Director, Operations
NOA Living
Total years of experience :22 years, 10 Months
Highlights:
• Developed and executed a multi-channel digital marketing strategy leveraging third party marketplaces through Channel Advisor with the company's eCommerce site. Conducted a gap analysis of the company's IT & on-line platforms to assess alignment with business objectives. Stabilized the current POS & eCommerce platforms while initiating a re-platforming project for an integrated architecture for better TCO, faster time to market and ease of use.
Key Responsibilities:
• Responsible for all aspects of the company’s IT and on-line business (technical solutions, multichannel digital strategy and web site development).
• Develop the company’s digital marketing and on-line sales strategy aiming towards increasing web site traffic and conversion rate, as well as expanding into new marketplaces complemented by the delivery of an enhanced customer experience through the various channels.
• Optimize POS and e-commerce systems architecture with emphasis on integration and cloud migration wherever it makes sense in order to minimize foot print and streamline operational support.
Highlights:
Improved operational efficiency resulting in higher productivity while reducing energy and raw material cost. Eliminated debt. Negotiated and closed a take-over bid by a major competitor.
Key Responsibilities:
Lead the company to position it for value among a fierce competition, focusing on operational efficiency, a sales strategy that targets specific market segments, eliminating debt, and improving customer satisfaction. I succeeded in transforming the company to reach profitability in a very short time frame and positioned it to become a noticeable competitor in the local marketplace, yet initiating inroads into the African market. I negotiated an acquisition proposal by a major competitor, and finalized a win-win agreement that catered to the interests of both parties.
Highlights:
• Won team awards for creating new opportunities and exceeding Out of Baseline targets. Achieved $1M annual savings over a 6-year contract by enhancing the service model to manage support at airports in the region. Highly satisfied customers resulting in repeat business. Always exceeding SLAs for service availability and service restore time aided by the use of effective Service Management processes based on the enforced ITIL framework and Six Sigma practices.
Key Responsibilities:
• Determining technical/ business goals in consultation with the client, making detailed plans for accomplishment of these goals subsequent to understanding of technology/business practices.
• Managing operations and client expectations, setting up appropriate processes and operations models, directing projects to satisfy client business needs through system implementation process using project life cycle methodology.
• Identifying and negotiating operations requirements with clients for the various SITA solutions and providing relevant operations models to meet contractual obligations.
• Supervising and defining requirements, negotiating service level agreements including airline, airport and government agreements with third party providers and ensuring outsource aspects of the service operation for achieving better cost efficiency.
• Engineering/deploying a turnaround strategy for the client to ensure streamlined services in line with client requirements and established service SLAs.
• Ensuring strict adherence to respective budgetary guidelines, controlling cash flow, effecting cost reductions and monitoring logistics.
• Evaluating latest/most innovative technologies, to help organization achieve established goals in an efficient and effective manner.
Highlights:
• Implemented service management processes based on the ITIL framework, which facilitated the offering of dedicated Service Management as a chargeable service. Rolled out the airlines catalog for network and messaging services acquired through SITA, enabling self-service functions with regards to Order & Incident management, which had a tremendous effect on the customer's satisfaction.
Key Responsibilities:
• Spearheaded the emirates airlines center of excellence team, directed projects/services including network related customer services including order processing, order fulfillment and problem management ensuring alignment with organizational objectives towards enhancing service delivery, productivity, profits, resources and growth.
• Organized requirements definition and selection of productivity enhancing technologies and their application for business process optimization in alignment with organizational mission and core objectives.
• Conducted periodic performance review meetings presenting metrics and agreeing on action plans for continuous improvement.
• Defined project scope, constraints, assumptions, identified associated risks and back-up plans. Estimated and coordinated resources, managed delivery of service, to ensure client satisfaction.
• Provided process support to customers by gaining in-depth understanding of the client’s requirements and domain to identify/resolve client issues and provide a long lasting solution for smooth business operations.
• Ascertained systems, processes and methodologies as specified are followed to assure effective monitoring, control and support of service delivery. Provided reports to an agreed schedule, including management and account performance reports.
• Considered costs of projects to formulate budgets, monitored costs to keep within budgets, assessed ROI of the project to the company. Provided status reports to management and incorporating feedback from executive level.
