Vanja is available for hire
Hire VanjaVanja Ostojic
Verified Expert in Project Management
Project Manager
Location
Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia
Toptal Member Since
March 10, 2020
For several years, Vanja has combined her expertise in languages and strategic management to lead and mentor development teams. Her passion is in product discovery and co-creation, and she's built an array of web and mobile projects in various spheres, including digital marketing, fintech, gaming, and education. Vanja shines in her genuine, nuanced care, team handling, and enthusiastic approach to achieving goals.
Project Highlights
OK Betalen
Worked on the transformation of a startup into an app used by over 500,000 people.
Surgiyo
Led a successful product discovery journey for mobil and web surgical application.
Technical Program Manager
Became a Technical Program Manager for an oil & gas industry company. Took over the QA leadership, the data team and infrastructure team management, and strategies to deliver company products faster and with better quality.
Expertise
Work Experience
Product Manager
2023 - PRESENT
Bison
- Gained expertise that lies in identifying market needs, defining product strategies, and launching applications that streamline operations, enhance user experience, and facilitate seamless financial transactions in the factoring business.
- Held a product manager role in the organization and worked on oil and gas business applications, spearheading the development and deployment of cutting-edge software solutions tailored to the unique challenges of the oil and gas industry.
- Conducted thorough market research to identify untapped opportunities, leading to the development of a strategic product roadmap that aligns with both user needs and business objectives.
- Collaborated closely with engineering, design, and marketing teams to ensure product vision was translated into reality, maintaining a focus on user-centric design principles.
- Implemented metrics and KPIs to monitor product performance post-launch, leveraging data to make informed decisions for future iterations and enhancements.
- Acted as the primary liaison between clients, stakeholders, and internal teams, facilitating transparent communication and aligning expectations with product capabilities.
Technical Program Manager
2021 - 2023
Bison Logistics
- Served as a technical program manager at Bison Logistics, a dynamic entity in the oil and gas and freight and logistics services, and honed a diverse skill set, including agile product and project management, program management, and QA leadership.
- Took on more responsibilities as I assumed the role of a scrum master for several development teams, where I facilitated all team meetings and scrum ceremonies, ensuring agile best practices.
- Played a pivotal role in product discovery sessions with various stakeholders, employing innovative discovery techniques such as user story mapping and design thinking, which led to the successful development of comprehensive product backlogs.
- Worked on the strategic decisions related to the engineering direction in relation to the other company sectors, setting up quality audits, and aligning engineering, data, and infrastructure decisions.
- Established quality audits and fostered alignment between engineering, data, and infrastructure decisions, significantly contributing to the company's strategic direction and operational excellence.
Project Manager Digital
2020 - 2020
5CA
- Joined the team to help the company in the transformational phase with the process definition. Worked on process mapping and created a ''factory model'' of key processes such as customer onboarding, internal reporting, and more.
- Managed the initiative of implementing a suitable project management tool. Conducted cross-company research and requirements gathering and led the discussions with the potential PM tool vendors.
- Managed a program that was aimed at migrating all the clients to the secure virtual desktop. Created a program run-book and managed end-to-end program progress on multiple accounts.
Chatbot Project Coordinator
2020 - 2020
Querlo
- Managed an HR chatbot implementation and release for a large international company (4–500,000 employees).
- Trained chatbots and created workflow schemes for user intents.
- Supervised developers and ensured timely delivery of the product.
- Ensured a great client-team relationship of trust and proactiveness in a fully remote multinational environment.
- Built COVID-19 and post COVID-19 chatbot solutions for clients and individuals.
Delivery Manager
2018 - 2020
Levi9 Technology Services
- Joined the team as a delivery manager and scrum master and for almost two years to build strong customer relationships and keep track of project scope, quality, and budget.
- Implemented various project transformation processes from a waterfall-like structure with yearly releases to an agile biweekly release setup.
- Optimized the teamwork by organizing the people in performing teams; defined the workflows and SLDC for each team.
- Facilitated multiple discovery workshops, performed user story mapping sessions, and helped the client with defining requirements.
- Implemented various scrum practices and facilitated all scrum rituals with the distributed team setup.
- Motivated the development teams to achieve both their personal as well as the client's objectives, creating a safe and positive work environment.
- Organized knowledge-sharing workshops on various topics, from scrum to leadership.
Project Manager
2017 - 2018
Freelance Work
- Served as an IT project management consultant, focusing on creating way-of-working procedures and SLDC structure for distributed cross-functional teams.
- Collaborated closely with the clients on creating functional specifications and wireframes for their products and creating project timelines.
- Contributed to IT projects from various industries—from automotive to stock market and music.
Project Manager
2016 - 2017
Eton Digital
- Joined the team as an assistant scrum master, then progressed to lead project manager/scrum master.
