standards).
Define and validate user stories, business rules, and acceptance criteria, ensuring system functionality accurately reflects intended business outcomes.
Oversee configuration and functional validation of business rules, reference data, and integration interfaces, ensuring consistency and accuracy across interconnected systems.
Plan, coordinate, and lead User Acceptance Testing (UAT), consolidating feedback, documenting test outcomes, and driving iterative improvements prior to production deployment.
Provide analytical oversight during defect triaging, conducting impact assessments, supporting prioritization of resolutions, and ensuring timely closure of defects and enhancements.
Maintain full end-to-end traceability of requirements from initial elicitation through design, testing, and deployment to support auditability and quality assurance.
Promote and enforce documentation and modeling standards, ensuring deliverables adhere to professional best practices in business analysis, systems design, and process modeling.
Mentor and support junior analysts, fostering analytical maturity, process discipline, and consistent application of industry-standard techniques across the team.
Skills And Experience
At le ast Eig ht (8) years of experience as a Senior Business Analyst, preferably in Customs, tr ade facilitation initiatives such as Trade Portals, Port Community Systems, Coordinated Border Management, Cargo Community Systems or other related government IT systems within the trade eco system.
Well versed in international instruments and standards such as the WCO Data Model, EDIFACT Standards, WCO SAFE Framework of Standards, UN/CEFACT Recommendations, UNESCAP Trade Facilitation Framework, WCO Kyoto Convention and WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). Capable of translating these frameworks into functional and data requirements for Single Window and cross-border systems.
Deep understanding of global trade processes, supply chain operations, and customs procedures, including import/export workflows, risk management, valuation, classification, and post-clearance audit mechanisms. Adept at interpreting trade regulations and aligning system functionality with policy and procedural requirements across Customs, Port, and Trade agencies.
Proven experience in product ownership or acting as a proxy Product Owner in agile environments.
Experience with requirements management tools, workflow system s, and business process modeling tools such as MS Visio, Miro, Draw.io.
Strong stakeholder engagement, negotiation, and facilitation skills.
Proficiency in English; additional languages such as Arabic are a strong asset.
Knowledge of project management and change control processes, with the ability to work effectively in Agile or hybrid delivery environments.
Ability to work in cross-functional teams with geographically distributed stakeholders.
Bachelor's degree in business administration, Information Systems, Supply Chain Management, or a related field.
