Ijaz Akhtar, Project Manager II

Ijaz Akhtar

Project Manager II

Saudi Telecom Company (STCS)

Location
Saudi Arabia - Riyadh
Education
Master's degree, MBA - Management
Experience
15 years, 10 Months

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Work Experience

Total years of experience :15 years, 10 Months

Project Manager II at Saudi Telecom Company (STCS)
  • Saudi Arabia - Riyadh
  • My current job since January 2014

Key Responsibilities:
• Ensure and facilitate smooth Project operations and implementation of the Managed Services Project (MSP).
• Carry out verification of Coriant SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) / DWDM (Dense Wavelength Digital Multiplexing) related issues on CTNMS during service level agreement audit.
• Conduct tickets audits and analysis for exclusions of partial or full trouble ticket for service level agreement penalty calculations.
• Prepare and issue monthly service level agreement certificate to Manage Services Provider (MSP), as per terms and conditions of the project.

Consultant – Managed Services Project at Nokia Siemens Networks
  • Saudi Arabia - Riyadh
  • August 2011 to January 2014

Designation Chronology:
• Aug 2011 - Jan 2014: Consultant - Managed Services Project
• Aug 2009 - Jul 2011: Project Implementation Manager - GSM R Project
• Mar 2009 - Jul 2009: Zone Manager GSM (2G)
• Jul 2008 - Mar 2009: Field Manager Transmission (SDH/ DWDM)

Highlights:
• Was successful as a team member, which brought the project of Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) close to completion, which was continuing for a long time.
• Managed visibility of 389 Microwave Flexi-hopper sites of Saudi Telecom over NMS / OSS.
• Successfully identified the risks in STC network and prepared plans to mitigate risks.
• Carried out PAT for the 1st DWDM route and managed implementation of more than 50 DWDM sites in two months after short lab training and self-learning of DWDM (hiT7300 / hiT7500) commissioning.
• Conducted training of other engineers for DWDM (hiT7300) to carry out commissioning and PAT.

Key Responsibilities as Consultant - Managed Services Project:
• Acted as a member of TNOC report and support group for weekly, fortnightly and monthly reports including audit, root cause analysis.
• Conducted audit as per service level agreement and calculated penalties for delays of contractor as per the terms and conditions.
• Carried out root-cause analysis and recommended solutions for repeated faults in Saudi Telecom Company Network.
• Utilized network management system, Saudi Telecom Company Portal and tools to extract data for preparation of audit reports.
• Discussed with the contractor for mutual agreement on service level agreement and key performance indicators achievement for transport network.

Project Implementation Manager – GSM R Project at Nokia Siemens Networks
  • Saudi Arabia - Riyadh
  • August 2009 to July 2011

Key Responsibilities as Project Implementation Manager - GSM-R Project:
• Coordinated with the customer’s project management team for implementation, specifications and blocking issues.
• Coordinated and supervised the vendors and subcontractors for project implementation according to the project implementation plan.
• Liaised with the customers to explain the details for acceptance of project deliverables and clearance of outstanding items.
• Arranged and facilitated training programs on installed equipment by all vendors for customer’s representatives.
• Allocated work and provided guidance to technical staff for implementing the on-going project activities as per schedule.
• Prepared weekly and monthly reports of the project activities to submit to the project Manager and LM for review and feedback.
• Based on the contract, calculated and initiated material procurement for delivery to customer as spares as per delivery schedule.
• Supervised and recorded delivery and handover of telecom spares to the customer’s authorized person, in coordination with logistics and field teams.
• Coordinated and communicated with the company’s planning, procurement, logistics, sales departments and project director for implementation of the project as per the timeline.

Zone Manager GSM (2G) at Nokia Siemens Networks
  • Saudi Arabia - Riyadh
  • March 2009 to July 2009

Key Responsibilities as Zone Manager - GSM:
• Coordinated with the customer’s project management team for implementation, specifications and blocking issues.
• Liaised with company’s logistic, planning and sales staff and project Manager for smooth execution of the projects.
• Assigned jobs and provided support to the field managers for implementation of the on-going project activities as per schedule.
• Prepared and distributed daily, weekly and monthly reports of the project activities to the project manager for information.
• Coordinated implementation of LBS, CBCCH activation, E1s / ETs, LAPD protocol and CWOs and managed implementation of GSM 2G (Ultra/Metro/Flexi Edge, BS240 BTS) sites.
• Prepared calculations planned and finalized ordering of materials and equipment, to be used for project implementation.
• Prepared PORs for jobs done by subcontractors and jobs done by NSN for customer and managed a team of engineers from NSN as well as partners / subcontractors.

Field Manager Transmission (SDH/ DWDM) at Nokia Siemens Networks
  • Saudi Arabia - Riyadh
  • July 2008 to March 2009

Key Responsibilities as Field Manager - Transmission (SDH/DWDM):
• Commissioned and conducted PAT of DWDM (hiT7300/hiT7500) and SDH (hiT7070/hiT7060/hiT7030/hiT7035).
• Prepared and submitted daily, weekly and monthly reports of the project activities to the project manager for scrutiny and advice.
• Coordinated with the customer for implementation of the project, as per plan and clearance of blocking issues.
• Liaised with the company’s logistic, planning and sales staff and project manager for execution of project activities.
• Provided leadership and guidance to the technical staff for implementing the on-going project activities, as per project schedule.
• Planned and executed Arafat Migration Project (part of Saudi Telecom Company project) together with STC planning staff.

