Steve Davis
Verified Expert in Project Management
Project Manager
Philadelphia, United States
Toptal member since December 14, 2018
Steve Davis is an experienced program manager, project manager, scrum master, and project management office leader with over 20 years of experience demonstrating results in enterprise and large-scale transformative portfolio, program, and merger integration initiatives for top industry leaders. Especially skilled at rescuing projects, Steve has a robust financial discipline and is proficient in Agile, Waterfall, and other leading methodologies and custom solutions.
Project Highlights
Expertise
- Agile Project Management
- Banking & Finance
- CRM Systems
- Post-merger Integration
- Program Management
- Project Management Office (PMO)
- Project Rescue
- Scrum Master
Work Experience
Agile and Project Management Consultant
Consulting
- Reviewed and automated client drop shipping and logistics business to save over $100,000 annually and provide a framework to scale the business significantly.
- Led and documented the discovery, requirements, and vendor selection process for an eCommerce vitamins and supplements business.
- Created and coached team members on business process documentation for freight, transportation, and rendering business.
- Created and delivered formal training for implementing a manufacturing inventory management system and provided client training at multiple sites.
- Implemented Monday.com as a project management tool for a team of 50 to manage project requests, workflow, status, and dashboard reporting for a corporate business team.
Senior Project Manager
YMCA
- Built a project plan and roadmap with estimates and maintained project schedules, status reports, and metrics for a corporate-wide, cross-functional Salesforce implementation across 17 semi-autonomous branches.
- Managed a third-party implementation partner selection process and managed partner implementation delivery.
- Reviewed client current state, including documentation, processes, and policies, and proposed backlog for a minimum viable product.
- Oversaw and coordinated team and vendor activities for all phases of the project.
- Facilitated system and process governance decisions with senior management and project steering committee.
Director, Project Management Office
Crius Energy
- Created the project management office (PMO) and portfolio structure and governance, which resulted in a 20% decrease in project implementation time for a leading energy products retailer.
- Built and managed a team of project managers, quality assurance analysts, financial analysts, and business analysts.
- Implemented financial discipline, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), cost/expense tracking, and accountability for a team in excess of $20 million annually.
- Partnered with the IT team and business partners on vendor partner selection for key projects.
- Managed a diverse overall project portfolio, including commission systems automation, Salesforce CRM implementation, network marketing system conversion, conversion to MS Dynamics, enterprise billing system conversion, new brand launches, and others.
Merger/Integration Program Management Office, Senior Project Manager, Program Management (Contract)
Constellation Energy
- Led teams of IT and business professionals in planning, designing, developing, testing, and implementing $4 million of projects in multiple geographical locations.
- Advised and collaborated on creating and operating the integration program management office policies, guidelines, communications, standards, and reporting to support multiple acquisitions with a multiple-year integration.
- Created, managed, and tracked program and project budgets and schedules.
- Performed required reporting to the executive management.
- Assisted business owners and project managers in preparing complete and comprehensive status reviews on all demand/project activities and issues for sponsors and IT leaders.
Solutions Group Manager [Health Insurance Benefits]
Taft-Hartley Benefits Administration Provider
- Managed many concurrent customer requests, projects, and internal deliverables on time and budget as a member of the leadership team of 30-year-old healthcare and retirement benefits administration software company.
- Focused on solution and service delivery by owning the existing project pipeline and P&L, managing and scheduling technical resources, writing the formal scope of work documents, and validating estimates.
- Drove new business for existing clients, managed clients, and grew the team.
- Increased data reporting and accountability standards and drove process efficiency.
Director of Project Management, Portfolio Management, and Program Management
DCP Group Consulting
- Defined and maintained process standards, best practices, and methodologies related to project management; created standardized, repeatable processes to increase efficiency; and implemented continuous evaluation and improvement.
- Provided project management and Agile coaching, mentoring, documentation, reporting, and metrics across the organization, ensuring alignment with the business strategy.
- Created effective communication strategies that streamlined communication, reduced redundant communication, and improved communication efficiency by 20%.
- Developed an accountability process, standards, and follow-up, which resulted in a 15% reduction in the error rate.
- Managed multiple complex, multi-year technology projects through the entire SDLC, which involved implementation at 900+ locations for a $300 million educational services company.
