Lead Business Analyst - Direct Venture

Job ID: 10459

Employment Type: New Role

Work Environment: We offer a hybrid work environment that offers flexibility to our employees in balancing in-office (2 days per week OR 15 hours per week in a Wawanesa office) and remote work. You may work from any of the following locations: Winnipeg, MB; Wawanesa, MB; Vancouver, BC; Calgary, AB; Edmonton, AB; Lethbridge, AB; Toronto (North York), ON; Kitchener, ON; Ottawa, ON; Montreal, QC; Quebec City, QC, Moncton, NB; Dartmouth; NS.

Working Business Language: English. This role is considered a head-office role and will be required to communicate with internal stakeholders across Canada where the primary business language utilized is English.

Salary: At Wawanesa, salary is only one component of a holistic, comprehensive and competitive offering that we provide to our employees. In addition to salary, full-time and part-time permanent employees are eligible for an annual bonus plan, leave of absence top-up programs and provided with generous vacation time, personal days, premium free benefits and pension plan.

The salary offered for this role is determined with consideration to various factors, including but not limited to: your work location, local labour market conditions, external market salary data, internal pay equity and the knowledge, skills, experience and anticipated proficiency in the role. The salary offered is estimated to be within the following range: $115,000 - $130,000. Candidates with salary expectations outside of the range are still encouraged to apply.

About The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company
Founded in 1896, The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company is one of Canada’s largest mutual insurers, fully owned by its more than 1.8 million members. Headquartered in Winnipeg, Wawanesa is the parent company of WSI™, a specialty insurer delivering tailored solutions built around unique needs; Wawanesa Life, a provider of life insurance products; and Western Financial Group, a leading national distributor of personal and commercial insurance.

Wawanesa is committed to helping communities thrive in a changing world. The company invests more than $4 million annually in charitable initiatives, including $2.5 million each year to support people and communities on the front lines of climate change. Learn more at wawanesa.com.

We are currently seeking dedicated, driven, and enthusiastic individuals who thrive in a dynamic environment, embrace change, and are eager to gain diverse experience while advancing their careers as part of a growing team.

Job Overview

We’re building something new. Want to help turn ideas into reality?

Our Direct Venture team at Wawanesa is growing, and we’re looking for multiple Business Analysts to join us. You’ll have the opportunity to help design how a new direct insurer works, from the member experience through to the processes, rules and capabilities that make it all happen.

We’re looking for people who are naturally curious, love solving problems and aren’t afraid to dig into the details. You’ll connect the dots between members, the business and technology, helping take an idea from “what if?” to something real.

The Lead Business Analyst leads business analysis for the Direct Venture’s largest, most complex and cross-functional change initiatives. The role frames business problems and options, translates objectives into clear requirements, and maintains alignment across products, teams and business areas. It also establishes analysis standards, advises leaders on impacts and trade-offs, and strengthens business analysis capability through coaching and continuous improvement.

Job Responsibilities

• Lead discovery and analysis for ambiguous, cross-functional or high-risk initiatives, defining problems, options and recommended approaches before scope is set.
• Translate business objectives, customer insights and operational evidence into initiative scope, business cases, features, user stories and testable acceptance criteria.
• Define the analysis approach, sequencing, depth and resource requirements for large initiatives.
• Lead end-to-end analysis of customer and operational journeys spanning multiple business areas.
• Establish and maintain consistent requirements, business rules, terminology and documentation across delivery teams.
• Resolve conflicting requirements and present clear recommendations, impacts and trade-offs to stakeholders and sponsors.
• Partner with Product Owners to align and sequence backlogs, break complex initiatives into deliverable features and stories, and manage cross-team dependencies.
• Work with legal, compliance and risk partners to identify and address regulatory and control requirements.
• Assess the impact of changes in scope or direction and advise leaders on customer, operational, financial and regulatory implications.
• Define success measures and review post-implementation results to confirm intended outcomes are achieved.
• Oversee business acceptance, implementation readiness and the cumulative impact of change on processes, procedures and roles.
• Own and evolve business analysis standards, templates and methods, driving consistent adoption and improved delivery practices.
• Coach and mentor analysts, support onboarding and hiring, and advise leadership on analysis capability and capacity needs.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum seven years of business analysis experience, including leading analysis for large, complex and cross-functional initiatives.
• Experience defining analysis approaches, standards, business rules, requirements, user stories and acceptance criteria.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders, resolve competing requirements and communicate recommendations clearly.
• Strong business insight, member focus, collaboration, communication, execution, adaptability, resilience and courage.
• Proficiency with Jira and Confluence, with comfort using AI-assisted tools in day-to-day work.
• Experience in property and casualty insurance or another regulated financial services environment is an asset.
• A business analysis certification, such as CBAP, or an insurance designation, such as CIP, is an asset.

Diversity Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

At Wawanesa, we are committed to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) and believe that our strength lies in the diversity of our people – this is supported by having a representative workforce.

We welcome applications from all qualified candidates, including racialized persons, women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, gender-diverse and neurodiverse individuals, and anyone who can contribute to the further diversification of thought and ideas.

We aim to ensure our recruitment process is accessible to all candidates. If you require accommodations during any stage of the recruitment process, please reach out in confidence to [email protected].

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Please note that the recruitment process for this position may involve the use of AI tools to screen, assess, or select applicants. All final decisions are taken or reviewed by human recruiters and human hiring leaders in compliance with all applicable legislation.