Project Manager

PROFILE

Fifteen years of proven success with implementing global, multi-million dollar enterprise business and technology projects for organizations.

After starting career in the Canadian Federal Government, moved to New York City and began consulting with Starwood Hotels; implementing solutions worldwide for 250,000+ employees, across 80+ countries, 10 distinct brands & 8 divisions. Later moved to one of the Big Four and continued to excel in delivering global solutions. Now focused on bringing experience home to Canadian-based organizations.

Delivers organizational strategic planning, proposals, needs assessment, business and process re-engineering, governance frameworks, change management, data and technology implementations, and operational improvements.

Experienced in a wide variety of technologies: SAP ERP, SAP FI, SAP CRM, SAP EAM, SAP Event Manager, Oracle HCM, SAP NetWeaver, SAP EMP, Oracle WebCenter, Oracle ERP, Oracle TMS, Single Sign On (SSO), IDM, Cloud, SaaS, .NET,, Java, SOA, SAP SuccessFactors, Clix, Cornerstone On Demand, SABA, Taleo, Amazon Web Services (AWS), iOS, ESRI, GIS, Google Maps, Kenexa Adobe Captivate, LoadRunner, MS Project Server, MS SharePoint, MS Visio, Trello and Jira.

Specialist in Business Process Reengineering and Big Data Management. Partnering with clients to assess strategic goals and customer needs in order to rethink and redesign the way work is done better; capturing key data along the way to provide insight and an ability to make better business decisions.

Critical thinker and strategic consultant. Up-to-date on industry standards and trends with advanced technical skills. Creative problem solver; leverages various methodologies and techniques to guide the identification of requirements and serve as the basis for recommendations. Applies research and analytics to develop proposals, plans, policies, and strategies in order to deliver solutions for organizations.

Committed to people management and team leadership. Superb organizational acuity, engaging local and virtual stakeholders/vendors, mentoring and coaching team members, bringing together diverse groups of people and maintaining a collaborative and positive team environment for the purpose of achieving common and worthy goals.

RELEVANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

PROJECT MANAGER, CONSULTANT. CANADA POST / PUROLATOR / INNOVAPOST. OCT 2014 – PRESENT

SuccessFactors Recruiting & Succession

Responsible for the overall management & delivery of the client’s first cloud-based HR platform – SuccesssFactors Recruiting/Onboarding & Succession/Development. A $4M nationwide implementation to increase program efficiencies, user friendliness and paving the way for strategic talent management.

Forging strong relationships with stakeholders, driving alignment, developing strategy and program roadmap, setting scope & priorities, developing short & long term program goals; proactively identifying critical issues and risks to develop contingency plans. Continuously gathering lessons learned and working with team and Steering Committee to recommend and agree upon enterprise level improvements.

Developing resource plan and assembling project team including the selection of the Service Delivery Partner (Accenture), developing program-wide Work Breakdown Structure, defining roles and responsibilities and coordinating efforts of the team members for delivery.

Supporting Accenture proprietary project implementation methodology and delivering multiple iterative product releases; supporting the larger delivery team by introducing Trello to the team to track weekly tasks in a Kanban-style board and holding daily stand-up meetings to support team through daily tasks.

Directing a team of 30 through planning, business requirements, fit/gap analysis, design, configuration, deployment and stabilization. Working through entitlements tracking, provisioning, onboarding, off-boarding, incident management, security & compliance, disaster recovery & analytics/dash-boarding. Re-engineering all business processes and re-developing SOPs and user guides.

Providing leadership to cross-functional teams, communicating vision clearly, mentoring and motivating project team to deliver superior results. Delivering daily, weekly, monthly reports and communications to the project team, stakeholders & Steering Committee in a timely fashion.

Providing superior stakeholder and vendor management. Focusing on team building, managing conflicting stakeholder needs, mending broken relationships and establishing trusting and effective partnerships critical for actualizing the program vision and objectives.

Managing multiple project work streams including cloud configuration, conversion, integrations, single sign-on/portal, change management and training. Handling all financials, forecasts, actuals, resources, work plans, quality, issue tracking, risk mitigation within an integrated model.

