Business Optimization Analyst

Why DUCA?

We’re a vibrant, exciting credit union that lives its "profits with a purpose" philosophy in every financial transaction, product, interest rate, and community initiative we offer. Founded in 1954, DUCA has grown from a single branch credit union in Toronto to 19 branches across Southern Ontario with over 85,000 Members we are proud to serve.

We exist to help People, Businesses and Communities Do More, Be More, and Achieve More™.

DUCA (www.duca.com) is distinguished for the following:

• Positive, un-big bank like service experience delivered through Member-facing staff in branch, on the phone (Member-Connect) and via our Mobile mortgage specialists, Wealth Management advisors and Commercial and Business Banking Account Managers.
• Competitive rates.
• Personalized financial solutions, guidance, and service with the lowest possible fees for both Personal and Business Members.
• Profit sharing among Members.
• Multiple ways to bank—online, mobile app, phone/full-service Member Connect Contact Centre, and, of course, in-branch—DUCA is accessible 24/7
• A community philosophy of “profits with a purpose” culminating in the creation of the DUCA Impact Lab (www.ducaimpactlab.com), a charitable foundation committed to helping the credit challenged and underbanked. This led to DUCA's designation as a B-Corp certified organization, the first ever credit union to receive this global recognition.

A career with DUCA means you’ll find endless opportunities to make a difference with your unique abilities and perspectives. Our people live their purpose while helping others Do more, Be more and Achieve more with their money and their lives. At DUCA, you’ll be part of a vibrant and collaborative team where you’ll be supported to excel and make an impact, no matter what role you play.

Business Optimization Analyst

DUCA is looking for a Business Optimization Analyst join to our growing team!

Job Purpose & Summary

The Business Optimization Analyst is responsible for supporting DUCA-wide initiatives that drive operational excellence, digital transformation and continued growth. The role partners with senior stakeholders across the organization to assess, analyze, redesign and optimize business processes that directly impact employee performance and member experience. The Business Optimization Analyst assesses current state processes then recommends, and participates in, the design and development of future-state processes that deliver tangible business benefits. This role supports initiatives that may or may not involve technology, with a primary focus on business processes within the current operating environment that affect DUCA employees’ day-to-day work and the service provided to Members.

Business Optimization Analyst supports work streams on key strategic projects which require root cause analysis or determination of detailed design specifications to achieve the stated/future state. This role will support multiple business partners in the creation of employee-facing procedures, job aids, communications, and training materials

