Chris is available for hire

Chris Jensen

Verified Expert in Project Management

Project Manager

Location

Gainesville, VA, United States

Toptal Member Since

April 15, 2020

Chris is a leader and a teammate. He's worked through the ranks from PM to PMO director for large companies, receiving awards for agile implementations and project management innovation. Chris understands that every project is an exercise in change and must achieve real business results.

Project Management IT Project Management Program Management Process Improvement Project Management Project Management Professional (PMP)Project Management Office (PMO)PMO Waterfall Development Waterfall Delivery Agile Project Management Agile Scrum Business Transformation Project Management Technical Project Management Agile Coaching Wrike Project Management

Project Highlights

Work Management App

Led multiple scrum teams in the project to upgrade core app and add modules for scheduling and mobility for field workers; responsible for the agile execution, change management, training, development, business process management, and testing.

Workfront PPM Implementation

Managed the implementation of the Workfront PPM tool at the company; rolling out a capability used from project team members to the CEO.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Transition

Led multi-project program to transition multiple components of a comprehensive BPO program, including component projects 1) infrastructure outsourcing (IO), 2) consumer services (CS), and 3) human resources (HR).

Expertise

Agile Coaching BPM Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)Facilitation IT Project Management Program Management Project Portfolio Management (PPM)Scrum

Work Experience

Project Manager

2021 - 2022

JuryMD, LLC

Sourced and selected design and application development firms worldwide to build a world-class web application for discriminating clients. Developed contract vehicles to meet project objectives and fit Agile development practices.
Developed the UX prototype for a web application that serves as a marketplace for legal and medical professions.
Led the architecture and engineering of a B2B web application for a massive number of users and transactions. Security, compliance, and user experience were of paramount importance.
Developed a pitch deck to raise funds and demonstrate achievements and capabilities. Proved total addressable market and developed a comprehensive financial model for the seed round business case.

Scrum Master Advisor

2020 - 2021

Toptal Client

Served as a scrum master for data science and web applications teams. Produced advanced machine learning products on massive data sets, delivering that data to an AWS front end.
Established project and portfolio management processes, incorporating the organization's most important SDLC practices. Responsible for tying strategy to project execution.
Set up a new business intelligence function with Tableau to analyze data sets before, during, and after artificial intelligence development.

Director, Project Management Office (PMO)

2015 - 2020

WGL

Led a group of in-house and contract project and program managers to execute the company's most complex initiatives from idea through close.
Drove innovation in disciplines that had the biggest impact on the company, such as business process management (BPM), organizational change management (OCM), Agile frameworks, strategic alignment, communications, training, and reporting.
Received the annual "Values and Innovation in Practice (VIP)" award for Agile project management.
Led merger and acquisition (M&A) work-streams during acquisition.

Integration PM/PMO Manager

2014 - 2015

Navy Mutual Aid Association

Oversaw the management of projects and programs, followed Agile and Waterfall methodologies, and all process groups from initiation to closing.
Implemented Workfront, a project and portfolio management (PPM) tool used by all PMs, leadership, and project participants. The tool had service desk queues, dynamic dashboards, and roadmaps.
Aligned the company's strategic objectives to specific projects so that project progress translated into the achievement of the strategy. Created reports that were immediately available digitally to officers and the board of directors.
Established enterprise PMO from scratch. Developed robust processes under portfolio, program, and project management standards of practice.
Introduced new product-driven B2C financial and insurance products and updated existing products with cross-functional projects and small teams.

Project Manager

2013 - 2014

NetImpact Strategies

Built capability for project and portfolio management scheduling, reporting, risk and issue management, and task management using a CA Clarity PMAT.
Managed multiple sub-projects while producing bills of material, issue papers, governance process documents, risk/issue registers, and concept of operations (CONOPS).
Developed an integrated master schedule (IMS) for all project workstreams and functional areas, simplifying thousands of tasks into digestible work.
Led the team of contractors, subcontractors, and stakeholder program offices in program execution.
Created a foundational network enclave for DoD medical systems, hospitals, clinics, and data; the infrastructure home for new DoD Healthcare Management Systems Modernization (HMS), a multibillion-dollar effort led by the Interagency Program Office.

Program Manager

2012 - 2013

Concept Solutions

Deployed and maintained multiple geographically-separated environments including production, user acceptance testing (UAT), testing and development, and disaster recovery for 30+ systems and 10+ PostgreSQL and Oracle DBs.
Managed a diverse set of operations and maintenance activities including software development, database administration, network engineering, systems engineering, and 24x7 tier 1 and 2 service desk.
Successfully achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification efforts. Implemented robust processes, audits, and reporting.
Interfaced with the C-level corporate team and senior FAA management concerning program and project priorities such as financial status and weekly and monthly status meetings on key projects.

Managing Director

2004 - 2008

Innovative Building Solutions

Directed multiple projects in support of startup activities including product design, technology demonstrations, business formation, training programs, and complex sales efforts.
Led a construction form product design project to address specific technical and aesthetic requirements of new markets; prototypes and manufacturing successful.
Established a new training and certification program, including multilingual presentations, videos, and marketing materials targeted to architects, contractors, developers, and government agencies.
Spearheaded a program to introduce new technologies to a national housing program, which included reengineering structures, building demonstrations, making comparative pricing models, and composing detailed project reports.
Made robust financial and business models to dynamically compare strategic business decisions. The tools considered logistics, manufacturing, inventory management, sales targets, and 5-year pro-forma plans—produced IRR, NPV, and financial statements.

