Senior Project Manager, Program Manager, Solutions Delivery manager

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Ashraf Shalaby (Ash)

Cell: 647-***-**** Mississauga, ON Email: ********.******@*****.***

Senior Project Manager

Professional Profile

• An empathetic and accountable Senior IT Project & Program Manager who drives innovation, collaboration, and delivery excellence, empowering motivated teams that expedite solution delivery and elevate customer experience.

• Over 15 years of progressive experience leading complex, enterprise-scale technology and business transformation initiatives, including system integrations, SaaS adoptions, and enterprise onboardings across multiple industries.

• Agile (SAFe SPC, ACP), PMP, and PMO certified with an M.Sc. in Information Systems & Technology, leading by example with servant leadership, emotional intelligence, and a focus on stakeholder value and change enablement.

• • Lead enterprise-wide digital transformation programs in fast-paced environments, using Agile and hybrid methodologies to develop detailed project plans, manage risks and interdependencies, and ensure delivery on time, scope, and budget (up to $5M).

• Partner with business leaders to co-create solutions, gather and refine business requirements, and ensure alignment with strategic priorities, compliance standards, and measurable outcomes.

• Manage cross-functional teams of 100+ members, clarifying roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations while adapting quickly to changing priorities to achieve project goals and organizational success.

• Oversee program financials, forecast and reconcile budgets, and generate reports and cost estimates to ensure fiscal accountability and compliance with corporate finance and governance frameworks.

• Drive vendor management and procurement activities, lead RFPs, SOW negotiations, and vendor onboarding, while tracking performance metrics to ensure quality, value, and adherence to contractual obligations.

• Establish governance structures, steering committees, and decision-making frameworks, ensuring effective oversight, transparency, and alignment with enterprise standards and best practices.

• Communicate program status, risks, and updates to executives, business owners, and stakeholders, crafting concise and data-informed briefings that support executive decisions and risk mitigation strategies.

• Coach and mentor teams to embrace Agile principles, iterative delivery, and continuous improvement, supporting organizational maturity and fostering collaboration, knowledge sharing, and accountability.

• Leverage tools including JIRA, Confluence, Planview, ServiceNow, and MS Office 365 to track progress, manage dependencies, and deliver real-time, data-driven dashboards and reporting.

• Hold industry-recognized certifications (ACS, FLMI, AML) from the Life Management Institute, demonstrating commitment to compliance, governance, and understanding of accessibility and quality standards including AODA.

• Solve complex problems through critical thinking, creativity, and strong analytical skills, balancing business objectives with technology strategy to deliver compliant, cost-effective solutions. Core Strengths

• Enterprise Project Leadership (Agile & Hybrid)

• Governance, Compliance & Executive Reporting

• Project Financial, Budget & Forecast Management

• Stakeholder Engagement & Communication

• Change Management & Organizational Readiness

• Risk, Issue & Dependency Management

• Vendor Management & Procurement

• Customer Success, Experience & Service Excellence

• Process Optimization, SDLC & Continuous Delivery

• Team Development, Mentoring & Knowledge Transfer

• Agile Coaching & Team Facilitation

• Servant Leadership, Negotiation & Influence

• UAT, SIT & Quality Assurance Leadership

• ERP, SaaS & Cloud Transformation Delivery

Technical Skills, Tools and Technology

• Project Management & Delivery Tools: JIRA, ServiceNow, Planview, Smartsheet, Microsoft Project, Microsoft Azure DevOps, Aha!, Workfront, Roadmunk, Genius Project

• Methodologies & Processes: Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), Software Delivery Life Cycle (SDLC), Waterfall, Agile (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, Lean Software Development), Hybrid delivery, DevOps

• Collaboration & Productivity: Confluence, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Microsoft Office 365 (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Visio, SharePoint), Google Suite, Data analytics tools

• Programming & Databases: Visual Basic, HTML, SQL Server

• Additional Tools: Figma, Lucidchart, Balsamiq, AI Tools (MS Copilot, Gemini, ChatGPT, Gamma) 2

Professional Experience

Senior Project Manager – Acting as Program Manager (Permanent) KUBRA Canada Aug. 2019 - Present

• Report to the VP of Product Management, managing and delivering IT solutions (new and enhancements), across the USA and Canada, ensuring alignment with enterprise digital transformation initiatives and business priorities.