Key Accountabilities & Duties

• Lead workshops and discovery sessions as appropriate with senior stakeholders and subject matter experts (SME) to gather business requirements and understand current state processes independently.
• Independently provide process improvement recommendations to the Director, Process Excellence & Automation to address business areas of opportunity and partner to present recommendations to senior stakeholders related to process improvements and DUCA-wide initiatives.
• Engage with senior stakeholders and lead the approved process improvement implementation plan in respective teams.
• Translate business outcomes into requirements and convey acceptance criteria, future‑state process designs, outcomes via User Acceptance Testing (UAT), and benefits realization to Business Systems Analysts, Automation teams, and Data teams as appropriate.
• Contribute to test case development for projects and new product launches and assist with (UAT) as needed.
• Collaborate with IT teams and external vendors to resolve defects, validate fixes, and confirm operational readiness prior to release.
• Independently prepare Forms, including system linked Forms (currently in Doxim LOS, ASAPP (AOS and LOS), and DNA.
• Collaborate with IT to build automations using approved tools and applications (e.g., Power Automate, Power Apps, etc.) to execute on process improvement recommendations
• Design and support form integrations to key DUCA platforms including Doxim LOS, ASAPP (AOS/LOS), Lodestar, Central 1’s Forge, JUDI.AI, and DNA; ensure data integrity, workflow orchestration, exception handling, and non‑functional requirements are addressed.
• Support, collaborate, and partner with business process owners and stakeholders across DUCA, working in a Centre of Excellence (CoE) manner that facilitates shared understanding and “buy-in”.
• Influence stakeholders at various levels to adopt new ways of working and support change management assisting with communications, process readiness, and training alignment.
• Act as an expert in documenting problems, opportunities, and/or issues to be addressed.
• Define scope, key outcomes, and objectives of the work as well as key performance
• Define and document current processes using a variety of both independent and collaborative techniques (existing documentation review, interviews, job shadowing, use cases, hands on testing, technical investigation).
• In collaboration with IT teams, provide guidance and insights with consideration to preferred approaches, technological capabilities/limitations/possibilities, including impact to other functions and teams, and business risks and/or rules that apply to process steps.
• Develop future‑state process maps/ workflows / and SOPs with designs that balance efficiency, member experience, compliance, and operational feasibility.
• Contribute to DUCA’s process standards, templates, and governance frameworks (e.g., documentation conventions, control taxonomy, benefits tracking).
• Conduct root cause analysis required to identify and communicate the causes of problems and/present actionable recommendations with range of solutions from toolkit such as process improvements, automation and reporting solutions using SQL queries.
• Use basic SQL and Power BI to validate process performance, identify trends, and support insight generation.
• Lead DUCA-wide process discovery, mapping, and redesign of end‑to‑end processes using BPMN and standardized methodology.
• Support business process owners in the implementation of future-state designs, as required to achieve time savings, improve member experience, enhance employee experience and/or reduce risk.
• Participate in project teams formed for new products, process, and/or technology implementations according to the accountabilities agreed upon by project leads, project team, and Project Managers and completing assigned work package
• Act as the process SME to other DUCA teams and employees when process maps and supporting documentation outputs require transformation into employee-facing materials such as procedures and job aids.
• Provide lessons learned/close-out materials at the end of the projects/initiatives.
• Write SQL queries to obtain data and create fields for Forms.
• Develop playbooks, templates, and training materials to elevate process excellence capability across DUCA.
• Coach other analysts, SMEs, or project resources on process modelling, requirements practices, UAT execution, and continuous improvement methods.
• Support the training of new team members.
• Keep abreast of emerging technologies and acquire new skills as required to support the role.
• Other duties may be assigned as needed.

Occupational Experience & Education Requirements

• University degree required in technology or business, or related field
• 5+ years’ experience in business process improvement/ analyst role within a financial services organization
• Extensive experience in the financial services industry is required, preferably in a banking operations position
• Experience in projects and/or as part of user acceptance testing and/or quality assurance validation
• Experience with Lean methodologies, Database modelling using Power BI or a similar tool is an asset

Knowledge, Skills & Attributes

• Excellent time management, organization, and self-motivation skills
• Knowledge of banking processes, preferably on both deposit taking and lending operations
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to effectively interact with senior stakeholders across a variety of business units and levels across DUCA
• Strong working proficiency in Microsoft suite of products (Visio, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint) and Adobe
• Experience with automation tools such as Microsoft Power Platform and RPA tools and ability to learn new systems quickly
• Experience writing database queries using SQL
• Ability to create visual models such as complex work-flow diagrams/process maps etc.
• Ability to lead working sessions and perform research/testing to derive work steps and create detailed documentation, using both low-tech and high-tech approaches
• Ability to ask good probing questions, listen to answers, absorb and make meaning of context and content
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills with the ability to identify root causes to presenting issues and then recommend options/approaches to address same
• Ability to analyze and organize data and present findings in a format that support business decision making
• Senior stakeholder relationship management
• Ability to manage ambiguity and embrace new information and learning as it surfaces
• Able to work on multiple initiatives at the same time and manage time commitments and deadlines

Working Conditions

Normal office environment with occasional travel to DUCA branch locations.

Department: Operations

Primary Location: Corporate Office

Employment Status: Full-Time

Hours per Week: 38

Salary: The annual salary range for this position is $64,023 to $80,029. Actual annual base salaries will vary depending on relevant job-related factors such as experience, knowledge, skills, qualifications, and education/training. This position may be eligible for discretionary bonuses.

Number of Existing Vacancies: 1

DUCA is committed to employment equity and encourages applications from all qualified candidates. Recruitment related accommodations will be provided upon request.

Our hiring process includes AI screening for keywords and minimum qualifications. Talent Acquisition Partners review all results.

Qualified applicants are encouraged to submit their application. Applications must include a resume.

We thank all applicants but only those considered for an interview will be contacted.