Organisation: NSW Roads and Maritime Services
Job Title: Project Development Officer
Location: Paramatta
Experience drafting project plans, procedures and guidelines for the operation of a business function
With a demonstrated record in managing the successful delivery in business improvements and efficiencies, I possess strong experience in the drafting of documentation, including procedures, guidelines and project plans as part of the improvement process. One of my recent projects has involved end-to-end redevelopment of business processes and the associated documentation to increase the accountability, transparency and efficiency of certain Macquarie Bank operational procedures.
As an example one of the Macquarie Bank processes I reviewed was the actioning of client requests by the client maintenance team – in this context requests might comprise something like the commencement of a direct debit from a client’s account. My first step in reviewing this process was to analyse the current procedure that was being followed to identify inefficiencies and potential improvements. For example, I identified that it was more efficient to have all outgoing mail processed by the centralised mail facility, which possessed specialised equipment and trained staff, rather than have each team member spend up to fifteen minutes preparing outgoing documentation in relation to a request. Once I had identified the best practice that should be followed, I would then write the staff guideline and procedure documents that were to be followed; in doing this I was mindful of business rules and industry and legislative requirements that needed to be adhered to.
Following drafting of these guideline and procedure documents, my role extended to training staff in their application and then measurement of the new procedure’s success. Overall the application of my new procedures resulted in a 30% reduction in the time cost of processing the affected requests – for example a request that took ten employee hours to process under the old procedure was reduced to seven employee hours upon application of my processes. The reduction of staffing required to process client requests meant that part of the team could be redeployed to other tasks, leading to greater efficiency of the business unit.
In addition to the drafting of procedures, I am experienced in the preparation of project plans for large-scale and complex projects, such as the migration of $500 million of trust funds to Macquarie Bank’s management which I undertook over a ten month timespan from 2014 to 2015. In this capacity, following analysis of the needs of the stakeholders, I wrote the end-to-end project plan, including designing and implementing the procedures and processes required for successful migration.
Demonstrated skills in supporting the development of infrastructure projects
As an Associate Manager of Wrap investment platform operations at Macquarie Bank, I have provided support in the development of a number of projects, including those requiring significant Information Technology (IT) infrastructure development. As a subject matter expert in the investment platform being utilised, I am well placed to consult with stakeholders to map the project specifications and aims. Around these specifications I am then able to map and design the processes to bring the project to fruition.
Considerations in the forefront of my mind when planning and developing projects included the client’s available budget, the potential risks to either party arising from the project, and the impact of any relevant legislation or regulations affecting the transaction. All of these considerations were elements in the negotiation and design of the Service Level Agreement which defined what the client outcomes were to be delivered from the project.
After installation of a Service Level Agreement with the external clients, I would begin the process of liaison and negotiation with internal stakeholders whose support was required to deliver the project infrastructure in terms of expertise, technology and human capacity. This included coordination with the Risk Management team, the Securities Transfer team, the Human Resources personnel and departmental managers who would be required to allocate staff to the project, and the IT department which played a significant role in delivering necessary project infrastructure.
In terms of the IT infrastructure needed to support the client’s specifications, I liaise extensively with our internal IT team to determine what resources I need to acquire and manage to deliver this project. In most cases one of two scenarios will apply – the first possibility is that we do not possess the hardware and network capacities to support the project, in which case I then need to manage acquisition and installation of this infrastructure as part of the project processes. The alternative likely scenario is that the necessary hardware and networking capacities are to some extent already on hand within the organisation, but I need to support the significant upgrade and development of these capacities as part of my project plan.
Given that the required IT applications for a project may be supplied by 12 to 15 different vendors, in order to build improvements on existing software significant external liaison and negotiation would be required. I would support the IT team in this process through coordinating with them to determine the project requirements in accordance with the Service Level Agreement that was in place. Through these processes I have successfully supported the development of large scale projects such as the migration of over 600 securities, with a value of approximately $4 billion, to the management of Macquarie Bank.
Demonstrated project support skills and experience including understanding of project management principles and techniques
Having successfully provided support to projects with Macquarie Bank involving transfer of up to $4 billion of assets, as well as driven and delivered significant process improvement projects, I possess proven skills and experience in project management. My project management capabilities include development of project proposals and the formulation of project scope and goals, followed by the crystallisation of these requirements in to a formal Service Level Agreement. I am able to manage the identification and minimisation of risks associated with the project and, as a subject matter expert, provide quality control functions particularly through the design of work processes for the staff comprising the project team.