ClientVision for iPad

Managed a $250K Sales initiative for sales representatives to have access to key client information on the go via their iPads using Agile/Scrum that has since spawned a number of larger Agile projects within the Group of Companies and has allowed for the salespeople to have their sales materials, prospects and sales details readily available on the road increasing their efficiency, win rates and ability to meet revenue goals.

Worked with client to agree upon project methodology, approach, management of budget and resource expectations. Supported upfront coaching of team and client on Scrum project methodology. Developed vision, product roadmap and release plan in collaboration with Sales and project team.

Set up product back log, daily stand up Scrum meetings and bi-weekly retrospectives. Leveraged on-site Scrum/Kanban board to track sprint tasks as well as Trello and Jira to track sprint tasks, especially for the virtual team members.

Hosted bi-weekly sprint reviews and delivered first prototype by the end of the second sprint (within 30 days); promoted collaboration with the client to create a mobile solution that truly met the needs and expectations of the Sales team within a very short timeline.

Circulated weekly project status reports, budget summaries, key issues and risks, progress reports and burn down reports to team members and stakeholders.

Operational Process & Technology Transformation

Led a $17M project, that is part of a $100M portfolio, focused on developing nation-wide business and technical transformation for all of the clients’ operational business lines (Postal Service, Express, Ground Transportation, Freight).

Directed a team of 50+ members through the procurement of vehicle route optimization and dispatch systems. Provided leadership in establishing a lean project methodology. Coached business and technical project team members, setting project reporting intervals, templates, requirements gathering guidelines, vendor selection criteria and quality standards.

Captured as-is business processes, identified key problematic points and re-designed optimized processes.

Developed project strategy, approach, scope, requirements and developed the RFP and a very detailed vendor evaluation framework in partnership with stakeholders & Subject Matter Experts across the group of companies.

Collaborated continuously with stakeholders, project team and vendors. Conducted workshops for 30+ individuals, hosted meetings, circulated status reports and timely communications. Managed budgets, integrated project plans, resources, risks, issues and change requests.

PROJECT MANAGER, CONSULTANT. STARWOOD HOTELS AND RESORTS WORLDWIDE, INC. FEB 2014 – DEC 2014

Worldwide Guest Personalization – HR Transformation & Master Data Management – Phase 2

Delivered Needs Assessment & Strategic Plan for $40M portfolio to enhance employee HR support tools for 250,000 employees and 1200 hotel properties in order to enable the global business strategy focused on the hotel guest experience (SAP Core HR, Payroll, FI).

Developed business cases, strategy, mission, roadmap, charter, schedules, KPIs, communications and change management plans in collaboration with executives, directors, managers and stakeholders across North and South America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Defined and controlled scope, deliverables, setting priorities, managing budgets, risks, issues, stakeholders, project resources and vendors to ensure wellness of overall program, work streams and project participants.

Led HRIS systems enhancements (SAP ERP, FI, CRM, AMS, ATS, LMS, PMS, intranet, online, cloud, mobile). Developed centralized data analytics to measure master data quality, consistency and timeliness to support the ability to make HR and organizational strategic decisions based on well-founded measurements and industry benchmarks.

Enhanced Master Data Management by improving data models, definitions, process inputs/outputs. Applied a mix of short and long term solutions aimed at redefining the organizational stakeholders, data stewards, policies, guidelines, decision rights, accountabilities and enforcement methods.

Directed improvements for overall HR and HRIS service delivery and general business intelligence. Led needs assessment with HR leaders, hotel divisions and HRIS to gather metrics, assess gaps, policies, business process improvements, SOPs, reports, applications, tools, governance models and committees for recruiting, onboarding, talent and performance management, employee and manager self-service, payroll, compensation and benefits.

PROGRAM MANAGER, CONSULTANT. KPMG INTERNATIONAL. NOV 2010 – JUL 2012

Global Virtual Classroom – Rescue Project

Managed the development of the organization’s $15M Global Virtual Classroom e-Learning Program in order to deliver standardized, accessible, just-in-time online and mobile training to 70,000 auditors, accountants and advisors in all firms across the globe. (Adobe, SAP, Clix, Saba).

