
Megan Johnston
Verified Expert in Project Management
Project Manager
Kelowna, BC, Canada
Toptal member since May 27, 2022
Megan is a senior project manager and PMO leader with 18 years of experience in project management, 12 of which are as a PMP. Passionate about connecting strategy and execution, she has extensive work experience across many industries, from healthcare to software and even container shipping. Megan has managed projects with budgets from $25,000 to $25 million and designed project management practices for several organizations, including a multi-billion dollar construction program.
Project Highlights
Expertise
- Agile Coaching
- Agile Project Management
- Leadership
- Life Science
- PMO Development
- Project Management
- Project Management Office (PMO)
- Scrum Master
Work Experience
Lead Consultant
Analyte Projects Ltd
- Consulted with businesses regarding the establishment and enhancement of their project management approaches to ensure efficient and best-practice-informed project management.
- Provided production support to a new digital agency specializing in biotech.
- Supported a nonprofit charity project for patients with Rett syndrome in establishing and operating a patient registry in Canada.
- Spoke at PMI global and regional events on project management topics.
- Coached and mentored junior project managers attempting the PMP exam or developing skills and knowledge in their careers.
- Provided project management services, agile coaching, Asana coaching, startup consulting, and strategic advice to Toptal clients.
Asana Project Management Consultant
Southpoint Solutions LLC
- Implemented Asana templates to expedite the creation of new projects and improve project management consistency;
- Reorganized Asana into programs and projects for improved dependency management.
- Developed a custom Asana guide supporting the Asana implementation;
- Provided customized Asana training for the Asana Premium subscription-level functionality.
Senior Agile Project Manager
MacroHealth
- Implemented Asana as a project management tool within the PMO and delivery teams.
- Provided organizational coaching on the execution of Scrum across software development teams.
- Implemented project management templates to support consistent project delivery.
Project Management Officer
Seaspan Ship Management Ltd
- Designed and implemented a project management framework, playbook, and corporate training program for the operations department with approximately 200 staff.
- Provided coaching and professional development on project management skills for project managers and other staff enrolled in the process.
- Designed policies and procedures to support guarantee claims for new construction.
- Implemented Asana (Business subscription) for project management and portfolio reporting across the operations department.
PMO and Integrations Manager
QHR Technologies Inc
- Designed and implemented a platform integrations team, handling process and business development, hiring and team design, and account relationship management with software vendors integrating essential software products.
- Took over the project management team in the product development division and implemented an Agile project management office. Grew the team from five to eight staff and managed 55 projects across a 200-staff department.
- Coached and developed organizational behaviors supporting Agile project management (DSDM) within the existing product development division in collaboration with other departmental leaders.
- Oversaw and implemented an ISO audited risk management system, including the design and documentation of risk policies and procedures, implementation of risk documentation and management in Jira, and conducted successful internal and external audits.
- Coached two team members to successfully achieve their PMP.
Project Manager
Ballistiq Digital Inc.
- Performed digital project management on web development projects involving websites, eCommerce, and bespoke web platforms. Duties included project scoping, project contracting, project scheduling, estimation and planning, and project team management.
- Designed a project management approach comprising the development and implementation of tools, templates, a customer playbook, and stakeholder engagement and management.
- Managed client relationships for several key clients, handling project design, support to business development activities, on-site client meetings, and client success.
- Worked on content development, copywriting web copy, blog posts, and ebook content, and designing and implementing an ongoing content strategy later handed off to contract copywriting and content creation.
- Supported the development and implementation of art book publishing. It included research and implementation of distribution handled by Amazon in North America and Europe, editorial support, artist management, and project administration.
- Performed Scrum Master responsibilities such as sprint planning, sprint review and retrospective, daily Scrum, and backlog grooming.
Software Product Manager
Arterys
- Established the new product management role in the software development team, including defining and guiding roles and responsibilities, writing user stories, and providing guidance on product development to the development team.
- Designed, administered, and documented the entire testing protocol for the first FDA submission of the software, a 532-page contribution to the overall 510-thousand submission.
- Performed scrum master responsibilities, supporting sprint execution and associated events, such as sprint planning, daily scrums, sprint review and retrospective, and backlog grooming.
National Director of Operations Canadian Neuromuscular Disease Network and Registry
University of Calgary
- Built a national research network and registry for neuromuscular disease in Canada and managed related and simultaneous projects. Grew the network and registry across 15 academic institutions and involved over 2600 patients.
- Provided national operational oversight for neuromuscular disease network and registry, including local and remote research staff supervision.
- Wrote and administered multiple research grants and awards, designing grant proposals, assembling and recruiting the investigator team, and managing grant submission, budgeting, and finances up to $25 million.
- Supported the design and operation of a clinical research program, including the phase 2 clinical trial design, coordination and management of clinical research staff, patient coordination and support, study reports, and publications.
- Managed the design and implementation of the registry software platform, including feature design, development oversight, technology integrations, clinical procedures, dataset design, and documentation.
- Developed and submitted research ethics packages supporting the registry across 15 academic institutions and clinical facilities.
- Designed, documented, and implemented training programs, policies, and procedures supporting registry operations.
- Spoke at national and international conference events on patient registries and their project and operational considerations.
Project Manager
Genome Alberta
- Supported a team in the last year of a 5-year research project that had gone off-track and helped them recover the project to receive a satisfactory final review from the granting body and scientific advisory board.
- Managed a $5-million project, handling project reporting, project team administration, project communications, and stakeholder and project scope management.
- Performed grant administration and oversight, including financial tracking and budgeting, grant reporting, and liaising with the grant administrative body.
Project Coordinator and Sessional Instructor
SAIT Polytechnic
- Coordinated the delivery of the Emergency Medical Responder and Advanced Life Support training courses. Managed instructor scheduling, student administration, timetabling, and stakeholders.
- Conducted business development of corporate and customized training offerings, including a unique on-site offering for a local First Nation.
- Designed and implemented an instructor community of practice for continuous program improvement.
- Supported a successful post-secondary audit of the Emergency Medical Responder curriculum and course, handling updates and modifications to the online course design.
- Facilitated continuing education training on introduction to anatomy and physiology.
- Supervised a team of over 50 contract instructors supporting course delivery.
Secretary and Project Coordinator
University of Calgary
- Handled office administration for two specialist physicians, including schedule management, patient coordination, handling phones, meetings, and events, word processing, expense claims, budgeting, financial tracking, and travel coordination.
- Coordinated research projects, scheduling meetings, taking minutes, and handling project documentation, project budgeting, travel coordination, and event planning.
- Conducted a research study including study materials design, patient recruitment, data collection and processing, and written, peer-reviewed publication.
Secretary
Mark Staffing Solutions
- Answered multi-line phones at client offices and performed other reception duties such as processing mail, redirecting calls, and greeting clients.
- Performed office administration duties, including but not limited to word processing, spreadsheets, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and client scheduling.
- Managed calendars and client scheduling, including booking appointments, updating appointments, and handling cancellations.
Secretary
Calgary Health Region
- Coordinated the clinical team schedule for the clinical nutrition department, including processing vacation requests and sick days.
- Performed various reception duties, including receiving and distributing mails, taking messages and redirecting calls, and handling chart transfers and filing.
- Handled diverse administration tasks, including word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations preparation.
Sample Reception Coordinator
PSC Analytical Laboratories
- Prepared sample kits for environmental testing jobs.
- Coordinated sample kit shipping and receiving, including directing received samples to appropriate testing.
- Served laboratory customers with any testing needs not noted on the project specification.
Sales Associate and Keyholder
Laura
- Served in-store customers making clothing purchases by recommending outfits and accessories.
- Handled cash desk, which involved processing cash and electronic transactions and returns.
- Held keyholder responsibilities, including store opening and closing, shift management, inventory and restocking, and store cleanliness and appearance.
Outbound Sales Agent
TELUS
- Made outbound telesales calls to existing customers to increase client satisfaction by matching new products to customer needs.
- Handled the regular customer service call overflow for inbound customer care, including troubleshooting and service calls in case of high-volume calls.
- Learned to use various software required to support troubleshooting, account management, and service schedule.
Project History
CAVEman | 4D Virtual Human Project
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070527093838.htmSuccessfully turned around a failing project to receive a satisfactory review from the funder and the scientific advisory board.
Canadian Neuromuscular Disease Registry
https://cndr.org/Took the registry software from concept to reality alongside a dynamic team.
Conference Speaker | PMI Virtual Experience Series October 2020
https://pmives2020.sched.com/event/fgAu/519-competencies-capabilities-and-value-delivery-in-the-project-economyDelivered an international talk on value delivery and project management, presenting my competency model for value delivery at PMI's global virtual experience series event.
Education
Bachelor's Degree in Biochemistry
University of Alberta - Edmonton, AB, Canada
Certifications
Professional Scrum Master Level I (PSM I)
Scrum.org
Project Management Professional (PMP)
Project Management Institute (PMI)
Skills
Tools
Trello, Slack, Office 365, Asana, Project Management & Work Tracking Tools, Atlassian, Atlassian Suite, Jira, Wrike, Miro, Figma, Packer, Confluence
Paradigms
Management, Agile, Agile Project Management, Scrum, Change Management, Design Thinking, Requirements Analysis, Kanban, Agile Leadership, Organizational Change Management (OCM), Agile Product Management, Agile Software Development
Industry Expertise
Health, Healthcare, Technology
Other
Google Apps, Science, Life Science, Leadership, Analysis, Research, Project Management, Project Management Office (PMO), Customer Service, Office Administration, Executive Support, Scheduling, Grant Proposals, Project Rescue, Contract Drafting, Contract Review, Statement of Work, PMO Development, IT Project Management, PMO, Technical Project Management, Project Planning, Project Reporting, Project Timelines, Stakeholder Management, Project Delivery, Project Management & Delivery, Project Estimation, Estimation & Planning, Project Scoping, Technical Requirements, Best Practices, Project Management Professional (PMP), Reporting, Progress Reporting, Sprint Planning, Documentation, Project Leadership, Waterfall Methodology, Digital Health, Healthcare IT, Health IT, Enterprise Project Management, Coaching, People Management, People Development, Process Improvement Project Management, Estimations, Build Processes, Business Processes, Consulting, Management Consulting, Milestones, Software Project Management, Project Closure, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Time Management, Communication, Complex Problem Solving, Detail-oriented, Large-scale Projects, Organization, Remote Work, Project Tracking, Web Applications, Team Mentoring, Creative Thinking, Planning, Stakeholder Analysis, Loom, Notion, Teaching, Experimental Design, Scrum Master, Agile Coaching, Sales, Cash Management, Clinical Research, Publication, Account Management, Content, Event Planning, Budgeting, Conflict Resolution, Process Design, Business Process Improvement (BPI), Strategy, Risk Management, Biotechnology, Workflow, Dashboards, Feature Backlog Prioritization, Process Improvement, Agile Sprints, Sprint Ceremonies, Sprint Retrospectives, Business Process Optimization, Process Mapping, Process Optimization, Digital Project Management, Websites, Mentorship & Coaching, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), User Journeys, Web & Mobile Applications, Vendor Management, Change Impact Assessment, Telesales, Inventory, Online Course Design, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), Product Management, User Experience (UX), Standard Operating Procedures Development, Public Speaking, Business Consulting, Production, Backlog Management, Backlog Grooming
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