Business Analyst (contract)

Microsoft is seeking a Business Analyst on a contract basis to support enterprise-level compensation and performance management solutions. This role involves acting as a strategic functional liaison, driving the delivery of HR initiatives, and ensuring compliance and operational efficiency across various teams.

Responsibilities:

• Lead requirements discovery, analysis, and documentation for compensation initiatives and promotion cycles
• Translate compensation policy, regulatory, and business needs into clear functional requirements and solution designs
• Partner with HR Compensation, Performance and Development, Engineering, Payroll, Finance, and Data teams to ensure end-to-end alignment
• Support solution design reviews, impact assessments, dependency management, and release planning
• Define User Acceptance Testing strategy including test scenarios, defect triage, and release readiness validation
• Ensure data integrity, controls, and audit readiness across compensation processes
• Identify process gaps and recommend improvements to reduce manual effort and operational risk
• Produce clear documentation, stakeholder communications, and decision-support artifacts
• Serve as primary functional liaison between Compensation Centers of Excellence and technical teams
• Deliver approved functional requirements and solution design documentation
• Conduct impact assessments and dependency analysis
• Create UAT plans, test scenarios, and defect summaries
• Provide release readiness and production support inputs
• Develop process improvement recommendations and supporting documentation

Requirements:

• Eight to ten years of relevant professional experience required
• Strong Business Analyst experience supporting HR-focused initiatives
• Solid background in compensation, rewards, promotions, and performance programs
• Experience working with enterprise HR systems
• Exposure to data flows within HR system landscapes
• Demonstrated solution management skills including stakeholder engagement
• Experience with solution design reviews and impact assessments
• Background in User Acceptance Testing strategy and execution
• Experience partnering with Business, Engineering, and cross-functional teams on Compensation and Performance matters
• Familiarity with audit and controls environments
• Understanding of Promotion, rewards, stock, and Performance Management programs
• Bachelor's degree in business management, economics, finance, accounting, or relevant field required
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills with strong attention to detail
• Customer service orientation and interpersonal effectiveness
• Ability to work independently and manage time efficiently
• Accounting and mathematical principles application
• Enterprise HR systems functional expertise with deep hands-on knowledge of HR platforms and configuration
• UAT strategy development and execution
• Understanding of how HR processes are configured, integrated, and governed at scale