Project Manager, Project Coordinator

GULIN KURUCAK

Plano, Texas ***** 908-***-**** ************@*****.***

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gulin-kurucak/

Fully Work Authorized. No Visa Sponsorship Required.

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

PMP certified Project Manager / Certified Scrum Master with 13 years of experience in project management using Agile & Waterfall methodologies. Team leader and able to complete multi-phase projects from beginning to the end while meeting the design, schedule and quality requirements. A strong collaborative leader with interpersonal skills, management knowledge and communication abilities. Proficient in English and Turkish.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification, Project Management Institute, Pennsylvania, USA

Professional Scrum Master (PSM I), Scrum.org

Certificate of Completion to CMMI for Development v1.3, BTG

PM Agile 101 Workshop, PMI Dallas Chapter

Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python), Coursera

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Freelance Translator, Plano, TX, USA Jan 2020 - Continuing

Provided translation services from English to Turkish and Turkish to English

Met objectives and deadlines set by clients

Used translation tools and software to streamline the translation process

Ensured final projects are complete and without errors in both languages

Project Manager / Scrum Master Apr 2018 – Sep 2019

Basarsoft Information Technologies, Ankara, Turkey

One of the leading companies in the software development and SaaS services in Turkey

Managed multiple international and national mobile application development, GIS software, software implementation projects from the beginning to the end

oWorked in software development and implementation projects with a budget of $5 million dollar for 5 different electric distribution companies, transforming their infrastructure into the software environment, integrating data with SAP-ISU and SAP-CRM, and migrating data

oLed the development of web application project which is aiming to move the telecommunication infrastructure of Turkey into digital environment, worked with GSM operators in Turkey.

oManaged a web and mobile application project with a budget of $7 million dollar for GFK Turkey, India, Malaysia and Pakistan, which is aiming to conduct surveys on the field and evaluate the results

Led cross-functional and geographically dispersed teams (~30+ people) and managed the execution of the project schedule throughout the project lifecycle

Organized Scrum meetings, which included Sprint Planning, Daily Scrums, and Sprint Reviews, removed impediments that slow down the projects, coached on Scrum/Agile processes and give feedback to individuals and teams

Developed and closely managed project schedules for the customer and internal teams to ensure processes and deadlines are being met efficiently

Utilized work-breakdown structures (WBS) to ensure appropriate allocation of resources based on cost estimates and develop manageable scheduling for completion of deliverables

Managed gathering and documentation of requirements in collaboration with the business analysts and ensured business requirements, success criteria and test results are documented, approved and tracked throughout the project

Worked closely with Software Developers, Product Owners and QA teams to make sure user stories and acceptance criteria are completed and signed off

Organized and conducted monthly meetings with the management team to present status of the projects and reported variances in budgets, scopes and schedules

Functioned as the primary contact for the client, ensured timely resolution of client concerns and management of business issues including contracts and additional services

Took part in process improvement team, trained 100+ people on Agile fundamentals and prepared training materials, worked with product owners to improve product backlog management

Ensured resource availability and allocation, engaging team members in the project and encouraging them to make a meaningful contribution to the project

Organized customer training activities, coordinated the preparation of training materials, documentation, collected feedback from customers to become better

Project Manager Dec 2013 – Mar 2018

Tubitak Sage, Ankara, Turkey

Governmental Agency performing research and development activities, engineering, and production for defense industry

Managed R&D, product development and manufacturing projects with $100K to multi-million dollar budgets, working across engineering and external teams to ensure that projects are on track

oWorked with Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control for the integration of SOM-J missile to F-35

oWorked in KEMENT Project, which is the first tactical data link system project of Turkey

Ensured adherence to cost, schedule and scope constraints, analyzed project profitability

Prepared, implemented, monitored, and updated the project plan. Coordinated with the business owner and upper level management to ensure the actions are consistent with the approved plan

Provided support in the search for quality subcontractors and involved in preparation of vendor contracts, saved $30K after negotiations. Controlled cost database for the projects and approval of payments

