Nancy Ellis is a Senior IT Project Manager professional with extensive proven and documented experience in leading enter...
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[email protected] Veteran’s Preference: 5 Points US Citizen Active Security Clearance: Top Secret (Inactive -- Counter Intelligence (CI) Polygraph and components) PROFILE Seasoned Information Technology specialist and results-driven certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with extensive proven and documented experience in leading enterprise-wide implementations. Veteran of the United States Air Force and Air National Guard possessing numerous years of technical, supervisory, managerial, and leadership experience. A computer systems analyst and systems test engineer equipped with experience in software development life cycle integration, application validation, system validation, verification testing, database modeling and engineering, data administration and standardization, defining system requirements, and systems analysis and design. High-caliber, hands-on, information technology professional with extensive experience in leading people and leading change in both the private and public sectors. Branded by supervisors and colleagues as an outstanding problem solver, effective communicator, and a transformational leader with a history of providing superior customer service in high-profile, politically-sensitive, deadline-driven environments. CERTIFICATIONS CompTIA Security + Certified CE Certified Agile Scrum Master Project Management Professional (PMP) Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL V3)
OVERVIEW OF EXPERTISE Highly skilled in managing agency-level/enterprise information technology systems to facilitate the effective implementation of regulatory and policy requirements. Proven experience in directing the evaluation of IT methods and practices to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and best value. Able to successfully develop requirements that result in developing secure and effective IT systems. Skilled in identifying risks and vulnerabilities of program operations, performance and work processes. Proven experience in briefing leadership with insight and guidance on IT issues related to capability and requirements. Well versed in overseeing information technology and resource allocation strategies to support enterprise information management processes. Able to successfully lead the development and revision of policies, procedures and strategies governing the planning and delivery of IT services throughout an agency. Numerous years of experience in serving as a supervisor, manager, and leader successfully directing work, performing IT Network services activities, and providing policies, procedures and technical guidance to support staff, peers, customers, and senior leadership. Highly experienced in formulating, developing, administering, and executing Federal government network services, objectives, policies, programs, and projects for support organizations. Proven experience in assigning work to lower level supervisors and/or employees, developing work improvement plans, establishing overall network project goals and priorities, and evaluating results through formal reviews, briefings, reports, and personal observation using a
formal employee performance management system to include recommending personnel actions. Documented experience in leading technology improvement initiatives and aligning technology services with organizational mission, goals, and strategic plans. Extensive experience in communicating and liaising with employees of varying ranks to include Federal employees, Military staff, and Contract employees and skilled in consulting and collaborating with a diverse cadre of individuals to include different ranks and areas of expertise. Able to coordinate operations across technical functions and in diverse organizations national in scope in both the public and private sectors to include developing methods or procedures for solving and addressing technical issues. Numerous years of experience in managing and leading technical staff and developing and maintaining high-visibility information technology projects including analyzing evidence of failures to determine probable causes of problems and making recommendations and/or taking appropriate action to resolve problems while at the same time maintaining the highest level of network availability possible. Expert in performing Organizational SWOT-Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Analysis with a goal of operational performance improvement. As a performance improvement officer, successful in assessing an organization from an IT perspective, developing a Gap Analysis and exhibiting the necessary skills to persuade senior leadership to provide resources identified through the Gap Analysis exercise. Proven track record of leveraging, developing, and deploying best practices, policies, procedures, and processes. Keen ability in recommending designs and program strategies to promote IT services and products.
EXPERIENCE Systems Research and Applications (SRA) International, August 1997 – January 2016 During nineteen year tenure with SRA International, promoted into positions of increasing levels of visibility and responsibility and with more complex work assignments. Branded as an outstanding, highly proficient leader as evidenced in numerous successes while serving as a Deputy Project Manager, a Project Manager, and Principal Team Lead throughout SRA International to include working onsite at the United States Office of Personnel Management, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the United States Department of Defense. During tenure demonstrated attention to detail by conscientiously performing assigned duties. Demonstrated outstanding customer service skill-set by successfully working with clients and customers to assess their needs, providing information or assistance, resolving their problems and satisfying their expectations while being well versed in available products and services and making certain that quality products and services were paramount. Expressed information to individuals and groups effectively having taken into account the audience and nature of information.
