Daren Morales
**** **** ***. **, ******* Washington 98501 303-***-**** ac1rg7@r.postjobfree.com:ac1rg7@r.postjobfree.com
Great analytical skills, creative problem solving ability, strong management skills, ability to manage project budgets, excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills, the ability to speak effectively before groups, and a personal commitment to quality. Over thirteen years of IT experience with international acumen. I enjoy learning new skills!
Professional Experience
LATAM Program Manager – Level 3 Communications, L.L.C.
May 2016 - Present
Develop, interpret and implement end to end business concepts for business planning and control. Driving development of projects that support product or operational processes. Interpret requirements from Latin American offices, identifying and communicating project scope and ensuring program milestones are met
Responsible for managing and documenting complex projects. Responsible for planning and managing resources to execute projects or project components from inception to implementation. Establish the appropriate project/team structure, reporting, and metrics to measure performance against project plan
Manage schedules, prioritize projects, and ensure adequate resources are available, lead meetings, provide project status reporting to management, assist with testing scenarios and validate results on projects and initiatives
Lead project meetings involving cross-functional teams within the organization with focus on all of Level 3’s Latin American offices. Occasionally lead direct or indirect employees for a specific project or objective
Provide functional advice or training to less-experienced project manager positions. Support training, communications and change management within the organization. Identify areas of process and system improvement driven by data and reporting
Perform technical analysis to determine present and future business performance. Drive metrics to all layers of the organization (end-to-end and sub-pieces, organization and by individual)
Responsible for reporting regular status updates to senior executives and key project stakeholders
Release Program Manager – Level 3 Communications, L.L.C. (Contract)
March 2015 – May 2016
Forward planned the release windows and sprints across Network Software Development organization
Managed risks and resolved issues that affect release scope, schedule and quality
Coordinated release content and effort based on the service request backlog, pending service requests, third party applications, or operating system updates
Managed relationships and coordinated work between different teams at different locations
Conducted Release Reviews, and Business Go/No-Go reviews within Rally
Produced Deployment, Run Books and Implementation Plans
Weekly Release Scrum Reporting
Served as SME for Rally (Agile) Feature, User Story and Defect planning
Communicated release details and schedules to the Release team as required
Negotiated, planned and managed all release activities
Worked with release engineers to understand impacts of branches and code merges
Maintained the release schedule and alignment for all NSD apps
Continually worked towards making improvements in the release process
Led and coordinated the Go-Live activities including the execution of the deployment Plans and checklists
Participated in CAB meetings to discuss release scope and/or roadblocks
Maintained release and manages key information such as build and release procedures, dependencies, and notification lists
Project Manager – GTRI (Contract)
January 2015 – March 2015
Project managed for infrastructure projects in a professional services environment (i.e. storage, virtualization and/or networking, IP telephony, Splunk, anything IT related!)
Worked directly with client personnel, internal/external engineers, and account executives, including the highest levels of management
Managed multiple complex interactive projects from plan to delivery, dealing with risk mitigation, change control, issue management, and project status reporting
Senior Project Manager/Business Analyst – Lewan Technology (Contract)
March 2014- January 2015
Project managed infrastructure projects in a professional services environment (i.e. storage, virtualization and/or networking, IP telephony)
Worked directly with client personnel, internal/external engineers, and account executives, including the highest levels of management
Prepared technical reports by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing information and trends and working alongside Account Executives and Solutions Architects to create Statement of works, business requirements documents and build of materials
Determined operational objectives by studying business functions; gathered requirements/information, evaluated output requirements and formats
Project Manager - Finance, Level 3 Communications, L.L.C. (Contract)
April 2013 – March 2014
Spearheaded the planning, developed, and managed all aspects of Level 3 order management system in an Agile environment (Rally)
Led the development and migration of OM billing systems into one consolidated billing order management system (500+ million)
Documented project activities to ensure project deliverables meet target timeline and budget objectives
Liaison between project leaders and stakeholders in our LATAM and Europe locations
Interfaced between departments to ensure the product scope deliverables are met on time
Presented weekly dashboard reports, project plans, schedules, and timelines on the current program, defects, and user stories