Managed and the preperation of non-dislosure agreements, followed up the terms and dates

Established organizational project management processes and procedures, making sure that they are aligned with PMI

Managed relationships with stakeholders, prepared project status updates and presentations to internal and external stakeholders

Prepared vendor contracts, coordinated the estimation of cost, risks, schedule and preperation of the Statement of Works. Managed 3rd party suppliers, coordinated their schedules

Collaborated with senior management to develop annual and quarterly goals for the PMO team, defined KPIs, track progress and report on performance

Proactively managed all contract terms, including changes in work scope, timeline, and obligations and ensure appropriate planning measures are taken with internal and external stakeholders to formalize and administer contract changes

Project Engineer Nov 2007 – Sep 2011

Roketsan Missiles Inc., Ankara, Turkey

Defense Company, which is in the top 100, for designing, developing, and manufacturing defense systems

Worked in international and national defense system projects with a budget of $48M+

Defined and initiated projects, managed cost, schedule and performance of projects, while working to ensure the ultimate success of each project

Worked closely with the Technical Project Management team to build out project plans, share best practices, help resolve project issues, coordinated to ensure staff is properly allocated to tasks, and supported team with any other needs

Maintained project documentation, analyzed lessons learned and shared with the organization’s project management community

Communicated project objectives, progress and status to all levels of the organization

Coordinated project team of 30+ to track project timelines, deliverables, and budgets

Minimized, managed, and avoided risks to milestones, schedules and objectives of project

Analyzed the impact and extent of owner and subcontractor delays and major schedule changes

Prepared reports and presentations on project status for the management team and the clients

Coordinated the technical team and other relevant departments in the subcontractor selection, making sure that all documents are prepared on time

Established and maintained relationships with clients via business meetings, phone conversations, presentations, etc.

Sales Support Specialist Aug 2005 – Sep 2007

Borusan Machinery, Ankara, Turkey

Official distributor of Caterpillar in Turkey

Served as the first point of contact to inbound inquiries, provided information and technical information about products and prices

Investigated and researched all customer inquiries and concerns and followed-up promptly with the customer

Assisted in annually physical inventory counts, entered and managed inventory in the computer system

Tracked weekly, monthly, and quarterly performance and sales metrics

Took part in six sigma projects as a green belt making $100K revenue

Managed shipping and billing of product, making sure that every order is on time

Prepared 15-20 quotes and tender documents per week, followed up the status of the documents

Acted as inside sales representative for customers, provided customers with product and service information, answered questions via phone or email

Functioned as liaison between clients and internal, cross-functional departments to ensure highest level of service excellence and timely resolution of invoicing disputes

Used SAP CRM to track customer data, entered new customer information, updated when necessary

Followed up with customers regularly regarding services scheduled and payments due

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

Salesforce Transformation Project Consultant Sep 2020 - Continuing

Bridge to Turkiye Fund, North Carolina, USA

A Non-Profit Organization based in North Carolina whose mission is financing and supporting projects in the fields of education and public health care for children in Turkey

Managing Salesforce implementation project with an emphasis of Agile Software Management, by creating user stories and delivering them in weekly sprints and tracking with Trello, Jira, Confluence tools

Ensuring that appropriate project documentation and deliverables are clearly defined and delivered

Conducting consulting and business analysis sessions with stakeholders to gather business requirements

Training of new users, and grow the Salesforce.com skill set across the organization

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree in Industrial Engineering, 2005

Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

Ranked as one of the best universities in Turkey

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Strong knowledge of Waterfall and Agile methodologies and Software Development Life Cycle

Comfortable supporting multiple projects simultaneously, with an inherent ability to work well under tight timelines, having strong problem-solving capabilities

Excellent written and oral communication skills with a professional, positive and enthusiastic attitude, team leadership

Demonstrated strong organizational skills with strong PC literacy with MS Office Applications, MS Project, MS Visio, JIRA, Confluence, Trello, Azure DevOps, SharePoint, Teamcenter PLM, Google Suite, SmartSheet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams

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