Key Responsibilities:
• Directed, monitored and coordinated project processes, evaluations/ plans, to guarantee project progress in accordance with the project schedule.
• Conducted project constructability reviews, technical feasibility analysis, scope of the project, provisional acceptance testing in order to ensure timely completion of the project.
• Monitored, designed security and maintained security assessment of bank's networks and server infrastructure, estimated cost of new requirements and checked applications after each new release.
• Set challenges and clear expectations for team members, monitored their performance, provide regular feedback, organized trainings to accomplish greater operational effectiveness/ efficiency.
• Computed operational and maintenance cost estimates. Devised project budgets, in coordination with the regional office and effecting cost cutting measures to maintain adherence to the same.
• Ensured optimal usage of all resources as per schedule and within budgeted overheads. Enforced budgetary guidelines and efficiently organized project utilities in order to meet agreed project delivery deadlines.
• Allocated work modules to various teams under purview and consistently followed up on progress of project modules, to ensure seamless integration upon completion.
Highlights:
• Successfully developed and implemented the bank’s first Internet banking including development, security design and security assessment of the bank’s network and server infrastructure.
• Instrumental in ERP oracle automation of the bank’s HR processes by executing various HRMS modules to tackle business functions in the areas of recruitment, government relations, human resources, compensation and benefits and MIS reporting.
• Played a pivotal role in administering the in-house enhancement of the pay link application necessary for sales strategy to increase in revenue by 3 million riyals per year.
Crafted an impressive growth path rising from the position of Enterprise Automation Manager to Senior Project Manager within a short span of time.
Designation Chronology:
• June 2000-December 2003: Senior Project Manager
• March 1999-May 2000: Enterprise Automation Manager
Key Projects to Credit:
• April 2003 - June 2003: Call Center Enhancement Assessment.
• September 2003 - November 2003: Credit Card Clearing Assessment.
• December 2002 - June 2003: Pay Link Enhancement Project.
• July 2001 - November 2002: HRMS Project.
• June 2000 - February 2001: Internet Banking Project.
Key Responsibilities:
• Planned, organized and implemented new methods, procedures and processes in banking services, suggesting improvements for glitch-free operations and ensured user satisfaction.
• Developed and executed a skills improvement plan, achieved significant improvement in productivity and staff satisfaction and to ensure that they are in alignment with the bank’s objectives and business strategy.
• Identified and standardized the bank desktop environment, thus improved the operational efficiency and developed productivity.
• Developed and implemented bank’s Internet strategy, thus established the bank’s presence on internet.
• Reviewed, restructured and innovated processes, procedures and execution methodologies to ensure all trainees attain banking standards of compatibility.
• Reported team performance trends, ensured consistency, established policies/ procedures and coordinated communication of team results based on operational standards of the organization.
• Proffered support for the development, testing and operation of firewalls, intrusion detection systems, enterprise anti-virus and other automation.
• Kept abreast of latest technological advancements and utilized the potentials of the same to respond distinctive needs of the organization.
Previous Professional Experience:
• November 1988-December 1995: Computer Associate, New York City Department of Environmental Protection
• June 1988-November 1988: Programmer/Analyst, State Mutual Assurance Company of America - MA, USA.
Key Projects to Credit:
• Scudder Corporation -Technical Consultant.
• Fleet Bank, Telesales Project -Technical Consultant.
• Arthur D. Little, IT Assessment and Benchmark Study - Technical Consultant.
• Hasbro Corporation.
Key Responsibilities:
• Developed processes and guidelines affecting the regional infrastructure and the end-user and provided technical expertise to keep the regional IT organization on the leading edge of the fast paced high demand consulting business, with administration responsibilities over the regional network infrastructure, network security, Unix and Windows servers, phone switches and other resources.
• Supported the system administration staff in the fast-paced environment of fixed time/fixed price system integration, network consulting and management consulting firm.
• Mentored IT staff in project support duties, tracked actual progress against agreed schedules/plans to ensure completion within specified time/budget.
• Developed guidelines for offsite project environments, interacted /collaborated with worldwide IT organization in various areas, provided support to 47 offices worldwide, produced capital/expense budget for the Northeast region’s IT department.