Business Analyst - I/II or Senior

Southwest Power Pool (SPP) is about more than power. We’re about the power of relationships. Our employees have the opportunity to work together to ensure electricity is delivered reliably and affordably to the millions of people living in our service territory. We have been voted one of Arkansas’ Best Places to work by Arkansas Business and we are looking for a member of our team who is passionate about our mission to keep the lights on!

We have a core ideology here at SPP that we stand by: Do the right thing, for the right reason, in the right way.

We believe in supporting our employees through a fantastic benefits package:

• Competitive and transparent pay with bonus opportunities
• Excellent insurance package including three great medical plans to choose from, employer-paid short-term disability, long-term disability, and life insurance
• Relocation bonus (if applicable)
• Hybrid working environment for positions that are eligible
• Fantastic contributions to your retirement through a 401(k) savings plan with employer-match benefits and a pension (defined benefit plan) fully funded by SPP

PLEASE NOTE: SPP is not able to sponsor employment visas or student-work authorizations (STEM OPT) for this position. Please ensure you are eligible to work in the U.S. without sponsorship prior to applying.

COMPENSATION INFORMATION
The salary range(s) represents our good faith estimate for the role at this time. While we strive to provide competitive and transparent compensation, there may be circumstances where an offer is above or outside of the listed range. We are open to discussing salary expectations with qualified candidates considering factors such as the candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies, experience and geographic location will all be considered during the hiring process.

Senior Business Analyst (Remote Eligible) | Pay Range: $85,800.00 - $109,450.00

Business Analyst II | Pay Range:$68,600.00 - $85,750.00

Business Analyst I | Pay Range: $$49,900.00 -$61,100.00

Join SPP Settlements team as a Business Analyst!

This is a highly analytical and technical Business Analyst role focused on complex problem-solving, system logic, and financial settlement validation. This position is heavily focused on settlement calculations, data validation, and deep testing—in addition to gathering requirements and testing.

Join the SPP Settlements team as a Business Analyst and play a key role in supporting the financial settlement of energy markets. In this role, you will work closely with developers and stakeholders to plan, analyze, and document business requirements throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring alignment with SPP’s business goals, system design, and testing standards.

A critical part of this role is validating complex settlement calculations and system outputs. You will support testing of new settlement products and enhancements by going beyond surface-level validation—analyzing data, logic, and calculations to ensure accuracy and reliability. This includes identifying discrepancies, troubleshooting issues, and driving improvements across settlement processes.

The ideal candidate brings strong analytical and problem-solving skills, experience working with SQL to query and validate data, and familiarity with tools such as Jira and SAS (or similar platforms). This role is best suited for someone who enjoys digging into data, understanding how systems work behind the scenes, and ensuring accuracy in financial and operational outcomes.

Key Responsibilities:  

• Collaborate with stakeholders to gather, document, and validate business, functional, and non-functional requirements using SPP’s established methodologies.

• Lead and manage business requirements throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring proper scope control, traceability, and stakeholder approval.

• Develop, document, and execute test cases, test plans, and test strategies to support comprehensive system and user acceptance testing.

• Oversee all aspects of testing, including test planning, test execution, defect management, metrics reporting, and test automation efforts.

• Conduct and manage test stages such as site acceptance, system integration, regression, non-functional, and user acceptance testing.

• Support activities such as data mapping, test scripting, system integration testing, and end-user documentation as needed.

• Provide leadership and mentoring to team members, assisting with day-to-day task management, progress tracking, and issue resolution.

• Recommend and implement process improvements for requirements gathering, testing practices, and documentation efficiency.

• Maintain a strong understanding of SPP’s business processes, systems, and applications within the assigned functional area.

• Represent SPP and its members in committees, working groups, and cross-functional initiatives as needed.

To be successful as a Business Analyst, we're looking for:

• Senior: Bachelor’s degree and at least six (6) years of SDLC experience, including requirements and/or software testing experience (beyond the degree requirement); or a total of eight (8) years of relevant related experience in lieu of a degree.

• Level II: Bachelor’s degree and at least two (2) years of SDLC experience, including requirements and/or software testing experience (beyond the degree requirement); or a total of six (6) years of relevant related experience in lieu of a degree.

• Level I: Bachelor’s degree and foundational knowledge or experience with various requirements approaches and/or software testing methodologies, along with an introductory understanding of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC); or a total of two (2) years of relevant experience in lieu of a degree.

• Working knowledge/experience in various requirements approaches and/or software testing methodologies

• Thorough knowledge of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

• Experience articulating requirements in a consumable manner

• Experience leading implementation efforts involving multiple team members/stakeholders

• Logical and efficient, with attention to detail

• Strong prioritization and organizational skills

• Competent with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Visio, PowerPoint)

• Proficient in both written and oral communication

• Demonstration of people leadership and process leadership

• Strong facilitation skills

• Effective negotiation skills

• Understanding of and compliance with SPP Policies and Procedures

Preferred:

• Five (5) years leading requirements/testing, software development, and/or system implementation efforts
• Five (5) years of Wholesale Utility industry business knowledge

• Competent with requirements/test management products

• Applicable knowledge and experience with developing SQL queries, macros

• Basic understanding of standard programming languages such as C, C++, Visual Basic, Java, etc.

• Experience with SDLC products/tools

Work Environment:

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment.

Physical Demands:

The physical and mental demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to perform the essential functions of this job successfully.  

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to make decisions, interpret data, and problem solve.
• The employee frequently is required to stand or sit for extended periods; use hands to operate a computer keyboard and standard office equipment.
• The employee must occasionally lift and move up to 10 pounds.
• Requires the ability to work and collaborate with managers and employees at all levels to exchange ideas, information, and opinions to facilitate the task.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus.
• Understanding of compliance with and enforcement of SPP Policies and Procedures

Position Type, Location, and Expected Hours of Work:

This is a full-time, hybrid onsite position based in Little Rock, Arkansas. The standard schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with occasional extended hours as needed. 

Travel Requirement:

This position requires minimal travel (approximately 0-15%).

SPP is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer of individuals with disabilities and protected veterans and is committed to excellence. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us at HR@spp.org and let us know the nature of your request. We will only respond to messages left that involve a request for a reasonable accommodation in the application process. We will accommodate the needs of any qualified candidate who requests a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

 At SPP we believe in a culture of belonging. Learn more here: Culture of Belonging - Southwest Power Pool.