Capable of effective stakeholder engagement and liaison, I have experience in communicating with internal and external parties to obtain and share information and have a demonstrated record of building beneficial long term stakeholder relationships. Able to drive and champion change and improvement, I am experienced in leading, training and mentoring project teams, including managing team workflow in accordance with required project milestones. A previous project at Macquarie Bank saw me successfully provide the training and mentoring to a team of five executing a migration of assets worth $500 million. Confident in establishing project delegations and task owners, I am able to support the performance of others and draw on available resources to deliver project outcomes.
I possess strong capabilities in the governance of projects and the management of key project metrics. Part of my success in delivering projects stems from my ability to analyse and measure performance at key points throughout the project, adjusting processes or plans as required to ensure success. Able to manage project risks and facilitate resolution of issues, I have previously successfully engaged in discussions with a potential client to secure an extended timeframe for project delivery when their initially proposed timeframe was unrealistic due to industry constraints. In this way I was able to ensure that the Service Level Agreement that was negotiated reflected outcomes that were within my organisation’s power to deliver, rather than allow unrealistic expectations to result in failure of the outcomes to meet the client’s specifications.
Well developed communication skills including effective consultation skills
A clear and concise communicator, I ensure that I develop effective working relationships with clients, colleagues, superiors and my project teams. With experience in collating and analysing information from a variety of sources, I am able to report on project advancement and milestones to ensure that clients and my leaders are fully appraised of the progress of a project. Equally comfortable in verbal and written reporting, I have experience in reporting to internal senior executives and external stakeholders and clients, including through formal presentations to sizeable audiences.
As the leader of a project team I act as a mentor and guide, setting clear expectations with regard to outcomes and providing the project plan and processes by which these outcomes are achievable. I follow up regularly through both formal and informal means, and provide constructive feedback on performance and progress. Through responding promptly to requests for action and information from my team, I model a standard of behaviour that is the benchmark for team behaviour.
Familiar with the process of engaging with other subject matter experts to gather required information and advice, I am capable of clearly articulating the specifications of the information required and distilling the essential components from advice provided. In this way I am able to facilitate communication of information and cohesive understanding between various subject matter experts who are involved in a large scale project.
Able to communicate effectively with clients in the pre-agreement phase where negotiation of project outcomes and specifications is occurring, I possess the confidence to advise clients on the feasibility of desired outcomes and propose suitable alternatives where required. For example, when a client wished to implement a four week turnaround on a large project, I was able to clearly communicate the way in which industry constraints would prevent this from being achievable. Through analysis of required resources for a short-turnaround versus extended-turnaround project, I was able to demonstrate to the client that we would be able to deliver the project in the more realistic timeframe without increasing the required budget for execution. This concise and persuasive communication resulted in the negotiation of a Service Level Agreement with realistically achievable outcomes.
Proven research, analytical and problem solving skills
The position I have held at Macquarie Bank as an Associate Manager has seen most escalated issues within the Wrap Platform Operations group escalated to me. Issues in this context might involve a problem with a client account or a legal or compliance issue that has arisen. In order to resolve a problem which has been escalated to me, I first conduct a root cause analysis to determine the point at which the issue occurred, be it through a human error or a breakdown in the prescribed process.
A recent issue that I have been required to resolve involved the question application of stamp duty to asset transfer transactions. It emerged that in some cases we had not been charging stamp duty to clients when this in fact should have been applied. I was required to undertake extensive research to determine what the legal requirements were for application of stamp duty and how our transactions stood in relation to these requirements. This necessitated extensive liaison with external bodies including the New South Wales Office of State Revenue and research of the applicable legislation, to confirm whether our organisation’s understanding of the requirements was correct.
Once I had determined that there were at least some cases where stamp duty should have been paid but was not, I needed to undertake further research to determine how many clients had been affected by the error, at what level of our processes the error had occurred, and what my organisation’s legal obligations were now that the error had been discovered. It was then my role to analyse our processes and develop process improvements to prevent further errors of this nature. Through this exercise I demonstrated my capacity to successfully research, analyse and solve a problem.
One of my strengths lies in my ability to assess the risks associated with the operational functions in order to minimise or eliminate adverse implications during project delivery. I have the proven capacity to establish best practise project management systems and controls, and analyse, target and identify areas for enhancement to drive project outcomes. This capability was demonstrated through my successful delivery of a services and operations process improvement project with Macquarie Bank over a 17 month timeframe in 2010-2011. My strong ability to analyse needs and develop novel solutions during this project saw my new processes deliver a 30% improvement in the efficiency of processing client requests.
