MICHAEL OKUTO MSIS MBA SFC CSM

Atlanta, Georgia Mobile: 281-***-**** adrhy2@r.postjobfree.com SUMMARY

Over 15 years in project management across a wide range of industries with a forte in organizing people and ideas to get things done. Experienced in organizing and leading cross-functional teams to improve strategy and processes. Fostering combined leadership and professional experience to deliver large-scale projects on time and on budget by effectively collaborating, facilitating, leading, and coaching multiple teams.

CERTIFICATIONS

Scrum Fundamentals Certified (SFC) September 2018 Scrum Master Certified (CSM) December 2018

TECHNOLOGY SKILLS

Business Skills Project Planning, Scheduling and Budgeting, Business Process Improvement, Change Management, Impact Analysis, JAD sessions, and SWOT analysis. SDLC Methodologies Waterfall, Scrum, Kanban, Hybrids, XP. Project Management Tools MS Project Professional, Unified Modeling Language (UML), MS Sharepoint, mingle. Agile Management Tools JIRA, Rally, HP Agile Manager. Documentation Tools MS Office Suite, SharePoint.

Office Tools MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS SharePoint, MS Project. ROLES DOMAIN EXPERTISE CORE COMPETENCIE

Project Manager. Travel. Conflict Resolution.

Project Coordinator. Automotive. Cross Functional Team Management. Scrum Master. IT. Agile Methodologies.

Release Coordinator. Healthcare. Project Management. Business Relationship Analyst. E-commerce & Retail. Business Planning. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Vacation Express, Atlanta, GA Project Manager (January 2016 – Present) Manages day-to-day operational aspects of projects and project scope, by effectively applying methodologies that enforce project standards and by minimizing exposure and risks on projects. Create and execute project work plans and revisions as appropriate to meet changing needs and requirements, including the identification of needed resources and assignment to appropriate personnel. Experience includes the areas of: Project Management

• Manages all aspects of key company initiatives and all project management requirements including preparing project management documentation, meeting materials, tracking deliverables, producing periodic projects status for senior leadership and departmental Managers.

• Manages an internal and external team of 10 consisting of developers, business analysts and QA Engineers. Assigns tasks, sets design review meetings, and ensures team members understand requirements and proposed designs.

• Coordinates QA and development efforts. Facilitates QA engineers in determination of test methods for each developed component.

• Works closely with project owners throughout the development cycle ensuring the proposed design meets customer requirements.

• Directly reports to the VP of Operations with some reporting to the President as I work with a cross-functional team including IT, multiple operational areas, and offsite software developers to execute projects within a compressed timeframe to improve service delivery across the company.

• From time to time, conducts business and system analysis on different products, creates cost/benefit analysis and presents findings to executive leadership for decision.

Project Administration

• Provides project estimates, and for competing offers. Solicits specialty contractor bids to ensure project compliance and completion; conduct quality control review workloads and set priorities to meet required project schedules and objectives.

• Liaises with business owners to compile project requirements and specifications for the development of different Software Applications and Ad Hoc reporting, and also craft project milestones for stakeholder from various business functions.

• Oversees all Vacation Express IT and non-IT related projects including infrastructure, software development, web development and augmentation. Defines policies, procedures, and documentation to create, manage and control the project schedule.

• Standardizes project templates across the company, including status reports, business requirements, work plans, functional design, technical design, operations support manual.

• Oversees and coordinates any project work performed by outside vendors. Team Management

• Effectively supervises, trains, and motivates staff, as well as assigns company employees into projects. Build cooperative teams, staying involved with all staff members to develop and instill a genuine team spirit; mediate conflicts and delegate jobs and authority in accordance with employees' skills and abilities.

• Provides leadership and analytical support on strategic initiatives and cross-organizational programs as requested. Assumes ownership and project management responsibilities to successfully execute special projects, as identified by the executives.

• Work across 8 departments including finance, operations, marketing, sales, product development, reservation, HR, and IT.

• Manages projects with a global dynamic from time to time, leading far - flung teams on virtual and multicultural environments. COX Automotive – Manheim, Atlanta, GA Program Coordinator (June 2015 – January 2016) Charged with coordination of Manheim’s three-year $100 million gavel to gate project for the reporting team of 200 members and 4 project managers. The project aim was to use technology to redesign and streamline customer experience at auction from the fall of the gavel to when the customer leaves the gate. Worked closely with Project Management Office (PMO) and senior leadership to develop and implement the requirements, including creation of the project lifecycle documentations, frameworks, governance, and standards to be utilized.

• Communicated weekly reporting program status to Cox Automotive executive leadership and Gavel to Gate project leadership.

• Compiled concise and clear project status reports from project managers supporting four complex work streams including internal reporting, external reporting, new technology and data, systems, and integration testing.

• Worked with the Quality Analysts (QA) lead in preparing traceability matrix for 100% coverage of requirements and documentation of the testing process in the application lifecycle management (ALM).

• Fostered positive working relationships with internal project team members as well as ancillary teams.

• Provided general guidance and clear documentation to senior management as it relates to the reporting program on a weekly basis.

• Facilitated collaboration and flexibility for impromptu queries or meetings related to reporting requirements management, project management and testing.

• Managed stakeholder expectations, ensuring delivery of the highest quality services, and solicited and acted on feedback

• Executed on the PMO plans, policies and procedures for products and services, maintaining alignment with the broader solutions strategic objectives

Canterbury Ventures, Atlanta, GA Management Consultant (May 2013 – May 2015) Utilize agile and phase-based methodologies to develop solutions that lower operational costs and continuously improve client processes.

• Worked with clients and business analysts to understand business needs and Software Requirements Specification (SRS). Conducted project planning, scheduling, and requirements clarification.

• Reported progress of the projects per established guidelines and mitigated the bottlenecks while executing project plan by acting as a connecting pin between on-site and offshore teams and escalated issues for timely resolution.

• Assessed variances from the project plan, gathered metrics, developed and implemented changes as necessary to ensure the projects remained within specified scope, within time, cost, and quality objectives. St. Thomas, Smyrna, GA Program Director (January 2010 – May 2013) Performed project and contract management, developed project plans, identified key milestones, tracked metrics, and managed partners throughout the life of the projects to ensure adherence to project schedules & budgets.

• Managed annual budget of $100,000 and lead a senior team of 3 who developed and defined various project’s scope and successfully managed all phases of the development life cycle.

• Generated yearly program case with funding requirements, resources needed, risk assessment, benefit analysis and metrics for measuring success.

• Slashed debt by $10,000 in the first two years, wrote and was awarded 4 grants amounting to $20,000, and attracting donors to sponsor department projects.

EDUCATION

Kennesaw State University, Coles College of Business, Kennesaw, GA Master of Business Administration (MBA), December 2014 Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS), December 2014 Urbaniana University, Rome, Italy.

Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, May 2004

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