Business Analyst

Analyze business processes and identify technology solutions. Bridge business stakeholders and technical teams to drive organizational improvement.

Career Cluster: Business & Management

What you need to know

Overview

Business Analysts identify business needs and determine solutions to business problems. They gather requirements, analyze processes, document specifications, and ensure technology solutions meet business objectives. This role requires understanding both business operations and technology capabilities.

Irish organizations across all sectors employ business analysts to optimize operations and drive digital initiatives. The role offers excellent career progression towards product management, project management, or senior business roles.

Key responsibilities

  • Gather and document business requirements
  • Analyze business processes
  • Create functional specifications
  • Facilitate stakeholder workshops
  • Model business processes
  • Bridge business and technical teams
  • Support system implementations
  • Conduct gap analysis
  • Create business cases
  • Test and validate solutions

What skills are needed?

Analysis Skills

  • • Requirements elicitation
  • • Process analysis
  • • Business modeling
  • • Gap analysis
  • • Data analysis

Technical Skills

  • • Modeling tools (UML, BPMN)
  • • SQL basics
  • • Requirements management tools
  • • Data visualization
  • • Agile methodologies

Professional Skills

  • • Communication
  • • Stakeholder management
  • • Documentation
  • • Facilitation
  • • Critical thinking

What is the pay?

Average Salary in Ireland

€35,000 - €65,000

Junior business analysts earn €35,000-€42,000, mid-level analysts earn €45,000-€58,000, while senior analysts command €60,000-€75,000.

Good career progression opportunities. Benefits include health insurance, pension contributions, professional development (BCS, IIBA certifications), and increasingly common hybrid working arrangements in Irish companies.

What is the career outlook?

Job Growth

Strong demand across Irish organizations. Over 700 business analyst positions advertised annually. Digital transformation and process improvement drive continued growth.

Why the growth?

  • • Digital transformation projects
  • • Process optimization needs
  • • Agile adoption
  • • System implementations
  • • Business-IT alignment
  • • Data-driven decision making

What education is required?

Educational Pathways

Level 7/8 Degree

Business, Business Information Systems, Computer Science, or related fields from Irish universities. Blend of business and technical understanding valued.

Professional Certifications

BCS Business Analysis certification, IIBA CBAP, or Agile BA certifications enhance career prospects. Many Irish employers support certification.

Career Transition

Common transitions from business roles (operations, finance) or technical roles (testing, support) into business analysis with relevant experience.

Key Skills to Develop

  • • Requirements gathering techniques
  • • Process modeling (BPMN)
  • • Use case development
  • • User story writing
  • • Stakeholder engagement
  • • Business case development
  • • SQL and data analysis
  • • Agile methodologies
  • • Documentation skills
  • • Facilitation techniques

Ready to Become a Business Analyst?

Explore resources for business analyst careers.

EdUTec Careers
itag - Irish Technology Association Galway
itag 25 Years Celebration
itag Skillnet Ireland
Atlantic Technological University
University of Galway