Faisal Al-Aqeel

Responsible for building and operating the enterprise PMO which oversee the implementation of all the center’s establishment initiatives and the various communication and outreach programs and campaigns.

Key Responsibilities:
• Setting up and budgeting the Center’s portfolio.
• Developing the PMO framework, its governance processes, and staff sourcing.
• The centralized management, coordination, and reporting of all establishment activities and projects.
• Controlling projects’ expenditure and maintaining a healthy cash flow.
• Managing contracts and vendor.
• Line management for project management staff.

Ensuring that the PMO meets performance targets that are aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives and that projects adhere to project management best practices.

Key Responsibilities:
• Establishing frameworks for robust project management, including: project management methodologies and tools.
• Coordinating organization-wide project status reviews, tracking timelines, budgets, ensuring that objectives are being met and that issues are managed appropriately.
• Ensuring reporting and monitoring on adherence to project management policies and procedures.
• planning and prioritization of projects based on strategic objectives, cost/benefit considerations, timing and resources capacity.

Designation Chronology:
• Aug 2014- Present: Program Manager
• Sep 2009- Jul 2014: Project Manager

Key Responsibilities:
Program Leadership
• Providing direction and overseeing the Project Management Group; spearheading line management functions to match strategic corporate plans and delivery targets for aerospace technology related projects portfolio.
• Determining program scope; preparing and planning program delivery within determined timelines and specifications to facilitate realization of organizational objectives and vision.
• Coordinating execution and service delivery pertaining to various program phases/project activities to prioritize effectiveness, efficiency and financial feasibility for assured technological advancement.
• Maintaining compliance to established policies/procedures across all program phases; conducting quarterly evaluations against program evaluation framework to anticipate and resolve issues.
• Liaising with clients and concerned stakeholders to maintain strong engagement; gathering input regarding deliverable requirements to enable consistent improvement in processes.
• Overseeing day-to-day staff performance; evaluating program progress, identifying areas of concern, and providing feedback to steer adherence to quality standards.

Financial Oversight
• Managing resource planning, budget development and expense approvals with focus on optimized allocation; assessing variances between actual and forecasted financials to support attentive risk management.
• Developing funding proposals with distinct program outlines, goals, required inputs, and proposed outcomes to facilitate fulfillment of objectives.

Key Responsibilities:
Project Leadership
• Managed projects from inception through closure; defined project scope, objectives, and proposed deliverables for alignment of vision between senior management, customers, and other stakeholders.
• Developed project proposals to acquiring funding from customers and program sponsors; provided overview of strategic plans, targeted benefits, and the intended results to be delivered.
• Prepared comprehensive project plans to determine financial and human/material resource needs; developed work schedules, budgets and contingency plans to steer effective risk and conflict management.
• Monitored progress against defined milestones to deliver status reports to program management; ensured projects remained on track, and consistency in fulfillment of project specifications.
• Administered revision to project scope, definition and performance criteria; coordinated configuration management to cater to evolving stakeholder priorities, while minimizing cost/time based impacts.
• Spearheaded project material procurement functions; prepared RFQs, awarded contracts, and confirmed finalization of contractual agreements with adherence to budgetary parameters.

Stakeholder Relationship Management
• Oversaw cross-functional project teams; communicated with various department representatives to enable efficient negotiation and delegation for optimized resource allocation.
• Served as mentor for project team members and contractors; provided performance feedback, and prioritized staff self-sufficiency and empowerment to maintain accountability.
• Established an expanded network of sustainable long-term business relationships and partnerships; built organizational credibility through consistent delivery of high standard projects.

Inducted into the organization as a Project Manager to help facilitate the realization of technology and innovation based goals; achieved integral milestones including the development and testing of the SaudiSat-4 satellite development life cycle.

Highlights:
• Successfully accomplished the comprehensive execution of SaudiSat-4 satellite development life cycle (launched Jun 2014 from Yasny launch base); the first satellite developed entirely in Saudi Arabia. Scope of the project included design, analysis, manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing of the systems inclusive of lower level components.
• Spearheaded the management and delivery of various high end technology projects pertaining to satellite development and manufacturing including:
- Operational satellite systems
- Satellite HW/SW components development
- Satellite facilities planning and establishment
• Designed, setup, and deployed a mass production model with complementary processes targeting dynamic aerospace product development, with a sustainable supply chain.
• Actively, participated in the establishment and documentation of NSTC PMO, including the policies, procedures, templates, and the general framework.

Key Projects to Credit:
• Jun 2014: SaudiSat-4 Satellite Development Project
Role: Project Manager for a 60 member team from various functions across KACST, NASA, and Stanford University
Overview: Led successful end-to-end project management from conceptualization to launch; SaudiSat-4 was the pioneer in the new generation of satellites designed and produced utilizing locally manufactured systems.

• Jan 2013: Quality & Information Security Management System Implementation Project
Role: Project Manager
Overview: Coordinated development and execution of an integrated quality and information security management system; accomplished completion with certification against ISO 9001:2008 ISO 27001:2008 requirements. Streamlined consistent process improvements, resolved bottlenecks, and implementation of several aerospace parts’ production related standards (for e.g. ECSS, NASA, MIL).

• Dec 2012: Communication Satellite System Acquisition Project
Role: Project Manager
Overview: Managed the acquisition of a 5-ton communication satellite system for government use; defined project scope encompassing coverage/capacity requirement from different governmental entities, in addition to budgeting, system preliminary design and RFQs preparation.

• Aug 2012: KACST Project Management Committee
Role: NSTC’s PMO Representative
Overview: Nominated and selected to represent National Satellite Technology Center (NSTC) in the Project Management Committee at King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology (KACST) to support promotion of best industry practices across KACST’s project management offices.

• Mar 2012: Product Lifecycle Management Tool- PLM (Enovia Platform) Implementation Project
Role: Process Analyst
Overview: Served as a member of the implementation team with responsibilities including participating in collection, analysis and documentation of organizational requirements and operational processes in order to facilitate communication/delivery to system implementer. Consequently, was strongly involved in the implementation validation of the business processes.

• Jun 2011: PMO
Role: Process Analyst
Overview: Contributed as team member towards establishment of a uniform methodology for project management across the National Satellite Technology Center (NSTC). Participated in development of templates, and syncing of system development lifecycle and project management processes, with the release methodology still in effect.