Senior IT Project Manager

Professional Summary:

• Project Management -- Certified project professional with 15 years hands-on management of multiple, concurrent, end-to-end project life cycles, driving successful outcomes on portfolios of complex, large-scale, professional services initiatives in cross-functional, matrix environments that span broad geographies and organizational boundaries.
• Business Support -- Translation of strategic goals into actionable tactics; creation of business cases to support IT investments, meet business demand, and achieve regulatory compliance; researching and proving out functional requirements; financial analysis and budgeting; vendor selection and contract management; production of clear and well-organized technical writing, reports and presentations in plain English.
• Team Leadership & Relationship Management -- Concise communications to address the objectives of senior management and concerns of stakeholders; use of influence and negotiation skills to manage expectations, solve problems, and overcome obstacles to change; fostering an entrepreneurial team spirit to seek innovative solutions, capture opportunities, and ensure commitments are met despite the dynamically changing business environment.
• Change Facilitation & Process Improvement --Early identification of issues and problem-solving to isolate root causes and mitigate risk; addition of structure and control into “grey” areas; finding alternatives in constrained situations; facilitation of rapid change with a minimum of disruption; resolution of sensitive process change issues with tact, diplomacy and persistence.
• Personal Qualities -- Versatile, self-motivated, matrix manager with a “can-do” approach, able to challenge the status quo and be an “evangelist of change”; attentive listener with track record of managing by influence and being pro-active at preventing issues from becoming problems; decisive management style yet adaptable to changing priorities and new requirements on short notice.

Experience

Confidential,– New York, NY
October 2008 – August 2010
TECHNOLOGY PROJECT DIRECTOR

Provided senior leadership of the planning, prioritization, design and execution of application development, infrastructure and service delivery operations, ensuring measurable goals with a clear and consistent vision for each initiative. Led the end-to-end development of a unique, web-based, B2B workflow system used by the industry for compliance with federal safety regulations. Applied a business mindset to regularly re-evaluate the extent to which the IT department was meeting business needs and used a strong entrepreneurial approach to adjust IT priorities to align with business priorities. Regularly presented IT policy options and alternatives to senior management, representing alternative points of view while remaining personally objective. Added financial accountability to IT activities, earning a reputation for pro-actively identifying areas needing improvement and taking advantage of opportunities to reduce costs, cut waste, and streamline operations. Guided the organization’s strategic technology direction, working with business leaders to achieve higher productivity and cost efficiencies during times of frequent and rapid changes in the business environment. Confidential,New York, NY October 2007 – May 2008 PROJECT DIRECTOR Built and led a specialized technical project delivery team focused on providing on-line marketing and digital media advertising capabilities to clients. Provided strategic direction for all proposed and in-flight projects on issues of scope, priority, resource allocations, deadlines, budget, and quality assurance. Created a culture of teamwork based on continuous improvement, ensuring staff are capable and prepared to fulfill client business requirements. Worked with product managers on business strategy and brought multiple workgroups together to create reliable, standardized processes for product development and deployment. Coached and motivated domestic and off-shore staff in the balancing of cost, schedule, and client value in the design and delivery of client projects. Maintained frequent communications with clients, managed client expectations, and negotiated product development activities in alignment with client needs. Confidential,New York, NY July 2001 – October 2007 TECHNOLOGY PROJECT MANAGER / PRODUCT MANAGER Led PMO governance on portfolios of mission-critical projects to assess benefits vs. costs, build infrastructure, develop applications and integrate enterprise data. Matrix managed, coached and mentored in-house and contractor work teams on the execution of large, complex software and hardware projects/programs. Provided for efficient use of the firm’s global technology investments in a consolidated, post-merger environment by coordinating technology platform selections and consolidation/optimization of operations. Addressed audit gaps by spotting issues early, bringing the right people together and negotiating/facilitating work toward common goals. Resolved stalemates by facilitating cooperation between stakeholders and diverse technical teams to build group consensus around strategy. Created business cases for technology proposals and arbitrated acceptance from senior management by demonstrating how the benefits of each solution outweighed perceived obstacles and objections. Built a strong partnership with business units and operations groups to manage cross-functional inter-dependencies, resolve issues, and support business growth. Confidential,New York, NY October 1999 – June 2001 SENIOR STRATEGIC ACCOUNT MANAGER, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Directed professional services teams serving major clients in the development and deployment of technology integration solutions and providing data center on-going production support. Built a cohesive service team environment to strengthen agility and success on technology integration projects while maintaining frequent, pro-active and diplomatic contact with client senior management. Contributed to the movement of new and enhanced products from design to delivery, helping to drive add-on business within existing accounts. Resolved client issues and conflicts by bringing diverse internal groups together to work together effectively on common objectives. Designed and implemented standardized operating procedures to help maintain alignment among service delivery teams that need to work together harmoniously. Guided development, service and support teams in the use of project management best practices to foster a healthy and resilient service delivery model. Confidential,New York, NY May 1997 – September 1999 SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER Matrix-managed all aspects of technology build projects from end to end, including contractual relationships with strategic vendors, coordination of work contributions from international, cross-functional teams, and roll-outs of new products. Provided senior-level project governance of concurrently run, large-scale IT development and integration initiatives through their complete project life cycles. Supplied rescue assistance to projects in progress and managed post-implementation technology operations issues in a dynamically changing business environment. Enforced accountability of vendors against their contractual obligations and ensured effective project management discipline is consistently followed. Led complex, inter-disciplinary projects to successful completion, including those at which others had previously failed to achieve. Supported senior management in the assessment of benefits vs. costs of project proposals to re-engineer and renovate the technology operating environment. Created beneficial, long-term relationships with business units and achieved successful results across a large, decentralized organization where long-term planning, negotiation, and influence skills are essential. Confidential,New York, NY January 1989 - February 1997 PROJECT LEADER & BUSINESS ANALYST Created and supervised a central project management and support organization (PMO) chartered to orchestrate production of product deliverables contributed by multiple, geographically and culturally diverse domestic and offshore groups. Led the planning and execution of complex, multi-tiered software development projects, providing direct coordination of day-to-day scheduling, resource allocation, budgeting, risk management and stakeholder communications. Matrix managed projects using teams of 30-50 domestic and offshore resources for project durations averaging 6-18 months. Customized and applied a mix of both classic/waterfall/PMBOK and agile/iterative project methodologies as appropriate to facilitate project success. Acted as a single point of contact for project change, risk and product quality issues amongst development teams, product managers and senior management. Applied business process analysis and other analytic skills to tactical problem-solving, adding clarity and structure into objectives, including those that may have been poorly defined at the start. Facilitated strong stakeholder relationships by building trust and doing whatever is needed to ensure deliverables are met and product quality levels are achieved.

Education, Skills & Certifications:

• Master of Business Administration (MBA/Management.
• PMI Certified Project Management Professional .
• ITIL v3 Foundation certified.
• Six Sigma Green Belt .
• ScrumMaster agile project management CSM certification
• CISSP security certification training .
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Project
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio