Maksym Volokhan
Verified Expert in Project Management
Project Manager
Warsaw, Poland
Toptal member since October 25, 2024
Maksym is a business project and program manager with a relentless improvement mindset and a passion for leading happy teams to success. He has over 10 years of experience leading teams in IT, product, digital, banking, and fintech domains while working for top companies, including Roche, HSBC, Colgate Palmolive, and Toptal. Maksym focuses on delivering value through excellence and process optimization and has extensive experience managing fully remote, international teams.
Project Highlights
Expertise
- Agile
- Program Management
- Project Management
- Project Planning
- Risk Management
- Scrum of Scrums
- Stakeholder Management
- Team Leadership
Work Experience
Agile Program Manager
Toptal
- Handled business-critical programs for platform, R&D, and technical exploration departments, managing up to 15 Agile teams to deliver AI initiatives, new product features, large-scale migrations, SOA transformations, and CI/CD improvements.
- Drove program delivery, portfolio management, and business transformation efforts through Agile coaching and impactful process changes across engineering.
- Managed program risks, issues, and opportunities, ensuring smooth resolution paths.
- Focused on large-scale, cross-functional programs, collaborating with product and engineering managers, directors, and senior stakeholders to meet strategic goals.
- Established project and program management frameworks, defining governance and ensuring effective communication and decision-making.
- Introduced key product and engineering metrics, enabling senior leadership to make effective data-driven decisions on team roadmaps.
- Facilitated program planning and visualized key roadmap milestones to ensure high-quality, cost-effective delivery of business outcomes.
- Coached engineering teams and scrum masters, fostering a collaborative and transparent environment for tackling complex engineering challenges.
Lead Service Delivery Manager
Square One Resources
- Led and coached an internal team of eight PMs, scrum masters, and delivery managers, handling recruitment, onboarding, and team development while managing complex business initiatives and strategic decisions.
- Managed a team of three direct reports, focusing on coaching, professional development, and performance, driving individual growth and positive outcomes for the organization.
- Handled a portfolio of 70+ consultants, including developers, QAs, BAs, and software architects for our main client, Roche, overseeing project delivery and service quality.
- Built strong client partnerships, contributing to a stable 25 – 30% annual growth in my projects and a rapid 450% growth in key business areas.
- Drove a yearly profit of approximately PLN 5.7 million through strategic initiatives like creating academies for rare technical skills.
- Coordinated the bidding process for new projects, including technical analysis, cost estimation, planning, and scheduling.
- Delivered key Agile and Scrum projects, managing stakeholders, project execution, budget, risks, and quality.
IT Project Manager
HSBC
- Led full project delivery for mid- to large-scale initiatives within the payments IT department, driving bank enhancements and launching new services across various payment systems.
- Managed cross-functional teams of developers, analysts, and testers in the UK, India, and various European branches, overseeing UAT and dependency and risk management for all projects.
- Delivered a multimillion-euro payments cybersecurity program across 17 European countries, focusing on cybersecurity reviews, environment security improvements, and other key cybersecurity initiatives.
- Leveraged Agile, Scrum, and Waterfall methodologies to deliver projects, focusing on business transformation frameworks and software development lifecycle (SDLC).
- Became proficient in project management tools, including Clarity, Jira, Confluence, Microsoft Project, and Microsoft Office.
- Received the "above and beyond" award for exceptional project delivery from senior management during the annual HSBC Wow Awards.
Digital Project and Program Manager
VML Poland
- Managed the end-to-end localization program for Colgate Palmolive's European market hubs, overseeing a yearly budget of PLN 4.5 million.
- Introduced a new project delivery process across all European branches, implementing Scrum and Kanban best practices to enhance efficiency.
- Developed and implemented monitoring and project reporting governance tools utilizing Jira, Confluence, and Trello.
- Fostered strong business relationships with clients and stakeholders while managing external vendors and partners in the UK, Brazil, and Argentina.
- Oversaw the development of an internal intranet system using Scrum and Kanban, implementing new modules for financial reporting, estimations, time booking, and layout/design changes.
- Led digital projects for key Polish clients, including PZU, Bosch, Orange, mBank, OLX.pl, and Bacardi, delivering high-impact results in all cases.
Project History
Website Localization Program for Colgate Palmolive
Managed an end-to-end localization program for Colgate Palmolive's European market hubs, overseeing a yearly budget of PLN 4.5 million.
Cyber Security Program for HSBC
Delivered a multimillion-euro payments cyber security program across 17 European countries, focusing on cyber security reviews, environment security improvements, and other critical cyber security initiatives.
MarkLogic Academy for Roche
Created an academy to deliver great talent for rare technical skills, including MarkLogic and NoSQL, driving a 450% revenue growth.
Key Product and Engineering Metrics for Toptal
Implemented crucial metrics for the whole Toptal core engineering team, facilitating effective data-driven decisions.
Education
Master's Degree in Interactive Marketing and Public Relations
University of Information Technology and Management - Rzeszow, Poland
Certifications
Prosci Certified Change Practitioner
Prosci
Certified SAFe 5 Agilist
Scaled Agile
Agile Business Analysis Foundation
APMG International
Agile Project Management Foundation
APMG International
ITIL Foundation Certification
AXELOS Global Best Practice
Professional Scrum Master Level I (PSM I)
Scrum.org
PRINCE2 Foundation Certificate in Project Management
AXELOS Global Best Practice
Skills
Tools
Jira, Confluence, Trello, Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Project
Paradigms
Agile, Scrum, Agile Project Management, Kanban, Change Management, Waterfall Delivery, Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN), PRINCE2
Other
Project Management, Program Management, IT Program Management, Scrum of Scrums, Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), Project Planning, Risk Management, Stakeholder Management, Project Estimation, Budget Management, Delivery Management, Agile Coaching, Reporting, Agile Program Management, Enterprise Project Management, Delivery, Microsoft Teams, Team Leadership, Communication, PRINCE2 Project Management, Scrum Master, ITIL, Business Analysis, Requirements, User Stories, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Prosci ADKAR, Team Management, IT Service Delivery, Enterprise, Clarity PPM, Cybersecurity, Online Banking, Digital, Governance, UML, Payment APIs, IT Project Management, IT Services, Analysis, Critical Thinking, Public Relations (PR)
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