Product Analyst / Business Analyst

Job Title: Product Analyst / Business Analyst

Location: Charlotte, NC or Raleigh, NC (Hybrid)

Pay Rate: $60–70/hr W2

Duration: 24+ Month Contract

W2 ONLY, NO C2C

Overview

We are seeking a strategic Product Analyst / Business Analyst to support early-stage product initiatives by leading discovery, business validation, and value realization efforts before development begins.

This role operates upstream of delivery and is focused on determining whether product initiatives are worth pursuing by evaluating business value, operational impact, ROI, and success metrics. The ideal candidate combines strong business analysis capabilities with product discovery expertise and can confidently engage stakeholders across business and technology teams.

This is a highly cross-functional role requiring strong communication, analytical thinking, and the ability to navigate ambiguity while independently driving validation efforts.

Key Responsibilities

Product Discovery & Problem Framing

• Lead discovery efforts to identify and validate business problems, workflow inefficiencies, and operational pain points
• Conduct stakeholder and user interviews to gather insights and challenge assumptions
• Translate business needs into measurable business outcomes and strategic recommendations
• Identify root causes and connect findings to enterprise-level impact.

Business Analysis & Value Assessment

• Evaluate proposed product initiatives to determine feasibility, value, and business impact before development begins
• Develop and defend business cases, ROI analysis, and success metrics
• Define measurable outcomes and KPIs aligned with strategic goals
• Assess opportunities for cost savings, efficiency gains, risk reduction, and operational improvements.

Stakeholder Collaboration & Communication

• Partner directly with product teams, business leaders, users, and stakeholders across the organization
• Facilitate discussions, workshops, and alignment sessions across cross-functional teams
• Present findings, recommendations, and value assessments to leadership and stakeholders
• Influence decision-making in ambiguous or evolving environments without direct authority

Metrics & Product Measurement

• Interpret business and product metrics to evaluate initiative effectiveness
• Identify reporting gaps and missing KPIs that impact decision-making
• Support product measurement and success tracking frameworks
• Collaborate with analytics and reporting teams to ensure meaningful measurement strategies are in place.

Required Qualifications

Experience in:

• Product discovery
• Business analysis
• Value realization / ROI assessment
• Ability to work within pre-product or early product lifecycle phases
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Experience building business cases, ROI models, and measurable success metrics
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to work independently and drive validation efforts with minimal oversight
• Executive presence and strong facilitation abilities
• Experience navigating ambiguity and influencing cross-functional teams

Technical & Tooling Experience

Familiarity with:

• Jira
• Agile workflows and methodologies

Product analytics and reporting tools such as:

• Google Analytics
• Power BI

Understanding of:

• Product measurement frameworks
• KPI development and interpretation
• Reporting and analytics concepts