Founder | IT Project Management Leadership, Washington D.C. Metro Area Senior IT Project Manager, January 2016 -- present
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Principal Technical Lead, February 2015 – January 2016 Systems Research and Applications (SRA) International Strategic Perform Group Fairfax, Virginia 40+ hours per week Provide extensive support and leadership for the MyCareer@VA (MCVA) program to include technical oversight, facilitating various initiatives, risk management, requirements gathering, budget reviews and general operational/maintenance reviews. Accomplishments:
Successfully oversaw project focused activities performed by internal staff and subcontractor staff including monitoring/reviewing statement of work contracts to ensure all activities identified within the contracts were completed in a timely manner and to the standards identified with the contract. Created and employed a separate website for monitoring the stability of the hosting provider’s environment (i.e., Software as a Service (SAAS). Upon receipt of website availability metrics, from hosting provider, for uptime and performance factors; confirmed or challenged these findings depending on the real-time results received from website. Consequently, ensured the infrastructure remained within the customer’s requirements for an uptime response and online availability ranged from 99.1% to 99.99%. Effectively utilized the software product Drupal to maintain and manage updates to the MCVA site by drafting and/or updating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and updating the existing Configuration Management (CM) process for maintaining the integrity of the website. Appropriately and accurately identified the components to be placed into bi-weekly updates to the website including the general design/layout of the website, minor tweaks or updates, and any major revisions to any of the existing education support tools. All updates and/or tweaks were part of the introduction of the Agile Software methodology product release process/procedures.
Project Manager, April 2010 - January 2015 Network Management Group United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Washington, DC 40+ hours per week Managed and operated OPM’s Information Technology (IT) infrastructure environments and programs within the CIO/Network Management Division, including defining and communicating program strategies to promote IT services and products, recommend designs for IT products; directed teams responsible for a wide range of IT services across OPM, and interfaced with the clients daily in an effort to support all Project Management Office (PMO) projects. Accomplishments:
Provided leadership and oversight for various PMO projects, by utilizing, directing, or guiding various resources to ensure the implementation, management and general maintenance for OPM’s local and wide area networks (LAN/WAN), data communications, servers, SANs, FISD distributed system infrastructure, and IT security initiatives. Successfully supported over 8,000 users at OPM headquarters and several field locations by ensuring their projects and the PMO infrastructure remained available for their day-to-day work activities. Ensured projects were completed within stipulated timelines and within the allocated budget constraints. Conducted analysis and assessment of various programs and projects as they related to government policies, technology, and other areas the of network infrastructure, including facilitation for projects and development of proactive strategies to address projects delays. The delays transitioned from a recorded percentage of 35 to 50% down to 10 to 15% over a short period of time, less than nine months.
Supported short and long-range program objectives involving extensive fact-finding, research, and provided level of effort estimates for the integration of potential new products and equipment. Drafted implementation plans and change management processes to address organizational and technical issues, which aligned improvements with potential and planned processes. Developed innovative processes for minimizing costs and time gaps for managing multiple projects while at the same time working within strict budget constraints for delivering projects on time. Successfully managed contracts with budgets exceeding 3 million dollars. Provided advice and guidance to senior managers and technical staff regarding project budgets, existing resources, deliverables, and requirements. Tracked and monitored comprehensive project plans and conducted feasibility assessments and Return on Investment (ROI) analyses. Defined risk parameters and developed preventive and mitigation strategies. Operated in compliance of all established organization policies. Successfully resolved issues arising during the course of project for smooth progress and ontime execution and completion. Successfully managed project workforce requirements including any necessary outsourcing. Consistently provided timely and thorough reports and feedback to Contract Manager. Assisted with drafting RFPs (Request for Proposals) and organizing the bidding process for the tenders. Evaluated new and existing commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) and government off-the-shelf (GOTS) hardware and software platforms and/or products. Remained aware of and appropriately applied industry best practices for architectural design in support of developmental efforts with the OPM environment. Managed or had significant involvement with complex or substantive information technology projects. Monitored the purchasing, quality, and invoice generation of all raw materials. Evaluated and resolved multiple, simultaneous organizational project issues and risks, delays and problems by utilizing project management and business expertise. Proactively prepared for any anticipated project issues.
