How to become a Business Analyst in Malta - What Employers Look for?

Business nowadays is no longer how it was 10 years before. Markets have become so competitive and trends change swiftly. Which has increased the demand of business analysts more than ever before. There are many Maltese companies who often hire business analysts to enhance their operations and performance. To grab an opportunity, you must know what Maltese employers expect from a business analyst.

We have analyzed multiple job postings for a business analyst’s role in Malta. In the light of our research, this is a practical roadmap of how to become a business analyst in Malta. What skills do you need? What will be your responsibilities? What salary package and additional benefits will you get?

Soft Skills

Many job seekers often focus on improving their hard skills because they are directly related to their performance at work. Which is a good move, but ignoring your soft skills can cost you some really good opportunities. We found that Maltese employers often value these soft skills while hiring new talent:

• Proactive.
• Adaptable.
• Collaborative.
• Results-driven.
• Good communication.
• Strong critical thinking.
• Strong problem-solving.
• Strong attention to details.
• Effective interpersonal skills.
• Passion for problem-solving.
• Thrive in fast-paced environments.
• Ability to effectively communicate in the English language verbally and in writing.

Hard Skills

Hard skills are the ones that are needed to perform your duties in a specific role. Our research shows that these are the most commonly required hard skills for a business analyst by the Maltese employers:

• Card-based systems.
• Digital payment methods.
• Related technologies.
• Understanding of APIs.
• Understanding of integration points.
• Basic understanding of SQL.
• Basic understanding of ERP systems.
• Writing functional specifications.
• Writing high quality user stories.
• Writing process documentation.
• Experience with system integration.
• Experience with business systems design and information systems.
• Ability to understand systems and data flows.
• Experience in manual testing and creating UAT test cases.
• Understanding of the Scrum development process.
• Understanding of Service Orientated Architecture and web services.
• Experience in system development lifecycle and system integration is highly preferred.
• Experience in software products design, development and management is highly preferred.
• Experience in secured issuance of electronic documents like national ID, driving license and passport is highly preferred.
• Experience in information security using electronic documents, cryptography and PKI is highly preferred.

Education

Higher degrees and more certifications in relevant fields are well appreciated. Most employers ask for the following degrees and certifications:

Degree

• Bachelor’s degree.
• MFQ Level 6.
• A master's degree is highly preferred

Certifications

• Certification in Agile.
• Certification in Scrum

Familiarity with tools

As a Business analyst, you will often deal with large data sets in order to understand the market trends and make informed decisions accordingly. To perform these complex tasks, the Maltese employers expect you to have a good familiarity with the following tools:

• Proficient in Jira.
• Proficient in Confluence.
• Proficient in Azure DevOps is desirable.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office suite is required

Responsibilities

Knowing your responsibilities before applying for a job is as important as acquiring the required skills. If you have a clear picture of what you will be up to, you have a very good chance to prepare yourself. Following is a list of responsibilities that we found very common amongst the Maltese employers for a business analyst.

• Define the objectives, scope and success criteria of new and existing products, features, and technologies.
• Gather, clarify and document functional and non-functional requirements from stakeholders.
• Translate business needs into detailed user stories, scope documentation and information flow diagrams.
• Lead requirement reviews and engage in constructive discussions with stakeholders to refine and challenge assumptions.
• Support the design of high-level product concepts and model business processes to identify areas for improvement.
• Develop UAT test cases, conduct testing and ensure solutions meet business goals.
• Function as the bridge between the business and the technology team, helping developers clearly understand functional specifications and business expectations.
• Produce concise summaries of complex topics and ensure requirements are well understood across all stakeholder groups, identifying all dependencies.
• Ensure that all projects align with the company’s strategic vision and compliance standards.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of internal processes, tools and methodologies.
• Collect and maintain data for business support/analysis purposes.
• Analyse data, identify and observe trends, create reports based on such research.
• Issue periodic reports to accounts receivable teams.
• Cross-Check rechargeable and billable items for revenue assurance.
• Support the Vista Global Finance Business Partners team with required data/reports supporting business decisions.
• Other duties may be assigned from time to time.
• Assist in managing delivery and release schedules for projects, changes, service requests, and mandatory releases in line with client SLAs.
• Actively contribute to, and potentially lead, knowledge transfer activities while providing technical guidance during requirements analysis and handover.
• Prepare requirements analysis and design documents, along with high-level test cases to support the creation of functional and regression test cases.
• Create, execute, and maintain automated and manual tests to ensure software meets defined business requirements.
• Engage and liaise daily with clients and internal teams during testing phases to ensure compliance with business requirements, specifications, and timelines.
• Support technical teams in developing optimal use cases and database designs.
• Coordinate with the testing team across different phases and represent end-users during the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) stage.
• Analyze business processes and identify opportunities for improvement and automation.
• Gather and document system requirements to support solution design and procurement.
• Collect, organize, and analyze data to generate insights and support decision-making.
• Support testing, data migration, and training during system implementations.
• Collaborate with internal teams and build strong client relationships.
• Contribute to workshops and research to drive technology-enabled transformation.
• Ability to perform gap analysis of ‘As-Is’ systems and processes against ‘To-Be’ systems and processes.
• Ability to create process flows, customer journeys, and use cases.
• Proficient at eliciting and documenting requirements.
• Proficient at creating and maintaining traceability matrices.
• Problem-solving oriented.

Compensation

Business analysts are often offered a competitive package in Malta. While your salary package depends a lot on your skills, degree and more importantly on your past experience, here are commonly offered numbers:

• Entry-level:(Strong/b) €31,000 to €35,000 gross per year.
• Mid-level:(Strong/b) €40,000 to €45,000 gross per year.
• Senior-level:(Strong/b) €50,000 to €55,000 gross per year.

The salaries mentioned above are in gross terms, meaning that this is not the actual amount you will get into your bank account. Use our simple Malta salary calculator to calculate your actual salary that is called net salary

Additional Benefits

To attract and retain valuable talent, employers tend to offer additional benefits along with a handsome paycheck. We found that most Maltese employers offer these following additional benefits to their employees.

• Health insurance.
• Year-round sports and social activities.
• Employee assistance programs.
• Opportunities for professional growth, training, and reimbursement of membership fees