- Used Agile or Waterfall methodologies, depending on the client's needs.
Manager, PMO, Portfolio Management, and Program Management
Sylvan Learning, Educate Online
- Expanded the project management discipline throughout the business and operational organization.
- Managed the PMO standards and strategy across the enterprise.
- Influenced, built consensus, gained cooperation and commitment, and drove decisions across diverse cross-functional groups and executive managers without a direct line of authority, resulting in higher customer and project satisfaction.
- Served as an agile coach and scrum master while implementing the methodology for legacy development: consistently delivered on time and within expectations, captured strategic and operational goals, and ensured alignment with technology.
- Provided IT and project management advice for all levels of management, which created business value by enabling business and technology leaders to make well-informed decisions.
Senior Project Manager
GMAC Mortgage Ramp
- Led multiple teams of IT professionals in developing and implementing $3–$5 million enterprise-wide projects for clients throughout the country.
- Defined the technology and business enhancements to improve mortgage pipeline management and service delivery.
- Drove efficiency, developed and applied process design and best practices, and accelerated deliverables.
- Ensured consistency in the organizational approach.
- Created, developed, and managed all product training programs and materials throughout the company.
Senior Project Management Consultant
Major US Bank
- Led the effort to increase project and operational efficiency.
- Developed and applied best practices and accelerated deliverables across multiple projects that supported $87 billion in assets for high-net-worth clients.
- Established and managed an overall strategy and process to increase operational efficiencies and develop new competitive products in a new acquisition with over $110 million in assets.
- Defined and proactively managed and mitigated risks.
- Drove standardization and implemented best practices to optimize resources and costs across multiple technologies throughout the SDLC.
Project History
Billing System Conversion
Managed a company-wide project to convert over 100,000 billing accounts for a major energy retailer following the acquisition.
• Created, managed, and delivered frequent corporate-wide communications at various levels regarding the milestones, activities, status, risks, issues, and concerns using various channels and tools, including PowerPoint, emails, meetings, and conference calls.
• Communicated specific roles and responsibilities, worked with department business managers, and ensured all team members fully understood their respective roles.
• Provided detailed timeline, steps, and "playbook" for the specific go-live conversion activities.
• Managed, coordinated, communicated on, and reported on the playbook activities during the go-live phase to production.
• Performed the conversion in a "hybrid Agile" style, grouping similar markets together for a production cutover, reviewing results, and adapting learnings for the next production cutover.
• Drove and achieved consensus from wildly diverse stakeholders and team members.
Private Client Banking Site
Consulted with a major US bank to deliver a banking information site for high net-worth clients.
• Based on the client's vision, created the business case and overall "roadmap" for the project.
• Oversaw the requirements gathering, design, development, testing, and turning the system into a product.
Additional details:
• The system interfaced with legacy mainframe bank systems.
• This site was built before the foundation of the Scrum Alliance in 2004, and although built under a Waterfall methodology, it still had frequent post-production enhancement releases in a more Agile-like fashion.
Sales Management System for Franchise Centers
Led the analysis, design, and delivery of a sales tracking and management system for a client with 900+ franchise centers.
Business Process Re-engineering: New Market Entry
Improved the corporate-wide, highly regulated business process to enter new markets—decreasing market entry time by 20%.
I implemented the following (non-IT) business solution, which decreased market entry time and virtually eliminated errors and miscommunication:
• Documented and researched the required regulatory stage gates.
• Designed and implemented appropriate stage-gate ownership and accountability.
• Built the necessary executive tracking and reporting.
• Devised a prioritization process to ensure all business units were properly focused.
• Organized "set up process" checklists.
• Created and implemented a repeatable market entry model.
• Ultimately formed a cohesive, high-performing new market entry team consisting of diverse stakeholders and representatives from business units.