Communications Officer

2001 - 2003

United States Air Force Reserve

Provided C4I planning, network management, and in-depth analysis for Defense Information Systems Network (DISN) systems and interface solutions. (Plans and Programs Officer, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)).
Served as an engineer on the quick-response team that specialized in implementing emerging technology and solving the agency's toughest problems. (Special Engineer to the CTO, Defense Information Systems Agency).
Researched technologies, designed network architectures, resolved issues, authored reports, and made recommendations for implementation into operational networks.

Consultant

2001 - 2002

KPMG Consulting

Provided key leadership and guidance to implement an IT governance framework for a large government agency.
Directly consulted with the CIO and his staff enabled the implementation of a new systems engineering model and integration of review and control boards.
Led an effort to determine the impact on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) wide area network (WAN) of 50+ on-premise applications. Based on the advice provided, nationwide consolidation methods were changed to avoid application failure.

Communications Officer

1996 - 2001

United States Air Force

Coordinated, as the manager in the PM branch, the base communications long-range plan and architecture; also supervised the ongoing communications projects and standardized PM methods with a $23 million dollar portfolio under management.
Led the joint-service team in providing network management, fault management, and performance optimization for the National Military Command Center LANs; worked as a network engineer and officer-in-charge.
Led, as a flight commander, a team of 3, and managed all Charleston Air Force Base telephone, wireless, and airfield communications through in-house maintenance and contract.
Managed the office staff, time, and duties. Acted as the liaison to squadron command staff and base headquarters’ staff. (Executive officer and chief assistant to the commander of a 1,200 member group).
Spearheaded the process quality program for a 1,200 member group across maintenance and technology functions. The new process improvement challenge resulted in organization-wide recognition of cost efficiencies and simplification.

Project History

Work Management App

I led over 50 development team resources in the US, Canada, Philippines, India, and the Czech Republic to accomplish the company's most strategic initiative. Together, we innovated our use of Scrum, the use of a "video first" training and communications strategy, adapted business process management to Scrum, and added in-app help via WhatFix—all while executing the work faster than vendor teams had ever seen it accomplished.

The company awarded me with an inaugural "Values and Innovation in Practice (VIP)" award for agile development at the completion of our work.

Workfront PPM Implementation

Managed the implementation of the Workfront PPM tool at the company; rolling out a capability used from project team members to the CEO.

I led the PPM policy and process development, followed by tool selection.

The project established:
• Robust service desk queues for internal service providers; seamless handling of requests, bugs, issues, and change orders through analysis and resolution via tickets or projects
• Dynamic, executive-level dashboards to roll up a graphical roadmap of key projects
• Resource management grid to deconflict cross-portfolio resource allocation constraints
• Alignment of the organization’s strategic objectives to specific project/change efforts; linked objectives to project progress for empirical reporting to officers and the board of directors

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Transition

I led multiple project managers and a couple hundred project team members to accomplish data center transitions, onshoring of call centers, and changing HR benefits providers.

IO Transition: primary and secondary data centers, infrastructure tools, end-user computing (EUC), desk-side support, IT call center to new locations/teams with 100+ team members

CS Transition: primary and emergency customer call centers from offshore to onshore with back-office support–200 new jobs recognized by the Governor of Virginia

HR Transition: change benefits providers and related back-office processes

Concrete Form Design and Manufacturing

Designed and manufactured new concrete form for an international market.

This project required cross-industry and specialty expertise:
• Product design
• Mold manufacturing
• Polystyrene systems integration and production engineering
• Architecture, engineering, and construction integration

With teams on multiple continents, I led process, engineering, manufacturing, and logistics for this new product's end-to-end delivery and integration.

B2C Financial Product Rate Change

Relaunched a financial product with new rates for the company recognized by the CFO as the best in his tenure!

Managed a cross-functional team of developers, QA, and product and underwriting experts to rebuild a financial product with new rates. The team deployed the product on time for launch and without errors. The CFO recognized the effort as the best-led in his tenure.

Machine Learning Healthcare Platform

Reduced the time needed to develop machine learning insights for chronic conditions from years to weeks.

Led 30 of the highest skilled engineers, scientists, doctors, and developers to build a consequential application for a Fortune 30 company that enables the development and deployment of machine learning tools for the most chronic conditions in healthcare.

Education

1999 - 2001

Master of Science Degree in Telecommunications and Computer Systems

The George Washington University - Ashburn, Virginia

1992 - 1996

Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management

United States Air Force Academy - Colorado Springs, CO

Certifications

NOVEMBER 2017 - MARCH 2022

Certified Scrum Master (CSM)

Scrum Alliance

NOVEMBER 2017 - MARCH 2022

Certified Scrum Product Owner

Scrum Alliance

SEPTEMBER 2012 - PRESENT

ITIL Foundation Certification

ITIL

Collaboration That Works

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