Business Analyst - Graduate Development Program

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� Description

• • Step into a three-year Leadership Development Program designed to turn high-potential graduates into future product leaders at ION Group, a global powerhouse that delivers trading and workflow-automation software to 4,800+ corporations, central banks and governments.
• • Rotate through Product Management, Data Analytics and Client Solutions teams in Pisa, Milan, Collecchio or Roma, owning real deliverables that influence how capital-markets professionals trade, hedge and report every day.
• • Within your first six months you will shadow senior Business Analysts on live client implementations, translate regulatory requirements into user stories, and build SQL queries that feed interactive dashboards used by tier-one banks.
• • By month 12 you will lead your own sub-stream on an agile squad—prioritising backlogs, running stakeholder workshops, and presenting sprint demos to traders, risk managers and CTOs across Europe.
• • Year two deep-dives you into data modelling and business intelligence: design ETL pipelines, prototype PowerBI visualisations, and validate machine-learning models that predict trade failures before they cost millions.
• • Year three caps the program with an international rotation—choose from our 60 global offices—to drive cross-border product strategy, negotiate scope with clients in New York or Singapore, and pitch roadmap enhancements to the ION Board.
• • Continuous learning is baked in: 40+ hours of technical training per year (SQL, Python, FIX protocol, cloud micro-services), monthly 1-to-1 coaching with a VP mentor, and access to CFA & Scrum certifications fully funded.
• • You will be paired with a “buddy” alumnus who graduated the program—now a Product Owner—giving you insider guidance on navigating a 13,000-person organisation while still shaping your own career track.
• • Impact is measurable: last year’s graduate cohort reduced client onboarding time by 18 % and generated €2.3 m in licence upsell; your ideas could feature in the next global release notes sent to 4,800 customers.
• • Culture is collaborative, not hierarchical: expect stand-ups where your opinion matters, quarterly hackathons with prizes, and Friday town-halls where the CEO demos your prototype to the entire company.
• • Travel up to 30 % across Italy and occasionally to European client sites—experience trading floors in London, Frankfurt and Zurich while collecting air-miles and living the markets first-hand.
• • At graduation you will emerge as an Associate Product Manager with a fast-track promotion path to Product Owner, Solution Director or Data Science Lead—roles that typically take 6-8 years to reach in traditional banks.

� Requirements

• • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Finance, Physics or related numerate discipline obtained within the last 12 months or currently in final year.
• • Academic transcript showing above-average grades (Italian 100/110 or equivalent 2:1 UK / 3.3 GPA US).
• • Confident English communication (minimum B2) plus ability to articulate complex ideas to both technical and business audiences; Italian language is a plus but not mandatory.
• • Legal right to work full-time in Italy on a permanent basis—EU passport, existing EU work permit, or eligibility to obtain one before start date.
• • Strong analytical mindset: comfortable writing SQL queries, building Excel models, or coding basic Python/R scripts; prior internship in fintech, consulting or data analytics preferred.
• • Willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 30 % and to relocate to one of the listed Italian offices (Pisa, Milan, Collecchio, Roma).

️ Benefits

• • Permanent full-time contract from day one with competitive salary, annual performance bonus and automatic pay-review each program anniversary.
• • Three-year structured training budget worth €5 k per annum for professional certifications (Scrum, CFA, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Machine Learning).
• • Hybrid working and flexible hours after six-month probation, plus 28 days paid holiday rising to 30 days after two years, plus Italian public holidays.
• • Comprehensive welfare package: private medical insurance for you and dependents, pension fund with 6 % company contribution, meal vouchers €8 per working day, and subsidised gym membership.
• • Relocation support: lump-sum €2 k moving allowance, temporary accommodation for first month, and dedicated HR concierge to help with permits, housing, banking and language courses.