Certifications
Project Management with Mind Mapping - Tony Buzan Licensed Instructor (TBLI®)
Buzan America
Mind Mapping - Tony Buzan Licensed Instructor (TBLI®)
Buzan America
Certified Scrum Master
Scrum Alliance
Skills
Tools
Project Management & Work Tracking Tools, HP Quality Center (QC), Visio, Microsoft Visio, Microsoft Excel, Excel 2016, Spreadsheets, Word 2016, Financial Data, Prototyping on Paper (POP), Jira, Trello, Microsoft Project, Office 365, Miro, Visual Basic, Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace, Salesforce, QuickBooks Online, Asana, SQL, ETL, Mindjet, Zapier, Basecamp, Adobe Experience Design (XD), Adobe, Figma
Paradigms
Waterfall Delivery, Agile Leadership, Agile Workflow, Software Testing, Key Performance Metrics, Team Development, Management, Agile Software Development, Scrum, Agile, Agile Project Management, Implementation Project Management, Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN), Kanban, Unit Testing, Business Continuity Planning (BCP), Rapid Prototyping, Rapid Interactive Prototyping, Lean Project Management, HIPAA Compliance, Testing, Test-driven Development (TDD), Agile Product Management, Requirements Analysis, Organizational Change Management (OCM), Change Management, B2B, Lean
Platforms
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Windows, Monday.com, WordPress, WooCommerce, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, Google Analytics 4, Shopify
Industry Expertise
Banking & Finance, Financial Services, Consumer Finance, Retail & Wholesale, Education Technology (Edtech), For-profit Education, Exercise & Fitness, Energy, Technology, Software, Healthcare, Consumer Products, Renewable Energy, Alternative Energy, Green Energy, Health & Wellness, Logistics, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Nonprofits, Nutrition & Supplements, Digital Banking
Other
Team Leadership, Process Improvement Project Management, Fintech, Project Consultancy, Agile Coaching, Milestones, Waterfall Methodology, Discovery Workshops, Project Rescue, Optimization, Process Optimization, Workflow Optimization, Web Project Management, Business Process Optimization, Process Documentation, Requirements & Specifications, Digital Project Management, Presentations, Training, Training Content, Employee Training, Communication, Process Flows, Business Processes, Process Design, Business Plan Consulting, Business Process Flow (BPF), E-learning, IT Projects, IT Program Management, Scope Management, Scope, Scope of Work (SOW), Timelines, Time Management, Backlog Grooming, Backlog Management, Feature Backlog Prioritization, Requirements, User Requirements, System Requirements, Business Requirements, Functional Requirements, Product Requirements Documentation (PRD), Requirement Traceability Matrices, Software Integration, Software Implementation, System Integration, Integration Testing, Data Integration, Process Ownership, Post-merger Integration, Scrum Coaching, Sprints, Sprint Ceremonies, Sprint Planning, User Stories, Task Management, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Team Mentoring, Team Building, Team Productivity, Mentorship, Mentorship & Coaching, Business Coaching, Coaching, Executive Coaching, Lessons Learned, Team Restructuring, IT Governance, Discovery, Project Discovery, Discovery Management, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Team Effectiveness, Distributed Software, Distributed Systems, Distributed Team Management, PMO, PMO Development, Consulting, IT Consulting, Project Consultation, Management Consulting, Software Project Management, Project Management SRO, Mobile/Web Project Management, Project Reporting, Project Tracking, Project Closure, Project Estimation, Cost Estimation, Training & Training Content Development, Agile Software Testing, Innovation, Billing Systems, Resource Management, Resource Allocation, Scrum Master, Project Planning, Project Management Office (PMO), Project Management, IT Project Management, Budgeting, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Program Management, Business Process Analysis, Business Analysis, Business Process Management (BPM), Business Process Re-engineering, Business Process Automation, Business Process Modeling, Agile Sprints, Projects, Project Timelines, Project Lifecycle, Project Delivery, Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), Project Finance, IT Business Analysis, Implementation, Mind Mapping, Learning Management System Administration, CRM Systems, Service Delivery Project Management, Finance, Business to Consumer (B2C), Process Improvement, Team Management, Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Estimation & Planning, Quality Management, Agile Transformation, Leading Quality Assurance (LQA), Facilitation, Planning, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Cross-functional Collaboration, Roadmaps, Feature Roadmaps, Product Roadmaps, Stakeholder Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Project Scoping, Regulatory Compliance, Compliance, Data