Project Manager

KANDE R. HOOTEN, PMP

SUMMARY

Project Management Professional (PMP) experienced in analyzing complex situations and developing solutions. Strong planning, effective communication and decisive leadership skills, as well as established ability to manage teams and complete projects on time and within budget. Proven record in production of measurable financial savings, process improvements and business opportunity generation.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

MERCER, Washington, DC 2000 – 2008

Senior Associate

Mercer is the world’s largest employee benefits consulting firm, with more than 18,000 employees in over 180 cities and 40 countries and territories.

Project Manager/Process Developer (2005 – 2008)

Project Management

* Managed development, creation and implementation of program to improve consistency and quality of analyst training. This program also compressed the timeframe for analysts to become well-rounded consultants, increasing the percentage of analysts receiving training from less than 10% to nearly 70%. A measurable increase in employee satisfaction and reduced turnover attributable to the program was demonstrated in the program’s first two years.

* Redefined and strengthened role of supervisors to improve communication channels and reduce turnover

* Managed 50-person team which analyzed retirement programs of S&P 500 companies, creating a benchmarking tool that resulted in consulting engagements. This report was developed within a compressed timeframe and completed well under budget ($1M).

Process Development

* Created cohesive performance management system to replace inefficient procedures, improving consistency and simplifying data collection

* Designed online portal and navigation interface for training program, creating new material as well as integrating existing training components, increasing accessibility and usability

* Facilitated centralization of core services from 40 offices to 4 retirement service centers, acting as liaison between the business process team and the service centers

Benefits Administration Team (2003 – 2005)

* Headed eight-person benefits administration team, generating $2M in revenue each year

* Developed and instituted new production standards and monitoring processes which improved team’s efficiency and reduced write-offs

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation team (2002 – 2003)

* Instituted new protocols for monitoring deadlines and communication

* Reviewed calculations and reports prepared by other team members

* Performed termination valuations for complex retirement plans

Retirement Consultant to the U.S. Department of the Treasury (2000 – 2002)

* Led $1M project to recalculate retirement benefits for over 2,000 retired police officers

* Conceived more streamlined approach to recalculating benefits, and wrote programming specifications to implement it

* Designed process and created database to collect data from paper files

* Coordinated with other departments to systematize Treasury’s response to retiree’s questions and appeals

* Developed protocols for insuring accuracy of new retirement calculations for police officers, firefighters and teachers

* Managed team to create calculations manual for determining the retirement benefits of DC police officers, firefighters, and teachers

* Project resulted in additional $1.5M in work from Department of the Treasury

AON, Bethesda, MD 1994 – 2000

Aon Corporation is the leading global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human capital consulting.

Actuary, defined benefit plans

* Served as lead actuary for multiple clients

* Performed actuarial valuations

* Initiated regular client contact to discuss developments and assess needs

* Formalized quality assurance procedures

Lead consultant, defined contribution plans

* Reconciled defined contribution accounts and produced summary reports and participant statements

* Performed non-discrimination testing

* Completed vendor searches, and created scoring tool to evaluate them on key criteria

* Consulted with clients on plan design

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION, Washington, DC 1992 – 1993

* Calculated liabilities for inclusion in PBGC’s annual actuarial valuation report

* Responded to questions regarding non-seriatim plans from actuaries and other professional staff

* Performed acceptance testing of new and revised valuation programs

WILLIAMS, THACHER & RAND, Bethesda, MD 1986 – 1991

* Performed actuarial valuations

* Programmed special studies

* Calculated retirement benefits

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

* BA, in Mathematics, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa

* Project Management Professional (PMP)

* Member, Project Management Institute (PMI)

* Relevant training:

- Project Management, Experienced (2003)

- Project Management, Advanced (2004)

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