Project Manager - Operations, Eagle-Net Alliance (Contract)
March 2012 – March 2013
Delivered large scale network and telecommunications projects (100 million) to develop fiber ring network throughout Colorado
Created and executed project plans and revised as appropriate to meet changing needs and requirements, while providing expertise and advice to leadership on project changes
Resource allocation including identifying, assigning and managing resources, and identifying opportunities for improvement
Managed both large and small project teams including EAGLE-Net Alliance employees (5) as well as contractors and sub-contractors (40+) throughout Colorado, requiring discretion and independent judgment in decision making to ensure the success of the projects
Ensured that projects stayed on schedule and budget, and investigated and recommended solutions to any delays or cost overruns
Developed quality control documentation to ensure project standards were met, and participated in final inspections and acceptance of work
Assisted in the development of Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for telecommunications, construction equipment and services that accurately reflect all technical requirements
Reviewed proposals, bids, contracts, and vendor agreements for technical completeness to ensure they met objectives
Project Manager - IT, Inventive Tec
September 2010 – March 2012
Prepared and completed action/project plans and managed all aspects of project risks and conflicts
Resolved problems, completed audits, identified trends, determined system improvements, implemented change and managed team of ten
Implemented production, productivity, quality, and customer-service standards
Contributed information and recommendations to strategic plans and reviews
Conducted one on one session with the clients to assess client needs and expectations and ensure project delivery within deadline
Managed all client accounts on Salesforce
Coordinated all aspects (SDLC) of MediaCAST software installation to include all communication with the customer, build of materials oversight, server set up, remote install with sub-contractors and commuting nationally to confirm successful implementation. Projects ranged $10,000 to $1.5 million.
Ensured all project documents and files were maintained to company standards and projects were successfully completed
System Administrator, Research Electro-Optics (Contract)
March 2010 – September 2010
Performed system troubleshooting, back-ups and disaster recovery
Software and hardware installation on all platforms including many legacy applications and OS’s to keep optic machines working properly
Performed up to date maintenance, patched upgrades, updates and configuration changes
Researched system operational issues, resolved unique problems to proprietary software
Determined routine IP and ISDN networking administration while maintaining superior customer service
Solved end-user issues, database and networking issues on a continual basis with prompt responses and related follow-up
Troubleshot any reported problems on help desk ticketing system
Responsible for all security aspects from back end to end users to include new hire orientation training
Active Directory maintenance which included adding, removing or updating user information and resetting passwords
Tier one/two Systems Engineer, Polycom (Contract)
February 2008 – March 2010
Tier 1 & 2 support to include inspecting network traces, setting up and running lab test scenarios, and working with Polycom partners to resolve any interoperability issues within OSS structure
Provided Tier 1 & 2 infrastructure setup, configuration, and maintenance assistance for Polycom wireless IP phone systems and handsets
Planned updates, scheduled maintenance for clients
Troubleshot and configured phones, IP handsets, Configuration issues and proprietary systems
Project Coordinator, IBM (Contract)
July 2007 – February 2008
Tracked and managed orders to Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), ranging from $25,000 to $2,000,000
Coordinated with team leads to check the project status and handle issues regarding project completion
Used multiple databases to communicate and configure projects
Directed all orders between supplier and shipping companies
Handled all customer related problems, regarding shipping orders, tracking orders, missing order parts
Education
University of Maryland University College – Europe, 2006, BS Computer Science, Heidelberg, Germany
PMP is currently being worked on; Target completion August 2017
Skills
Languages: Spanish language (native proficiency) speak, read, and write; German language (basic proficiency) speak, read, and write;
Software proficiency: Rally, MS Project, Project Server, Concur, SharePoint, Salesforce, LogMeIn, VMWare ESXi, Active Directory, MS Office, MS Access, PeopleSoft, Wordpress, Google Docs, CYMS, TLMS
Hardware proficiency: Expert knowledge of PC equipment, hardware, Fiber Optics, wiring, telephony
Programming: Basic knowledge in C++, JAVA, COBOL, SQL, and Visual Basic
Operating Systems: Extensive knowledge of Windows OS, from 95 – Windows 10, including server 2003-2008
Networking: TCP/IP, OSI, Microsoft LAN Manager, Novell Netware, Internet, Ethernet, LAN-WAN interconnection, experienced in Cisco/Meraki router and switch configuration, extensive knowledge of Dell/HP server equipment, knowledgeable in virtual server deployment and administration
Other
Security Clearance Form 85P: Authorized by the Federal Government to obtain a position of public trust