Project Manager
Resume:
Deadra H. Hughes
**********@*****.*********:**********@*****.***
(Cell) 225-***-****
Summary:
Accomplished Senior Project Manager with extensive experience leading complex, large-scale, enterprise-wide ERP transformation initiatives, including digital and business modernization efforts. Proven success in planning and executing projects such as upgrading subsidiary organizations from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA, in collaboration with the Program Management Office to ensure delivery on time, within budget, and in scope. Brings a strong background across diverse industries including manufacturing, engineering, and nuclear energy. I am skilled in strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, cross-functional team leadership, and project execution. Known for driving high-quality outcomes by managing schedules, budgets, and risk, while maintaining comprehensive project documentation and providing clear, consistent reporting to stakeholders. I provide exceptional leadership, communication, and time management skills, with a continuous improvement mindset and a commitment to delivering measurable business value.
Professional Experience:
November 2024 to Present:
Project Manager; Ergon Inc., Flowood, MS
Project lead, managing cross-functional teams with responsibilities for project schedule and performance.
Ensure that business outcomes are defined, approved, and delivered
Communicate regularly and effectively the project roadmap and milestones with project stakeholders
Directly contributes to project definition, development, and enhancement efforts schedule estimation and tracking, requirements analysis, and quality assurance activities
Perform analysis of business and user needs, documentation of requirements, and translation into proper requirements specifications
Utilizes expert communication skills needed to direct skilled technical resources and report on the technical progress, issues, and problem areas, as well as write and review technical documents
Prepare affected business areas for transition to a new way of working, potentially implementing new business processes
Lead the end-to-end planning, execution, and delivery of software development projects
Create and maintain detailed project plans, schedules, and roadmaps.
Monitor and track project progress, adjusting plans as necessary to ensure milestones are met
Identify and mitigate risks and resolve issues to keep projects on track
Provide regular project status updates to stakeholders and upper management
Ensure that all project documentation is complete, up-to-date, and accessible
Monitor and track progress with organizational and operational Change Management
Manage projects using project management methodologies such as waterfall and agile
Experience working with projects in an SAP environment and supporting S/4 greenfield implementations
April 2022 to September 2024:
Sr. IT Project Manager (Contract); Haworth Mfg., Holland, MI
Provide coordination, direction, and communication among Information Services (IS) Business Functional areas, and business affiliates on project and concerns related to global information services
Provide direction in architecture, design, deployment, and execution of project initiatives and strategy
Provide updates to executive leadership, conduct strategy workshops, and develop project application strategies
Conduct comprehensive strategy workshop with Team members to make decisions and complete project plan updates
Conduct comprehensive strategy workshops to map work processes
Develop a project application strategy for implementation with client key decision-makers
Conduct internal coordination sessions on a pre-defined schedule to monitor progress on key elements of this Plan
Modify project plans for progress tracking and monitoring key deliverables
Manage and implement strategic plan for the enterprise project management office (EPMO)
Engage innovative approaches to strategic planning using creative, educational workshops, and survey data
Create a road map for the EPMO to produce results for prioritized project applications that establish a plan for moving towards meeting overall project objectives
Management of project activities – planning, coordinating, measuring, monitoring, controlling, and reporting– ensures that effective deployments are systematic, disciplined and measured
Manage project technology and innovation using software development tools and programming techniques and object architectures to provide working solutions that meet the project needs
October 2021 to April 2022:
Sr. Project Manager (Contract); Waggoner ENG., Jackson, MS
Established vision and strategy for team proposals, building client relationships and delivering on project goals
Build client relationships, identify client opportunities, and deliver on project plan goals (e.g., revenue, profitability, client account growth and client satisfaction)
Manage accountability for client account performance and team support
Establish team leader goals for setting contact strategy, and achieving performance results
Provide technical resources needed to manage project support
Serves as project manager for specific assigned projects including project scope, budget, schedule, and
quality
Leads project assignments for team members and produce reports for Client Account Managers
Manage and track performance in the client relationship management (CRM) module of Deltek’s Vision platform
Manage the client business plan and gather the relevant information on our target milestones
Provide reports on the performance of client assignments and any feedback we receive from client relationships
Identify specific assignment opportunities with assigned target client
Define technology and innovation requirements for clients to meet unique needs through application design sessions, interviews, and surveys
PMO capabilities include monitoring a project’s schedule, budget, conformance with design criteria, completion to specifications and efficient and effective implementation
September 2019 to October 2021:
Sr. Project Manager; Entergy Nuclear Division, Port Gibson, MS.
