Business Analyst/ Business Scientist (Experienced Hire)

Position Title
Business Analyst & Business Scientist – Consulting & Data Analytics (Experienced Hires)

Location
Melville, Gauteng, South Africa (Hybrid)

Employment Type
Full-time | Permanent

About Vuuma Collaborations
Vuuma Collaborations is a consulting and strategic advisory firm specializing in operational excellence, process optimization, and business transformation. Our focus is on delivering measurable impact through data-driven decision-making, lean methodologies, and strategic interventions. We work with industry-leading clients across sectors such as financial services, manufacturing, and mining to drive sustainable growth and efficiency.

We are growing our data and consulting capability and are looking for experienced hires to join our team as a Business Analyst and Business Scientist.

Travel Expectations
This is a hybrid role primarily based at our Melville offices, with travel to client sites as needed, including industrial and operational environments (such as mining and manufacturing sites). Flexibility, professionalism, and comfort with working in different settings are important.

ROLE 1: BUSINESS ANALYST – CONSULTING & DATA ANALYTICS (EXPERIENCED HIRE)

About the Role
As a Business Analyst, you will help clients solve complex business problems using structured thinking, data, and practical implementation support. You will lead defined workstreams, analyse data, unpack processes and performance drivers, and translate insights into clear, actionable recommendations. You will work closely with consultants, directors, and client stakeholders, and support the development of graduates and junior team members.

Key Responsibilities:

Project Delivery and Problem-Solving

• Own specific workstreams within client projects, from problem definition to solution design and implementation support.
• Gather, clean, and analyse financial, operational, and process data to generate insights that inform decisions and improve performance.
• Perform root-cause analysis, develop hypotheses, and test these using data and discussions with stakeholders.

Client Engagement and Communication

• Participate in client meetings, workshops, and presentations, providing structured updates on progress, findings, and recommendations.
• Build trusted relationships with client teams at different levels, from operational staff to management.
• Prepare high-quality presentations, reports, and dashboards that clearly communicate insights and recommended actions.
• Process and Operations Insight
  Map and analyse business processes and value streams to identify inefficiencies, risks, and improvement opportunities.
• Support the design and rollout of new or improved processes, operating models, and ways of working.

Teamwork and Culture

• Collaborate with multidisciplinary internal and client teams to deliver integrated solutions.
• Support and, where appropriate, mentor graduates and junior team members.
• Model Vuuma’s values in how you show up, take ownership, and work with others.

Qualifications and Experience – Business Analyst

Essential

• Honours, Postgraduate Diploma (NQF Level 8) or above in Business, Economics, Industrial Engineering, Finance, Operations Management, or related fields.
• 2–5 years’ experience in management consulting, business analysis, operations, or a similar role (either in industry or consulting).
• Strong Excel skills and comfort working with data and dashboards.
• Ability to structure problems, think logically, and communicate clearly in both written and verbal form.
• Demonstrated ownership, reliability, and strong follow-through on commitments and deliverables.

Nice to Have

• Experience working in mining, manufacturing, or other operational environments.
• Exposure to business intelligence tools such as Power BI or Tableau.
• Experience facilitating workshops, problem-solving sessions, or improvement initiatives.

ROLE 2: BUSINESS SCIENTIST – ADVANCED ANALYTICS AND DECISION SCIENCE (EXPERIENCED HIRE)

About the Role
As a Business Scientist, you will sit at the intersection of data science, analytics, and decision-making. You will turn complex datasets into robust insights, models, and tools that guide strategic and operational decisions for our clients. You will work closely with consultants and directors to embed analytics into client projects and build decision-support assets that can be used on an ongoing basis.

Key Responsibilities:

Advanced Analytics and Modelling

• Explore and prepare large and complex datasets from multiple sources.
• Build predictive, classification, or optimisation models where appropriate.
• Apply statistical methods to analyse trends, relationships, and performance drivers in operational and business data.

Insights and Business Impact

• Translate complex analyses into simple, business-friendly insights and recommendations.
• Design dashboards, scorecards, or tools that clients can use in their day-to-day decision-making.
• Support scenario analysis, forecasting, and sensitivity testing for strategic and operational decisions.

Data, Tools, and Assets

• Work with tools such as Python or R, SQL, and business intelligence platforms (for example, Power BI or Tableau)
• Contribute to improving Vuuma’s internal data structures, templates, and analytics tools and assets.

Collaboration and Culture

• Partner with consultants and client stakeholders to frame the right analytical questions.
• Help upskill the broader team on data and analytics concepts, tools, and ways of working.
• Contribute to a learning-oriented, collaborative culture that values curiosity, experimentation, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications and Experience – Business Scientist

Essential

• Honours, Postgraduate Diploma (NQF Level 8) or above in a quantitative field such as Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, Computer Science, Engineering, Econometrics, or similar.
• 2–5 years’ experience in data science, advanced analytics, or quantitative business analysis (either in industry or consulting).
• Hands-on experience with at least one of Python, R, or SQL.
• Strong ability to link analytics work to clear business questions and decisions.

Nice to Have

• Experience working with operational datasets (for example, manufacturing, mining, supply chain, productivity, or similar environments).
• Experience building and maintaining dashboards using tools such as Power BI or Tableau.
• Exposure to experimentation (A/B testing), optimisation, or forecasting methods.

SHARED EXPECTATIONS – BOTH ROLES

Travel
Hybrid role based in Melville, Johannesburg, with travel to client sites as required. This may include travel to operational and industrial environments.

What We Look For in Both Roles

• Curiosity and a strong learning mindset.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability.
• Clear, structured communication in both written and verbal form.
• A team-player mindset with a positive, ownership-driven attitude.
• Alignment with Vuuma’s values and appetite to grow with a scaling firm.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Impactful Work: Opportunities to work on projects that improve performance, streamline operations, and enable better decisions for our clients.
• Growth and Career Pathways: Clear pathways into senior consulting, technical specialist, or operational leadership roles across Vuuma and its partners.
• Learning and Development: Access to coaching, feedback, and structured learning opportunities to support your professional growth.
• Values-Led Culture: collaborative culture where integrity, collaboration, ownership, ingenuity, courage, and inclusivity guide how we work and grow.

HOW TO APPLY

• Please submit your CV and a brief cover letter through our application process.
• In your cover letter, please indicate:
• Which role you are applying for (Business Analyst or Business Scientist) or whether you are open to both, with your order of preference.
• The types of problems or projects you have worked on.
• One example of work you are proud of and the impact it had.
• Why Vuuma Collaborations is the right next step for you.
• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Vuuma Collaborations is a consulting and strategic advisory firm specializing in operational excellence, process optimization, and business transformation. Our focus is on delivering measurable impact through data-driven decision-making, lean methodologies, and strategic interventions. We work with industry-leading clients across various sectors, including financial services, manufacturing, and mining, to drive sustainable growth and efficiency.