Sara Kaleemi
Richmond,TX
Summary
Program Manager with experience in leading high-impact financial technical projects. Extensive experience in strategic planning, program management, project tracking, vendor management, and risk management. Expertise in cross-functional team governance and software tools like JIRA and Confluence. Recognized for significantly improving team efficiency and accomplishing challenging goals.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Director, Professional Services/Client Implementations
Fiserv
Houston, TX
01.2022 - 02.2024
- Led a high-performing team of over 25 professional services resources, delivering exceptional service 24/7 to more than 100 clients for a $44M portfolio through a $1.2M budget.
- Led a team of implementation professionals responsible for strategically planning, managing, and implementing technology projects, and acted as an escalation point in resolving critical project issues and risks.
- Provided leadership and direction in developing standard methodology, processes, tools, and templates for managing IT projects.
- Streamlined implementation processes through industry best practices for business process improvement, leading to reduced time and effort, and identified, monitored, and managed key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Forged strategic cross-departmental partnerships to identify client needs, develop customized solutions, smoothen change management and onboarding processes, and eliminate roadblocks to sales and implementation.
- Reviewed project budget proposals, and recommended subsequent budget changes where necessary.
- Tracked and monitored all project milestones and deliverables.
- In collaboration with senior management, I defined how the IT project scope, goals, and deliverables should support business goals.
Manager, Professional Services/Client Implementations
Fiserv
Houston, TX
01.2021 - 01.2022
- Led successful client implementations by exceeding internal standards, SLAs, and industry benchmarks, managing and maintaining over 15M$ run and new build portfolio
- Created detailed road maps, plans, and schedules to complete projects on time and within budget
- Analysis of financial and statistical data reduced operational costs by 12%
- Secured over $5 million in revenue through full-cycle project management, including feasibility studies and ROI analysis to RFPs, scope definition, timelines, milestones, budgets, billing, and delivery
- Reduced rework and errors by 30% through comprehensive training, best-in-class tools, processes, and methodologies
Sr. Implementation Analyst/Business Analyst, Professional Services/Client Implementations
Fiserv
Houston, TX
01.2019 - 01.2021
- Worked with cross-functional teams on enterprise-level output solutions projects for Fintech, Utilities, Insurance, Loyalty programs, and Healthcare.
- Steered the project lifecycle with precision, overseeing every stage from planning, implementation, execution, closure, and support.
- Managed a spectrum of activities, from scope definition to closing, ensuring the successful deployment of projects of all sizes.
- Enhanced operational efficiency through streamlining incident response, issue resolution, and change management processes, contributing to improved sales and implementation practices.
- Supported the sales cycle by fostering effective collaboration with sales support, business units, development, and solution architects to respond to RFPs, RFQs, and RFIs.
- Monitored and facilitated bug resolutions to optimize software.
- Developed detailed reports outlining key performance indicators related to projects.
- Ensured compliance with industry regulations by keeping up-to-date on changes in policies or laws.
- Worked with off-site teams to complete timely tests and facilitate smooth product releases.
- Updated and maintained databases with current information.
- Managed inventory and supplies to ensure materials were available when needed.
Business Analyst
CHEERS, TD, Scotia Bank, Procom/Flextrack, LexisNexis, SOCAN
Toronto, Canada
04.2009 - 03.2018
- At Procom/Flextrack, I was responsible for consulting with clients, gathering requirements, presenting best practices, driving functional design consultation, and delivering the solution for VMS, recruiting, reporting, and onboarding platform
- Aligned company goals with user stories and requirements to support ERP/CRM cloud deployments
- Collaborated across Agile teams to develop business cases, documentation, and user interfaces
- Owned all aspects of BA: process analysis, user stories, data flow, testing, and stakeholder engagement
Business Analyst
Broadridge, IFDS, TD, BOWNE, MERIX
Toronto, Canada
01.2005 - 12.2008
- Gathered business requirements, system design, solution implementation, functional specs, user interface, system integration, project delivery, testing, training, traceability matrix, data analysis, and BAU support
Education
Master of Arts - Management
Harvard University
Boston, MA12.2026
Bachelor of Arts (BA) - Information Technology
York University
Certificate - Leadership, and Management
Harvard Business School
Certificate - Organizational Management
Harvard University
Diploma - Business Administration
Granton School of Technology
Skills
- Leadership
- Strategic Planning
- Client Management
- Project Management
- Resource Management
- Cloud
- Product Management
- Budget Forecast & Management
- Contract Lifecycle Management
- Talent Management
- Process Improvement
- Software Development
Professional Highlights
- Improved client retention by 50% by ensuring on-time, under-budget project delivery and implementing process optimizations that saved over $8 million.
- Established a strong employee development program resulting in performance improvement, employee engagement, alignment with organizational goals, and improved productivity.
- Proven experience in software development, translating strategic vision into actionable plans, driving process improvements, and developing a Center of Excellence.
- Helped develop a product roadmap, including the marketing, pricing, market research, and positioning strategy.
- Secured over $10 million in new client initiatives and change management through cross-functional team leadership and strategic growth. Reduced impact on clients by monitoring and managing risk and applying best practices.
Timeline
Director, Professional Services/Client Implementations
Fiserv
01.2022 - 02.2024
Manager, Professional Services/Client Implementations
Fiserv
01.2021 - 01.2022
Sr. Implementation Analyst/Business Analyst, Professional Services/Client Implementations
Fiserv
01.2019 - 01.2021
Business Analyst
CHEERS, TD, Scotia Bank, Procom/Flextrack, LexisNexis, SOCAN
04.2009 - 03.2018
Business Analyst
Broadridge, IFDS, TD, BOWNE, MERIX
01.2005 - 12.2008
Bachelor of Arts (BA) - Information Technology
York University
Certificate - Leadership, and Management
Harvard Business School
Certificate - Organizational Management
Harvard University
Diploma - Business Administration
Granton School of Technology
Master of Arts - Management
Harvard University
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