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Post by A60stock on Nov 27, 2014 17:30:24 GMT
Hi all,
Just wondering, if anyone in the forum knows a thing or so about being a Business Analyst at TFL? What the role usually entails or what i can expect to be doing in the role, what kind of things ill need to do. They are interviewing me soon and so would be good to know of anything that could be useful
Appreciate all answers
Many thanks!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2014 23:38:57 GMT
It could be anything, depending on what area of TfL it's in. There are so many vague job titles across the organisation - and duplicates within LUL/TfL that will do very different jobs for very different pay levels.
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Post by snoggle on Nov 28, 2014 10:18:35 GMT
A Business Analyst will typically be tasked with reviewing data for a specific department or on varying topics or projects. They will be asked to "test" the data to determine its veracity and how reliable it is. You may also be asked to challenge people as to their data, how it was gathered, how they have analysed it and how they have reached their conclusions. The work may also looking at proposals for new projects or changes to working practices and making sure the benefits and costs have been properly determined and calculated. There may also be various options for change and again assessing that the right option has been selected by the Sponsor. The other work that may be involved is routine analysis of data (financial, accounting, performance, other stats or metrics like usage or staff info) to identify trends or changes to the data and to draw conclusions or provide reports to management. Clearly you need good analytical skills, the ability to ask questions and challenge / test the answers, to present info in a clear way (either written or orally) and to deal with people across the organisation at various levels. Really understanding what information is telling you and what it really shows is very important. The organisation generates vast amounts of information and being able to understand it and take appropriate decisions based on it is important for management and their teams. Prior to interview it might be worth asking what part of TfL or LU the vacancy might be in or to narrow down the meaning of "Business Analyst". I've given you my best view but it's nearly 3 years since I worked for LU so job scopes / titles may well have changed since then so no guarantees that I'm correct. It's up to you to check for yourself.  |
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Post by A60stock on Nov 28, 2014 13:48:41 GMT
Extremely helpful answer snoggle, thank you very much.
As far as i'm aware you are either based in surface transport, commercial dictatorial or LU, if either of these makes things clearer for you, although it does not specify that on the website anymore
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Post by A60stock on Nov 29, 2014 15:43:21 GMT
snoggleIf you have time could i ask you a small question. Having trouble trying to find out what the commercial directorate department is about? Would you have any idea as this is a department i could be based in if successful.
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Post by 100andthirty on Nov 29, 2014 17:31:56 GMT
The commercial directorate is the one charged with buying (and occasionally selling) things. So the commercial people will negotiate contracts for everything that TfL buys from new trains to paper rolls for tickets. There are all sorts of people in a commercial department - people who understand markets (buying trains and buying buses needs different skills and background knowledge), who understand negotiation, who can build relationships with third parties, who understand EU procurement law and so on. Hope this helps.
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Post by norbitonflyer on Nov 29, 2014 18:21:06 GMT
The commercial directorate is the one charged with .....occasionally selling things. . Like the D stock, perhaps? |
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Post by snoggle on Nov 29, 2014 19:35:15 GMT
snoggleIf you have time could i ask you a small question. Having trouble trying to find out what the commercial directorate department is about? Would you have any idea as this is a department i could be based in if successful. I used to work in the Commercial Directorate before I left. As already said the Commercial Directorate is tasked with buying and selling things. It does NOT do things like property development or sponsorship - there's a commercial development team for that led by Graham Craig. There is also Andrew Quincy who is TfL Head of Commercial. TfL OrganogramSarah Atkins is the LU Head of Commercial. She has several direct reports who cover things like buying station construction works, buying new rolling stock, procuring traction current, managing contracts with suppliers, buying all the spare parts, lubricants etc that are needed to run the trains, buying new track, cables etc for projects. There are also a few bits of PFI contracts left but much of that has subsequently been brought in house. There are also a lot of maintenance contracts for things like station cleaning, pumps and drainage, comms assets and CCTV, building maintenance, lifts and escalators, depot maintenance. A lot of stuff is done by private companies now and all this has to contract managed, performance tracked, payments made, issues negotiated and resolved. LU also has to tell contractors if things are planned that may disrupt or alter the work programmes of contractors. It's a two way management process - LU can be landed with claims from suppliers if it doesn't meet its obligations. It is not all buying things but also about designing the scope of future procurement to get the best deal for the budget available - more for less or better quality for the same or less money. There is also a need to measure contracted performance, predict payments, track usage of spares so new ones are ordered "just in time" etc. I used to do a lot of the contract measurement, contract management and payment stuff along with other colleagues. You need to be pretty adept at handling data, numbers and understanding the influences on those and the relationship with real world events. I'll say no more or else people will be put to sleep.  |
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