PREVIOUS ASSIGNMENTS:
• Jan 2006 to Jun 2008 (2 Years 6 Months): Senior Engineer (Telecommunication) / Technical Team Head, Siemens AG Limited, Saudi Arabia
• Mar 2001 to Dec 2005 (4 Years 10 Months): Telecommunication Engineer, Siemens AG Limited, Saudi Arabia
• Jun 2000 to Feb 2001 (9 Months): Manager - Engineering VSAT/ Manager - Special Projects, Pak Datacom Limited, Islamabad, Pakistan
• Sep 1998 to Jun 2000 (2 Years 9 Months): Engineer - Special Projects, Pak Datacom Limited, Islamabad, Pakistan

Education

Master's degree, MBA - Management
  • at Virtual University
  • May 2012
Bachelor's degree, Engineering - Electronics
  • at NED University of Engineering & Technology
  • November 1996

Design and program 8-Channel PC based Logic Analyzer Control of Robotic arm by PC using C and Assembly Languages

Specialties & Skills

Project Management
Service
Telecommunications
Bids / Tender Management, GSM/ GSM Railways, Customer Interfacing
Leadership, Teamwork, MS - Office
Team Management, Performance Evaluation , Resource Planning
Risk Management, Quality Assurance & Control, Acceptance Test Protocols
Analytical Ability, Problem Solving, Decision Making
SDH (hiT70xx series), DWDM (hiT7300 / hiT7500), VSATs / DAMA
Project Management, Subcontractor Management, Feasibility Study

Languages

English
Expert
Hindi
Expert
Urdu
Expert
Arabic
Intermediate
Pushto
Native Speaker

Memberships

Project Management Institute, USA
  • Member
  • March 2008
Project Management Institute, Arabian Gulf Chapter
  • Member
  • March 2008
Saudi Council of Engineers
  • Member
  • October 2010
Pakistani Engineering Council
  • Member
  • September 1998
Institution of Engineers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabian Chapter
  • Member
  • April 2008

Training and Certifications

Aug 1999: Introduction to TCP/IP & Configuration of Cisco Routers (Training)
Training Institute:
NICON, Islamabad, Pakistan
Dec 2000: DAMA (Demand Assigned Multiple Access) technology for satellite communication (Training)
Training Institute:
Pak Datacom Ltd
Nov 2004: Basic Business Excellence (Quality Assurance / ISO 9000) Training (Training)
Training Institute:
Siemens, Jeddah
Sep 2004: CISCO Certified Network Associates (CCNA-640-801) (Training)
Training Institute:
ETC, Riyadh
May 2005: Effective Team-Work skills, at Riyadh (Training)
Training Institute:
Siemens, Germany
May 2006: Commissioning/Maintenance Courses (Training)
Training Institute:
Siemens Munich, Germany
Jan 2008: MSTP (Multi Services Transport Platform) (Training)
Training Institute:
NSN Shanghai, China
Mar 2008: PMP Training Course (35 PDUs) Project Management Skills and PMP exam preparations (Training)
Training Institute:
MARCOM, Riyadh
Aug 2008: Ethernet over SDH, Layer 2 switching & Advanced Topics (Training)
Training Institute:
NSN Cairo, Egypt
Jul 2009: Critical Path Method and Earned Value in Your Project Plan & Control (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Riyadh
Oct 2009: Cab Radio Operations at Damman (Training)
Training Institute:
Siemens Poole, UK
Nov 2009: Managing Organizational Change (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Khobar
Nov 2009: Balanced Scorecard Solutions for Corporate Portfolio Performance Management (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Riyadh
Dec 2009: JOHARI Window in Team Building Context (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Khobar
Jan 2010: Preventing, Recovering and Managing Troubled Projects (14 PDUs) (Training)
Training Institute:
ITL, Riyadh
Jan 2010: Effective Project Management Using Collaboration Principles And Tools (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Riyadh
Feb 2010: Value Engineering application benefits for Sustainable Development (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Riyadh
Mar 2010: Goals and Feedback – A Leader’s Spangle (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Riyadh
May 2010: Future of Railways in Saudi Arabia (Training)
Training Institute:
IEP-SAC, Riyadh
Jul 2010: Location Based Scheduling (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Khobar
Oct 2010: Conflict Resolution; Its Role in Managing Projects (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Khobar
Mar 2011: PMO Awareness (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Riyadh
May 2011: Professional Project Management Culture: Benefits, Obstacles and Solutions (Training)
Training Institute:
IEP-SAC, Riyadh
Jul 2010: Portfolio Management: The Business End of the PMO (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Riyadh
Sep 2013: The Agile Scrum Methodology (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Riyadh
Jan 2014: Towards A Strategic Project – Value Engineering Integration Approach (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Riyadh
Mar 2014: OPM3 – Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Riyadh
Nov 2014: Earned Value Management from Theory to Application (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Riyadh
Mar 2015: Blue Ocean Strategy and its application to Project Management (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Riyadh
Jun 2015: Professional Development Seminar (Benefits of Early Engagement & Stakeholder Management) (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Riyadh
Jun 2015: Multicultural Project Challenges (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Riyadh
Oct 2015: Leadership and Project Management (Training)
Training Institute:
PMI-AGC, Riyadh
Apr 2009: Project Management Professional, Project Management Institute, USA (Certificate)

Hobbies

  • Watching Documentaries, Playing Badminton