Senior IT Business Analyst

About the Role:

As we continue to grow and add top talent to the Baird technology team, we are currently seeking a Senior Business Analyst for our Milwaukee or Madison office. The Sr. BA will support a diverse portfolio of initiatives for our Fixed Income Capital Markets (FICM) business. This role will require a seasoned business analyst who brings broad project experience, curiosity, creativity, and the judgment to operate effectively in a complex and fast-moving environment. While this role does not have direct people-management responsibility, it requires strong influence, mentorship, and leadership within delivery teams.

The Senior Business Analyst will function as a key partner between business and technology, translating evolving business needs into clear outcomes and actionable direction for delivery teams. Over time, this individual is expected to develop deep domain expertise and serve as a trusted business proxy, helping teams make informed decisions and maintain momentum even when direct business input is limited. In addition to delivery execution, this role will play an important part in strengthening team culture, mentorship, and continuous improvement in how we work. 

The Impact You'll Make:

Business Analysis & Delivery Leadership

• Lead business analysis efforts across a wide range of initiatives, including new capabilities, platform enhancements, operational improvements, and data/reporting solutions.
• Independently plan and execute discovery activities for complex initiatives, identifying stakeholders, clarifying objectives, and helping clearly articulate success measures in environments with evolving or incomplete information.
• Translate business needs into high-quality artifacts such as documented business requirements, process flows, context diagrams, stakeholder maps, and user stories that enable efficient delivery and clear decision-making.
• Maintain focus on outcomes and value, ensuring day-to-day work remains aligned to business priorities and strategic intent.
• Assess initiative complexity and guide teams in selecting and applying appropriate delivery approaches, balancing structure with flexibility to deliver value efficiently.
• Lead requirements validation and acceptance to ensure delivered solutions meet intended business outcomes.

Business Partnership & Domain Expertise:

• Demonstrate strong curiosity and ownership in learning the Fixed Income business, building a deep understanding of end-to-end workflows and client impacts over time.
• Function as a trusted partner and effective business proxy when appropriate, forming informed perspectives and making sound, well-reasoned decisions to keep delivery moving when direct business input is not immediately available.
• Proactively anticipate business questions, surface implications of decisions, and communicate impacts clearly across stakeholders. 

Communication, Influence & Stakeholder Alignment:

• Communicate effectively across a wide range of audiences, including senior business leaders, IT leadership, revenue producers, developers, and external partners.
• Tailor messaging to the audience providing concise, outcome-focused narratives for executives and detailed context for delivery teams.
• Build trust and credibility quickly through preparation, follow-through, and sound judgment.
• Facilitate discussions and resolve misalignment across stakeholders, escalating when appropriate and with clear rationale.
• Demonstrate the courage to speak up when business partners or teammates may be deviating from agreed-upon goals, priorities, or intended outcomes.
• Lead and facilitate solution discussions with architects, engineers, and product partners to evaluate options, clarify tradeoffs, and ensure business intent is clearly and accurately reflected in technical designs.

Team Leadership & Culture Building:

• Provide strong day-to-day leadership within delivery teams, fostering collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Mentor and coach Business Analysts at all levels, helping develop business acumen, analytical skills, communication effectiveness, and confidence operating in ambiguous situations.
• Contribute to the evolution of team and portfolio practices by sharing lessons learned, improving analysis approaches, and strengthening agile and delivery practices.
• Model a “hungry, humble, and smart” mindset, bringing energy and ownership to the work, remaining open to feedback, and demonstrating empathy and emotional intelligence in all interactions.
• Serve as a role model and thought leader within the Business Analysis community, helping shape standards, approaches, and development of business analysis capability across IT.

Adaptability & Comfort with Ambiguity:

• Operate effectively in environments without a defined playbook, adapting approaches to fit the initiative and context.
• Identify priorities, clarify unknowns, and propose practical next steps even when information is incomplete or requirements are still emerging.
• Provide leadership oversight for requirements validation and acceptance activities, partnering with stakeholders to ensure delivered solutions meet intended business outcomes.

What You'll Bring To Baird:

• 10+ years of professional experience, including 7+ years in Business Analysis.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, MIS, Business Administration, Finance, or equivalent experience.
• Broad project experience across multiple initiative types and business domains; financial services experience preferred (Fixed Income experience a plus but not required).
• Proven experience working in agile or iterative delivery environments, with a solid understanding of agile principles and team practices.
• Experience with SQL and data visualization tools a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to quickly learn and deeply understand new business areas, translating complexity into clarity for diverse audiences.
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to build trust, influence decisions, and keep teams aligned without formal authority.
• Exceptional communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills.
• High degree of self-motivation, resilience, and emotional intelligence; comfortable receiving and applying feedback.
• Demonstrated curiosity and experience experimenting with AI tools to enhance business analysis, delivery efficiency, or decision-making workflows.

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Baird is committed to diversity and provides employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, citizenship, national origin, age, disability, military service, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or any other status protected by law.