Responsible for the execution of one or more simultaneous projects in accordance with a valid, executed contract, per Company policies and procedures, and work instructions.
Overall project execution, including monitoring project schedules, work assignments, budgets, & workforce expenditures
Directed all project phases – engineering (basic and detailed), procurement, fabrication, construction and commissioning/start-up
Maintained a strategic focus for the project with frequent interaction with the business area and the client to ensure a balance between the immediate project needs and the long-term goals
Managed the execution of the project with a focus on maintaining or improving the as-sold profit level for projects
Prepared detailed project budget and tracked project progress against objectives
Tracked the project against the schedule, budget & phase review objectives & give status reports regularly to the customer & executive staff
Coordinate all engineering input for the initial bid to the customer
Review and approves key project documents including P&IDs, Plot Plans, and Operating Manuals
April 2018 to September 2019:
Project Engineer; Linde Engineering North America, Hydrochem Division, Holly Springs, GA.
Executed simultaneous projects in accordance with a valid, executed contract, per Company policies and procedures, and work instructions
Overall project execution, including monitoring project schedules, work assignments, budgets, & workforce expenditures
Directed all project phases – engineering (basic and detailed), procurement, fabrication, construction and commissioning/start-up
Maintained strategic focus for the project with frequent interaction with the business area and the client to ensure a balance between the immediate project needs and the long-term goals of the company
Executed projects with a focus on maintaining or improving the as-sold profit level for the project
Prepared detailed project budget and manage final execution of the project’s cost
Tracked project progress against the schedule, budget & phase review objectives & give status reports regularly to the customer & executive staff
Coordinated all engineering input for the initial bid to the customer
Reviewed and approved key project documents including P&IDs, Plot Plans, Operating Manuals, and Lessons Learned Coordinator
August 2017 to April 2018:
Project Manager (Contract); Safebuilt, Alpharetta, GA.
Managed monthly data reports, generated metric presentations, and ensured consistent data entry for metric tracking
Defined project scope, goals, and deliverables that supported business objectives in collaboration with City of Atlanta and SAFEbuilt personnel and external clients
Developed full-scale project plans and associated communication documents
Provided technical assistance and troubleshooting to project staff, coordinating assistance through the corporate office
Proactively managed changes in project scope, identified potential crises, and devised contingency plans
Identified and resolved issues and conflicts within the project development team
Estimated the resources and participants needed to achieve project goals
Negotiated with other department managers for the acquisition of required resources
Established corporate project management standards and applied best practices and tools for project management, risk mitigation, and scope management
May 2017 to August 2017:
Inside Project Manager (Contract); eBryIT, Inc., Kennesaw, GA.
Managed offsite field installation projects, supervised project personnel, and reviewed subcontractor invoices
Ensured project timelines and budgets were met while maintaining accuracy and updating project databases.
Maintained accuracy and update current project databases.
Create status reports for Vendor and customers
Reviewed subcontractor invoices for accuracy
June 2012 to December 2016:
Project Development Leader (PDL); Dow Chemical Company, North America.
Responsible for timely, pro-active engagement with assigned business clients on all tactical aspects of capital project planning and implementation. Worked in collaboration with the business leaders and stakeholders to implement effective business decisions for project implementation. Lead project teams to deliver the highest value growth initiatives for various project teams and apply project management discipline to implement major initiatives, providing analytical support and problem insight while working successfully aligned with cross-functional teams. Manage and document project execution plans, processes, and meetings to ensure results and the delivery of service for stakeholders.
Engaged with assigned business clients to proactively plan and implement capital projects, working collaboratively with business leaders and stakeholders to make effective project-related decisions.
Led project teams to deliver high-value growth initiatives and applied project management discipline to implement major initiatives, providing analytical support and problem insight.
Managed and documented project execution plans, processes, and meetings to ensure results and service delivery for stakeholders.
Ensured the team consistently used standards and applied value-improving practices and tools for engineering service delivery and team communication in project implementation planning.
Provided strategic leadership and a visionary outlook, driving alignment with key stakeholders to meet short and long-term project requirements.