Migration, Reporting, Workflow, Client Relations, Feature Prioritization, Estimations, Staffing, Large-scale Projects, Project Portfolio Management Platforms, Product Planning, Proof of Concept (POC), Dashboard Design, System Migration, Flowcharts, Automation, Task Automation, Tracking, Sprint Retrospectives, Dashboards, Business Process Improvement (BPI), Business Strategy, Process Transformation, Business Transformation Project Management, Communication Management, Business Transformation, Progress Reporting, People Management, Corporate, Enterprise, Forecasting, IT Management, Project Scheduling, Marketplaces, Two-sided Marketplaces, Freelancing, Process Mapping, Business Reporting, Web Applications, Agile Program Management, Client Delivery Management, Scheduling, Vendor Management, Workflow Automation, Operations Tools, Organizational Structure, Leadership, Customer Experience, Migration, ERP Implementation, Workflow Tools, Workshop Facilitation, Legacy Software, Process Development, Executive Presentations, Data-driven Decision-making, Project Budget Management, Website Redesign, Business, Best Practices, Data Management, Acquisitions, Operations Management, Core Banking Systems, Remote Team Leadership, Request for Information (RFI), Project Coordination, Hybrid Project Management, Knowledge Transfer, Portfolio Management, RFPs, RFQs, ITTs, Responses, Proposals & Quotes, Objectives & Key Results (OKRs), Project Portfolio Management (PPM), Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Effort Estimation, Operational Assessments, Software Evaluation, CRM Design, Enterprise Product Portfolios, SOP Development, Data Flows, Agile Product Delivery, GAP Analysis, Gantt Chart, Regulations, Training Materials, Organizational Leadership, Standard Operating Procedures Development, Detail-oriented, COE, Internal Communications, Process Automation, Operational Workflow, Workshops, Work Breakdown Structure, Operational Efficiency Improvement, Operational Excellence, Energy Management, Energy Management, Regulatory Compliance, Business Consulting, Complex Program Management, Content Management, Software Development Management, Data Analysis, Website Migration, Quality Assurance (QA), Project Management Operations, Vendors & Suppliers, Vendor Selection, Critical Path Analysis, Documentation, K-12 Education, Education, Learning, Educational Portals, Payment Processing, Offshoring, Offshore Development, Offshore Team Management, Product Owner, Product Ownership, Scrum Product Owner, Prototyping, Integrated Program Management , Process Control, Process Testing, Scrum Testing, Scrumban, Financial Systems, Financials, Financial Records, Financial Forecasting, Financial Analysis, Web, WebApp, Web Platforms, Teams, Career Coaching, Enterprise Coaching, Corporate Governance, Corporate Restructuring, Product Discovery, Customer Discovery, Budget Management, Budget Modeling, Issue Management, Startup Consulting, Startups, Functional Specifications, Enterprise Project Management, Acceptance Test-driven Development (ATDD), Inventory Management, Websites, QA Leadership, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Business Process Flow Diagrams, Integration, Learning Management Systems (LMS), eCommerce, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Smartsheet, Financial Reporting, Microsoft Teams, Software QA, Product Management, Request for Proposal (RFP), Disaster Recovery Plans (DRP), Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BCDR), Disaster Recovery Consulting, Business Continuity, Product Development, Sales Funnel, Business to Business (B2B), Account Management, Release Management, Software Development, Relational Databases, Subscriptions, Technical Project Management, Jira Administration, Diagrams, Manufacturing Project Management, Amazon, Risk Management, Digital Transformation Program Management, Operations, Digital Transformation, Business Operations, Web Development, User Experience (UX), Client Portals, Financial Transformation, Accounting, Data, Mobile Applications, Product Launch, Databases, Technical Requirements, Website Audits, Configuration Management, Marketing Communications (MarCom), Marketing, Mobile Apps, Chief Operations Officer (COO), Technical Program Management, Web & Mobile Applications, Procurement, Fundraising, Quality Control (QC), Manufacturing, Notion, Custom CRM Modules, B2C Marketing, Edtech Design, Lean Portfolio Management, Data Privacy, ACH, Payment Networks, Wellness, Product Strategy, New Product Development, Customer Support, Microsoft Planner, Supply Chain, Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT), SOX Compliance, SOX, Warehouses, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Value Stream Mapping, Content Management Systems (CMS), Sales Operations, Lucidchart, APIs, CRM APIs, Web API, Build Processes, Warehouse Management, Human Resources (HR), Google Apps, SaaS, Video Streaming, Data Warehousing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), ClickUp
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