Project Manager, April 2009 – April 2010 Strategy Requirements and Systems Integration Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff United States Department of Defense Arlington, VA (Pentagon) 40+ hours per week Managed applications related to the organization’s operating system, such as sophisticated file maintenance routines, large telecommunications, communications networks, and applications specific to mission critical government agencies. Project budgets ranged from $100K to 1.5Million. Accomplishments:
Created and executed project work plans and revised as appropriate to meet changing needs and requirements. Reviewed and directed the work of other team members and supported the software engineering personnel. Identified concerns and made recommendations for program designs and improvements to senior managers and leaders. Recommended modifications for program proposals and conducted analyses for RFPs and SOWs. Managed day-to-day operational aspects for extremely complex and aggressive project timelines that required a thorough analysis of the customer’s identified scope/objectives.
Utilized the IT application development methodologies to move all projects/tasks thru the full software/infrastructure lifecycle development process. Effectively applied various IT Application/Infrastructure Methodologies and appropriately enforced project standards (Agile/SCRUM and Six Sigma); conducting final review of all projects before releasing to client. Maintained awareness of new and emerging technologies and their potential application on client engagements. Pioneered e-tendering and online management processes for reducing paper usage, with a goal of producing Eco-friendly projects.
Deputy Project Manager, January 2005 – March 2009 Special Technologies and Applications Office (STAO) Federal Bureau of Investigation Washington, DC 40+ hours per week Conducted several feasibility studies in support of bi-annual Disaster Recovery (DR)/Continuity of Operations (COOP) exercises and made recommendations to leadership pertaining to issues related to existing or proposed policy. Managed project budget for initiatives ranging from 50K to 250K. Accomplishments: Provided assistance to Project Manager and team members in planning, organizing, and managing the day-to-day activities within the project. Reviewed and provided input for the Monthly Infrastructure Statistical reports/metrics, Internal Progress Reports (IPRs), staff meetings, and ensured project executions. Drafted Request for Proposals (RFPs) and Request for Quotes (RFQs) for various equipment required in the project. Informed parent and contracting organization for contact terms. Additional Duties: Data Center Operations and Management Team Lead (January 2008 – March 2009) As Team Lead at STAO, delivered guidance and support for the implementation of the ITIL processes within the STAO organization. Also, provided technical direction and structure for the expansion of the DR activities and tasks to include the planning, designing, and implementation of all system infrastructure components within the STAO Data Center. Accomplishments: Defined and determined the actual physical and logical infrastructure system components, systems owners, general maintenance agreements, and End of Life (EOLs) status of various hardware and software devices. Utilized existed knowledge of ITIL V3 for tailoring the processes and policies within STAO. Developed Service Level Management practices with attention to Service Strategies, Service Design, and Service Operations. Reported on data center system components for migrating between two facilities, ensuring identification and tracking of both logical and physical components. Additional Duties: Disaster Recovery (DR) Team Lead/Manager (January 2007 to December 2008) Led a team in gathering and analyzing data received from various units within STAO for determining the Mission Critical Application (MCA) DR requirements necessary to ensure a stable and reliable network infrastructure (i.e., identifying both hardware and software components of the MCAs) had been exercised bi-annually prior to any real natural disasters; making sure that the fail over/back or switch over/back procedures had been verified and validated for continued operations of MCAs. Accomplishments: Provided technical advice and operating assistance in interpreting DR exercise results. Drafted a feasibility study for addressing DR/COOP exercises. Formulated and coordinated disaster recovery tasks and activities for several of the identified MCAs within STAO. Ensured the identified MCAs were within compliance of the Federal Continuity Directives established by the FBI.
EDUCATION Master of Science Information Systems Strayer University, Washington, DC Bachelor of Science Computer Information Science Cum Laude, Strayer College, Washington, DC
TECHNICAL EXPERTISE Project Management Professional, Information Technology Infrastructure Library Framework/Processes (V3), Agile (SCRUM) and Six Sigma IT Application Development Methodologies, Rational Unified Process Requirement Analysis, Mercury Interactive Testing Tools (Test Director & Astra-Quick Test Professional), Full Life-Cycle Software Engineering, Software and System Design/Implementation, Critical Analysis of Management Issues of Policies and Instructions, Quality Assurance, Process and Data Modeling, Data Standardization and Analysis
ASSOCIATIONS/AFFILIATIONS/LICENSURE Member, Project Management Institute CompTIA, Security+ Scrum Alliance, Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