• Accountable for leading end-to-end client-facing SaaS platform programs (e-payments & e-billing) directing delivery for major clients in the Government, Utility, and Insurance industries.

• Plan, manage and deliver multiple concurrent projects, ensure scope, timely delivery, and adherence to budgets, while managing resources, mitigating risks and issues, and deliver value-driven dashboards to stakeholders.

• Drive transparent communication with functional managers, business partners, and vendors, translating technical concepts into business terms to manage expectations and maintain alignment.

• Coach and mentor project teams of 100+ professionals (product managers, engineers, designers, and DevOps), guiding Agile practices and fostering continuous improvement and collaboration.

• Oversee the full Project/Program Development Life Cycle (PDLC), build business cases, lead projects using Agile and hybrid methodologies, and facilitate release and change management activities.

• Serve as a transformative Lean-Agile Coach, facilitating all Scrum ceremonies (kickoff through retrospective) and leading KUBRA’s Agile Center of Excellence (KACE), fostering continuous learning and driving business agility.

• Utilize applications - Confluence, Jira, ServiceNow, Aha!, Microsoft Azure DevOps, Planview, Figma, Lucidchart and AI solutions to manage workstreams, track milestones, and deliver clear executive progress presentations.

• Enhanced governance and reporting processes, which streamlined knowledge sharing and increased project visibility, leading to a 25% reduction in project risks and a 50% increase in stakeholder satisfaction ratings.

• Designed and authored KUBRA's Agile Process (KAP) and KUBRA's Scaled Agile Framework (KSAF) from the ground up, driving organizational agility achieving a 25% increase in throughput, and 15% decrease in delivery costs.

• Successfully delivered over 16 projects (and counting), with a total value exceeding $20M, contributing to a cumulative 20% increase in company revenue.

Senior Project Manager (Contract) Telecom Metric Inc. Canada Mar. 2019 – Jul. 2019

• Reported to the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), accountable for the end-to-end delivery of IT and telecom initiatives, across Canada.

• Directed the onboarding process for clients, from kick-off to delivery, leading discovery & requirements gathering, establishing communication protocols using business acumen, and ensuring smooth transition to production.

• Led all project meetings, maintained comprehensive issues and risks logs with clear ownership and action plans, and managed all project minutes, reporting, and change requests.

• Managed project close-out, conducting post-implementation reviews, creating operations procedure manuals, identifying lessons learned, and overseeing client training to ensure a smooth transition upon completion.

• Oversaw vendor relationships and procurement activities, facilitating RFIs/RFPs, developing Statements of Work

(SOWs), conducting performance reviews, and ensuring compliance with requirements and operational policies.

• Mentored and coached cross-functional teams, providing expert guidance and direction through all project stages to foster team maturity, collaboration, and self-organization for enhanced organizational effectiveness.

• Leveraged project delivery tools, including Jira, Trello, and Smartsheet, and used ServiceNow for ticketing and incident management, to report on project progress and present executive-level reports and dashboards.

• Re-engineered project standards and templates, resulting in a streamlined workflow that increased team efficiency by 25% and reduced project delivery times by 15%.

• Trained and mentored project managers on new standards and templates, improving team adherence to best practices and contributing to a 50% increase in stakeholder satisfaction ratings. Senior Project Manager (Permanent) Empire Life Canada Nov. 2010 - Feb. 2019

• Reported to the Director of the Project Management Office (PMO), accountable for the full project lifecycle of large- scale initiatives within the Insurance, Investment, and Group Functions lines of business.

• Led the full project lifecycle for technical initiatives from initiation to closure, directing a matrixed team of over 50 members from creating business cases, defining project scope and requirements to go-live and normalization.

• Proactively managed project financials, resources, and risks, consistently completing projects on time and within budget (and repeatedly ahead of time and under budget). 3

• Developed and delivered executive-level presentations on project status, issues, and resolutions, effectively communicating with senior and C-level executives.

• Managed procurement activities and vendor relationships, providing expert advice on contract documents to ensure successful project outcomes.

• Led company-wide change management initiatives, guiding organizational transformations and developing tailored frameworks that significantly improved delivery processes.

• Provided expert project leadership and guidance, coaching and mentoring a group of project managers and cross- functional teams to drive organizational change and improve project management maturity.