Directed a global team of 40+ individuals consisting of 11 project managers, HR and IT staff, trainers, business analysts, etc. Established program strategies, goals, direction, plans, policies, governance models and project controls.

Championed project transparency and communication. Directed workshops, presentations and meetings for senior partners, executives and upper management. Integrated detailed project plans at the program level and developed the program roll-out roadmap. Conducted weekly meetings and provided weekly status reports to all stakeholders and team members. Recovered program status from Red (high-risk) to Green.

Led the education of project managers and key senior leadership in project management best practices and project lifecycle methodologies. Trained business analysts, defined the artifacts to be used within each phase, techniques to gather requirements and user stories, methods to manage accountabilities, issues, risks and dependencies in order to actualize agreed upon deliverables on time, within budget and with world class standards.

Stabilized the operationalization of the program. Built all of the program’s business processes. Drove the development of policies, SOPs, forms, content management strategies and reports. Coached and mentored the operations team and set up an agile operational model with daily standup meetings to aid the group in the successful delivery of operational projects.

Harmonized the global e-learning program with member firms’ existing learning operations and systems to minimize change. Integrated business processes, learning management systems, configurations, data feeds, reporting solutions, security, compliance and accreditation regulations per the needs of each individual firm and country.

PROJECT MANAGER, CONSULTANT. STARWOOD HOTELS AND RESORTS WORLDWIDE, INC. SEP 2005 – DEC 2010

HR Transformation & Master Data Management – Phase 1

Carried out multiple parallel projects that were part of a $24M enterprise-wide SAP Core HR transformation initiative to modernize the HR function and ameliorate service delivery.

Brought together Starwood’s first cross-functional, international team (HR, IT, Finance, Sales, Marketing, Operations, divisions, regions, hotel personnel, subject matter experts and vendors) to implement global solution. Established program strategy and approach, business case, vision and roadmap. Managed stakeholders, vendors, scope, schedules, budgets, resources, issues, risks, project status reports and change.

Worked closely with stakeholders to support company-wide organizational restructuring and implemented subsequent changes in the SAP Organizational Structure and SAP Payroll. Implemented enhanced ALE integration between SAP Payroll and SAP FI.

Hosted requirements gathering and business process mapping workshops. Developed process maps that defined what each department does, who is involved, tools leveraged, inputs and outputs and Standard Operating Procedures for on-boarding, off-boarding and payroll. Optimized processes and increased efficiency by 40%.

Developed the organization’s first HR Governance Program to manage HR policies, processes, data and continuous improvement.

Carried out the master data management program. Improved data-related processes, policies, standards and tools, managed critical organization data to support various dimensions for analysis and decision making. Saw through system consolidations (HRIS – SAP and Oracle), data mining and modeling, design, development and installations. Augmented data quality by 60%.

Established HRIS data support team. Led the development of the team’s strategy, developed collaborative support processes and responsibility matrices. Established guidelines, best practices and performance metrics.

Learning Management System – Rescue Project

Led the implementation of Starwood’s first cloud-based organization-wide Learning Management System (SumTotal, CornerStone) by way of a rigorous RFP process, Proof of Concept and implementation reaching 250,000 end users. Collaborated daily with IT, business and vendors to successfully manage new program. Defined updated business model, reorganized operations team, developed business processes, support services, data conversion and exchange mechanisms and new system platform.

BUSINESS ANALYST & PROJECT MANAGER. GOVERNMENT OF CANADA. JAN 1999 – JUL 2005

Canada Student Loans Program – Rescue Project

Supported the program’s $1.5B-a-year take over from the financial institutions. Converted the Canada Student Loans Program legacy platform to Oracle, modernized operations and system processes; Created proposals, project plans, timelines, and business requirements for corporate needs and goals. Ironed out critical federal and provincial regulations variations. Ensured productive joint-venture negotiations by maintaining strong working relationships between in-house departments, financial institutions, service providers, and government bodies.

EDUCATION

CARLETON UNIVERSITY Honors Computer Science; Minor Business

ASSOCIATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS

ECO EQUITABLE – Director, Business Development

PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE – Member/Certified

PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE – SOUTHERN ONTARIO CHAPTER – Member

ENHANCED RELIABILITY SECURITY CLEARANCE

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