- Organized multiple collocated agile teams and set up their workflows.
- Optimized scrum processes and coached the team and clients on agile practices.
- Implemented beta testing of the applications and was a member of the acceptance board—testing along with product owners and stakeholders and approving the features.
Marketing and Communications Executive
2015 - 2016
TallyFox
- Created a marketing strategy for the knowledge management platform built by the in-house development team.
- Contributed to content and social media management and the overall product promotion.
- Organized the company's tech talks for knowledge sharing on various topics—from tech to marketing.
Client Services Manager
2013 - 2015
Sizmek
- Collaborated with media agencies on media planning and ad-serving, such as Ubisoft, Maxus, Xaxis, and Mediacom UK.
- Contributed to gaming digital media campaigns (e.g., Assassin's Creed).
- Collaborated with distributed and in-house teams on the rapid value generation from advertisements in a fast-paced Ad Tech industry.
Project History
OK Betalen
https://ok.app/nl/Worked on the transformation of a startup into an app used by over 500,000 people.
I managed over 20 developers, QAs, software architects, and DevOps engineers in transforming the startup from a yearly release to the more Agile biweekly release process. Furthermore, I facilitated numerous discovery workshops for the project and worked with teams on the process and technical improvements, building a strong and transparent relationship of trust with the client.
Web Portal and Database Refactoring and Remodeling for Machine Industry
Built the new web portal for customers and dealers and designed the brand new complex database model for a leading dealer in the machine and large vehicles industry.
I managed the development team consisting of software architects, front-end and back-end developers, and QAs during a 6-month period of complex refactor and redesign of the existing solution. I also worked on creating full project functional specifications, from mapping the existing state to documenting the desired one. In addition, I contributed to the wireframes and database models with the cooperation of a software architect.
Querlo
https://www.querlo.com/products/crisis-managementManaged an HR chatbot implementation for a large international company, including the release and maintenance.
I ensured a great client-team relationship of trust and proactiveness in a fully remote multinational environment. I also trained chatbots and created workflow schemes for user intents with emphasis on COVID-19 themed chatbots.
Tallium
https://www.tallyfox.com/productWorked on marketing and lead generation strategy for the knowledge management platform.
Tallium is a business platform created to facilitate knowledge sharing, content management, and communication. Its primary purpose is to break information silos and facilitate knowledge sharing by connecting experts from various fields.
Hybrid Mobile Application for Gaming and Education
Successfully delivered the initial product backlog and UI/UX flow for the hybrid mobile application aimed at promoting African-American culture through gamification.
I managed a team of developers and a UI/UX designer during discovery workshops, working as a proxy product owner and assisting the client in communicating the business vision and mission. This resulted in successful discovery sessions and fully shaped UI/UX design for the app.
Coached the client on the Agile practices and Scrum framework.
Coached the client on the Agile practices and Scrum framework.
Surgiyo
Led a successful product discovery journey for mobil and web surgical application.
Led product discovery workshops, defined user journeys with the team of developers and a designer, worked with internal and external design team members; ownership over entire Jira process and product backlog.
Was also led estimation sessions with the team.
Was also led estimation sessions with the team.
Technical Program Manager
Became a Technical Program Manager for an oil & gas industry company. Took over the QA leadership, the data team and infrastructure team management, and strategies to deliver company products faster and with better quality.
• Joined the team as a project manager for the development team working on two mobile apps. Organized the backlog and tracked the time and velocity of the team.
• Worked as a scrum master for multiple development teams, led all team meetings, and facilitated scrum cadences.
• Worked on product discovery sessions with multiple stakeholders, using various discovery techniques, such as user story mapping, design thinking, etc. Managed leading the team in the process of fully developing the product backlog.
• Progressed to become a Technical Program Manager, took over the QA leadership, data team and infrastructure team management.
• Worked on the strategic decisions related to the engineering direction in relation to the other company sectors, setting up quality audits, and aligning engineering, data, and infrastructure decisions.
• Worked as a scrum master for multiple development teams, led all team meetings, and facilitated scrum cadences.
• Worked on product discovery sessions with multiple stakeholders, using various discovery techniques, such as user story mapping, design thinking, etc. Managed leading the team in the process of fully developing the product backlog.
• Progressed to become a Technical Program Manager, took over the QA leadership, data team and infrastructure team management.
• Worked on the strategic decisions related to the engineering direction in relation to the other company sectors, setting up quality audits, and aligning engineering, data, and infrastructure decisions.
Education
2012 - 2014
Master's Degree in Strategic Management
University of Belgrade - Belgrade, Serbia
2008 - 2012
Bachelor's Degree in English Language and Literature
University of Novi Sad - Novi Sad, Serbia
Certifications
JANUARY 2019 - PRESENT
Professional Scrum Master I
Scrum.org
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