Offered strategic oversight of project planning and execution to ensure the success of all capital and financial results.
Conducted work with a focus on safety and quality, ensuring documentation was retrievable and repeatable.
Led the Project Development Team in early Front-End Loading (FEL) activities for capital projects.
Facilitated reporting on key project performance indicators, achieving an average score of 7.9 out of ten for project metrics, and documented lessons learned in the engineering database.
Collaborated with Project Managers, Global Implementation Leaders, and Business Manufacturing Leaders to develop project documents and proposals for team gate reviews.
Presented at national events, web ex meetings, and conferences, and consulted with business technology centers to develop customized project execution strategies, including financial modeling, Process Engineering, Process Automation, Estimating, and related design discipline activities.
Developed strategic partnerships with stakeholders, fostering credibility and trust.
Built a project development team alliance to produce feasibility studies for projects ranging from $2MM to $170MM for North America assigned businesses and contributed to the global client service team.
June 2000 to May 2012:
Sr. Project Specialist, Engineering Solutions; Dow Chemical, Plaquemine, LA.
Provide functional leadership for contingent staff personnel for detail design, procurement and construction teams assigned to business aligned projects to design and implement multiple projects to meet time and budget constraints
Manage team performance based on cost, schedule, safety, and performance of project load between $20-30 MM on an annual basis, spread over multiple business units
Evaluate contingent staff performance and submit evaluations to contingent staff services
Ensure that project scope, schedule and budget are clearly defined, closely coordinated and controlled via Global Project Methodology (GPM)
Participated and facilitated in Cause-and-Effect Root Cause Investigations
Facilitated assessments internal to Dow and with third party - Independent Project Analysis
Proven record and direct expertise delivering (as Project Executive/Project Manager) large Cap Ex Construction projects across the entire project life cycle
Industry expertise in Petro Chemicals with experience as Owner’s Representative, Design/Build or Engineering Procurement & Construction (EPC) with knowledge and expertise delivering continuous improvement programs, i.e. Lean/Six Sigma
Proficiency in industrial engineering, contractor management, design optimization, procurement and commissioning
January 1991 to May 2000:
Maintenance/Plant Project Engineer; Vulcan Chemicals; Geismar, LA.
Managed capital projects and major maintenance projects
Provided preliminary estimates and yearly and monthly cost projections
Prepared and reviewed BID packages for projects
Participated in equipment inspections
Awarded three plant-wide quality awards for installing new projects and a division quality award for organizing and implementing a groundwater maintenance system
Functioned as the maintenance technical support engineer for furnace and burner repairs, pump and compressor repairs and major equipment replacements, inspections and installations
Education/Certifications:
Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering
Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS
Bachelor of Science, Mathematics
Jackson State University, Jackson, MS
Associate Certificate in Project Management
George Washington University, Arlington, VA
Classes: Fred Pryor’s Project Management Seminar; Risk Management, ESI International; Quality for Project Managers, ESI International; Project Management Applications, ESI International; Managing Projects, ESI International; Project Leadership, Management and Communications, ESI International; Presenter/Training at Independent Project Analysis Conference; Basic Project Management, LSU; Fundamentals of Supervision, LSU; Techpro Pump/Mechanical Seal School; Practical Solutions to Vibration Problems, Update International; Green Belt Project Leader Training; Global Project Methodology Trainer; Loss Prevention Principal Training; Creating Strategic Partnership Training Teambuilding Facilitator
Programming and Software Skills
Microsoft 2010, Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Outlook, Sharepoint, OneDrive, Adobe Acrobat, Access Database, WebEx, Aperture, Taleo, Google Chrome/Drive, Digital Cheetah, Mailchimp, Dropbox, Google Docs, SAP, OneNote, Dropbox, Accela, Asset Suite, PCRS, Remedy, Power BI, Lean IX, Azure DevOps, Microsoft Projects, Smartsheet, Visio, Opentext, Jira
Community Organizations
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Jack and Jill of America, BR Chapter President, Vice President, and Regional Lead Teen Sponsor; Shiloh Early Learning Academy Advisory Board: Junior League of Baton Rouge and Cobb-Marietta, Assistant Co-Chair Website Committee and Publicity Committee; LSU Minority Engineering Advisory Board; Instructor for Junior Achievement
References provided upon request.
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