• Developed project plans, schedules and track project timelines and milestones using different tools and techniques such as MS Project, Smartsheet, Jira, ServiceNow, Workfront, Roadmunk, and Genius Project.

• Served as a Senior Scrum Master, facilitating all Scrum ceremonies and maintaining Scrum artifacts in Jira, Confluence, and Smartsheet to provide servant leadership and ensure high-velocity sprints.

• Leveraged ACS, ALMI, and FLMI certifications to drive regulatory, AML, cybersecurity, and fraud management initiatives, ensuring compliance, mitigating risk, and supporting secure project and program delivery.

• Championed the company’s Agile transformation, leading the implementation steering committee, developing comprehensive deployment frameworks and processes, creating and delivering staff training programs.

• Successfully delivered a $5M+ strategic and complex program to repatriate an outsourced department, implementing CRM systems & technical systems - resulted in being promoted to a senior leadership role.

• Engineered a new PMO framework for Project Management, which improved governance for over 50 projects and significantly enhanced the technical delivery for 800+ staff members.

• Created a comprehensive Waterfall Project Management playbook, leading to a 20% decrease in project overruns and enhancing project forecasting accuracy by 35% across the PMO department. Project Manager (Permanent) Amazon UK Aug. 2007 - Jul. 2010

• Reported to the Director of Project Management, managing and delivering global and complex IT projects, leading virtual and cross-functional teams to ensure all deliverables meet defined scope, budget, and schedules.

• Defined project scope, authored foundational documents, including the Project Charter and Stakeholder Register and established clear roles and responsibilities, to formally initiate projects.

• Created comprehensive project plans, including communications, resource allocation, and risk management plans, effectively guiding project execution, managing and collaborating with a distributed team of 18 members.

• Managed project funds (~500K GBP) and vendor relationships, advising on procurement activities and authoring key contract documents such as the Statement of Work (SOW) to ensure project outcomes were met.

• Proactively identified, tracked, and managed project risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies (RAID), creating a centralized reporting framework to ensure comprehensive stakeholder understanding and buy-in.

• Tracked project progress, resources, and budget using a suite of project management tools, including MS Project, MS Excel, and MS Visio, to deliver comprehensive executive progress report and dashboards.

• Improved project management practices by standardizing processes and enhancing efficiency, which resulted in a 35% increase in KPI results, demonstrating enhanced teams’ performance. IT Manager (Permanent) Andalusia Group Egypt Jan. 2004 - Jul. 2007 Software Engineer/Developer (Permanent) IBM Egypt Sep. 1997 - Dec. 2003 Education

• M.Sc. in Information Systems & Information Technology, Major in Data Mining and Data Analytics The Arab Academy for Science and Technology, Egypt, 2010. (GPA 4.0)

• B.Sc. of Engineering, Alexandria University, Egypt, 1994

(Grade: Very Good - with degree of honor)

Certifications

• Project Management Professional (PMP) – Project Management Institute (PMI)

• PMO Certified Practitioner (PMO-CP) – Global Alliance – Project Management Institute (PMI)

• Agile Certified Practitioner (ICP-ACP) – ICAgile

• SAFe® Program Consultant (SPC 6) – Scaled Agile, Inc.

• ITIL Foundation Certification

• ACS, Associate Customer Service, Life Management Institute 4

• ALMI, Associate: Life Management Institute

• FLMI, Fellow: Life Management Institute

• MCT, Microsoft Certified Trainer, Microsoft

• MCAD, Microsoft Certified Application Developer, Microsoft

• MCSE, Microsoft Certified systems Engineer, Microsoft

• MCDBA, Microsoft Certified Database Administrator, Microsoft Training Courses

• Mind Mapping and Emotional Intelligence by Tony Buzan

• Designing Growth Strategies

• Leadership Foundations

• Strategic Planning Foundations

• Transitioning from Waterfall to Agile Project Management

• Agile Project Management with Microsoft Project

• SAFe Release Train Engineer Course (6.0)

• Train the Trainer course

Extracurricular Activities

• College Instructor: Project Management Curriculum (diverse student body, multiple programs)

• Lead community projects: planning, resource management, and stakeholder communication.

• Mentor junior professionals through informal programs.

• Contribute to professional blogs, workshops and industry publications.

• Organize and speak at industry workshops and conferences.

• Volunteer with non-profit organizations by managing specific initiatives including technology implementation.

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