I am a forward-thinking Program Manager with 14 years of project management experience in educational software implementations. Driven by a strong sense of team, I work in a collaborative manner with dedication to partnering with my coworkers to promote an engaged and empowering work culture that is focused on client satisfaction. I have strengths in building and maintaining relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders in dynamic and fast-paced settings.
Overview
4
4
years of post-secondary education
13
13
years of professional experience
Work History
Program Manager
Follett School Solutions
McHenry, IL
11.2015 - Current
Develop and manage work breakdown structure for information technology projects including but not limited to software development, custom java development, data conversion and software implementation.
Manage project execution to ensure adherence to budget, schedule, and scope.
Monitor or track project milestones and deliverables.
Initiate, review, or approve modifications to project plans.
Establish and execute a successful project communication plan to keep internal stakeholders, project resources, partner resources, vendors and clients informed.
Confer with subject matter experts on the team to identify and resolve problems.
Prepare individual project and program status reports by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing information and trends.
Coordinate recruitment or selection of project personnel as projects advance.
Assign duties, responsibilities, and spans of authority to project personnel (local and international resources).
Identify and select vendors or consultants to meet current or upcoming demands of the projects.
Monitor the performance of project resources and provide and document performance feedback.
Assess current or future customer needs and priorities through direct client communication, product user groups, Q&A forums, and other methods.
Schedule and facilitate meetings with all required stakeholders to advance various project tasks, remove blockers, and plan for future tasks.
Manage communication and relationship between business partner, vendors and the customer, and serve as the point of contact and escalation point for the resolution of unresolved problems, complaints, and complex service requests or projects.
Work closely with product management team to identify valuable product enhancements and manage the work through to completion via Agile System Development Life Cycle.
Assessed performance and scheduled cost control while maintaining contractual and internal performance requirements.
Software Implementation Project Manager
Follett Software Company / CIC
08.2008 - 11.2015
Facilitated all customer facing kick-off and implementation meetings to evaluate the current state of project and to identify implementation needs.
Created and managed timelines and budgets for each client implementation.
Developed metrics to effectively measure client readiness as well as project success and client satisfaction.
Created technical project plans outlining tasks, milestone dates and allocation of resources aligned to Statements of Work that were tailored to each client for the effective implementation of the software product.
Owned and managed, including deliverables, facilitating customer meetings, project-related communications, and technical project escalations through to resolution.
Maintained up-to-date knowledge of the software product to better address client needs.
Facilitated all customer facing kick-off and implementation meetings to evaluate the current state of project and to identify implementation needs.
Created and managed timelines and budgets for each client implementation.
Created technical project plans outlining tasks, milestone dates and allocation of resources aligned to Statements of Work that were tailored to each client for the effective implementation of the software product.
Owned and managed, including deliverables, facilitating customer meetings, project-related communications, and technical project escalations through to resolution.
Maintained up-to-date knowledge of the software product to better address client needs of the software.
Education
Associate of Applied Science - Business Administration And Management
Northern Illinois University
Dekalb, IL
09.2004 - 06.2008
Skills
Program leadership
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Software
Microsoft Office Suite
Azure DevOps
Microsoft Project
VersionOne
Timeline
Program Manager
Follett School Solutions
11.2015 - Current
Software Implementation Project Manager
Follett Software Company / CIC
08.2008 - 11.2015
Associate of Applied Science - Business Administration And Management