Funke Usman

Resourced to facilitate project managers and team members in conducting comprehensive business and IT analysis, orchestrating planning efforts for monthly digital transformation initiatives, and compiling governance reports within the £85 Million Digital Banking Transformation program.

Responsibilities

Planning- Oversaw the Release Implementation alongside Project Managers, achieving a 15% improvement in release preparation efficiency through detailed business and IT analysis and planning.

Project Control- Implemented robust project control mechanisms, preventing scope creep after unapproved changes that would have incurred a £2 million overspend

Cost Management- Implemented rigorous cost management practices, ensuring a reduction in budget variances, and optimizing resource allocation for enhanced cost-effectiveness.

RAID Management- Effectively managed Risks, Assumptions, Issues, and Dependencies (RAID), contributing to a 20% reduction in the occurrence of critical project issues and improving overall project risk resilience. 

Key Achievements

Resource Management- Contributed to the success of one of the largest Digital Transformation programs in the Group, achieving a 10% cost savings and optimizing resource allocation for enhanced program outcomes. 

Stakeholder Management- Facilitated effective stakeholder collaboration, achieving a 20% increase in stakeholder satisfaction and alignment, leading to a 10% improvement in overall project success rates.

Championed Agile practices and bridged the gap between the Agile Projects and the Waterfall Projects within the £90m Santander's Migration program aimed at managing effective change control in the transformational change process for over 18 months which was one of the strategic themes to deliver bank-wide transformational program in line with the Transformation Agenda for Santander.

Responsibilities

Agile Coordination- Implemented Agile Training for employees, which correlated with a 22% increase in efficiency (actual time spent vs. projected time to completion) in the Scrum team.

Methodology Champion- Initiated a methodology that resulted in effective analysis performance across the program and consistent reporting thereby achieving data driven decision making.

Reporting- Devised a centralized reporting and achieved a 20% reduction in project delays, improved decision-making through real-time insights, and increased overall project portfolio efficiency.

Team Velocity Performance- Increased team velocity by tracking the number of user stories completed per sprint to demonstrate increased team productivity and efficiency resulting in a consistent and upward trend.

Resource Management- Devised a resource plan that reduced ‘knee-jerk' reactions to head-count management in the program by 50%.

Key Achievements

Stakeholder Communications- Distilled technical language provided by developers to simple language for the business unit.

Increased sprint completion rate by 20%- Track the percentage of sprints successfully completed within the planned timeframe and highlight the improved predictability.

Identified and eliminated obstacles for the Agile team- Devised a solution to reduce by 50% the number of unapproved changes within the governance framework by facilitating daily briefings with senior management which was later rolled out in other similar projects within my portfolio.

Supported the Financial Crime program to comply with Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions (AMLS), Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC), Fraud and Operational Tax regulations. 

Responsibilities

Governance- Reported on FCA-related Attestation Commitment, demonstrating compliance and commitment to regulatory standards achieving 75% compliance rate.

Reporting- Produced Oversight Committee packs, Quality Assurance (QA) programs, and local Working Group packs, which enhanced communication and decision-making processes by 30%.

Milestone Management- Maintained accurate tracking of project milestones thereby ensuring project delivery 2 weeks ahead of schedule. Effectively reported on 4 workstreams, resulting in a 15% reduction in project timeline deviations and improved program alignment with regulatory requirements

Process Improvement- Conducted a comprehensive review of program governance, identifying areas for improvement and implementing streamlined processes which increased overall efficiency by 20%.

Analyzed data, facilitated team training to foster continuous improvement, and mentored team members to foster professional growth and accountability in line with the organization's commitment to employee development.