Awais Arif
Sydney,Australia
Summary
20 years of experience in delivering value to C-Level clients through leadership in Cybersecurity, Business, Process, and Technology Transformations. Proven success in implementing Operational Excellence Programs across various industries, driving strategic goals and enhancing efficiency. Expertise in Governance, Strategy, Risk, and Security frameworks, resulting in significant cost reductions and improved ROI. Strong background in project management, stakeholder engagement, and solutions consulting, with a focus on fostering collaboration and innovation.
Overview
22
22
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Lead Project Manager IAM and PAM - Cybersecurity Uplift Program
Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure
Sydney, Australia
02.2023 - Current
- Lead Project Management, Business Analysis and Delivery of IAM (One Identity) & PAM (Safeguard)
- Lead Business Analysis for IAM, MFA, SSO, Cyber BAU optimisation projects (Until Sept 2023)
- Successful rolled out of IAM Joiner, Mover, Leaver in Quest One Identity Manager and PAM (Quest One Identity Safeguard).
- As a Lead Business Analyst, successfully completed the Business Analysis for:
- Identity and Access Management Project
- Multifactor Authentication, Single Sign-On, Cyber Security Operations – multiple cyber teams – AS IS, TO BE, process re-engineering, SIAM process improvement, and e-forms.
- Single Sign On
- Cyber Security Operations – with all Cyber Ops teams – Captured AS IS, Created TO BE after Process Re Engineering, SIAM process improvement and e-forms.
- Program Coordination and heading delivery, Change Management and Training.
- Risk Management and Cost Management
- Successfully managed Project Commercials & Vendor engagement.
Lead Project Manager - Transformation
Endeavour Group
Sydney, Australia
12.2021 - 01.2023
- Delivered Akamai to Cloudflare migration project encompassing IAM, WAF, CDN, DR, BCP & Backup Compliance Audit, Data governance and DLP, DNS, Vendor management & commercials.
Principal Transformation Program Manager (Artificial Intelligence and Automation)
Winning Formula
Sydney, Australia
12.2016 - 12.2021
- Head of Business, Process and Technology Transformation initiatives within Downer Group, Boral, Ticketek, BDO, Smartsalary, Smartleasing, Cuscal, among others, incorporating DR and BCP requirements for CAB endorsement.
Senior Technical Project Manager & Business Analyst - Insurance Transformation
Axe Group
10.2016 - 12.2016
- Project Management and delivery of Software products across Insurance clients aligned to their requirements
Lead Pre-Sales Consultant & Business Analyst - Healthcare Al, BPM & Paperless Transformation, Time & Motion studies
Winscribe Australasia
Sydney, Australia
08.2013 - 09.2016
- Led business analysis for process improvement projects, conducting efficiency reviews and time-motion studies.
- Executed process mapping to identify bottlenecks and provide actionable feedback for enhancements.
- Developed tailored business process improvement solutions aligning with client needs, reducing costs by 50%.
- Managed high-pressure projects with C-level stakeholders, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality outcomes.
- Achieved an average efficiency increase of 40% across 10+ healthcare clients nationwide.
- Directed pre-sales efforts in Australia, overseeing $300K quarterly projects in technical health environments.
Managed Services Consultant - Systems Engineer
Fixit-IT
Sydney, Australia
02.2013 - 08.2013
- Refined IT infrastructures for clients by meticulously defining, analysing, planning, measuring, and improving all elements related to IT service availability for 20 managed services clients
Lead Systems Administrator - IT Infrastructure, IAM, Network
Netsolace Inc.
Islamabad, Pakistan
06.2009 - 09.2012
- Executed server deployment and configuration for 16 live production servers at Rackspace Hosting.
- Developed documented standards and procedures for software module deployments, achieving 80% reduction in setup time.
- Established server administration and disaster recovery SOPs to minimize unplanned downtime.
- Automated service desk procedures, resulting in 90% decrease in response time.
- Maintained client feedback above 95% while managing new technical support department for 2.5 years.
- Communicated with Rackspace and Akamai for managed services, ensuring compliance with PCI standards.
- Oversaw monthly updates, hardware upgrades, and security issue resolutions for infrastructure management.
- Managed configurations of F5 Network Load Balancers, firewalls, and failover clustering systems.
Regional Manager - Brand Activation & Marketing
Bullseye 360
Islamabad, Pakistan
01.2009 - 06.2009
- Managed vendor partnerships to ensure timely project delivery within budget and quality standards.
- Developed and executed innovative sales and marketing strategies for targeted campaigns.
- Cultivated relationships with stakeholders to achieve flawless execution of activation deliverables.
- Oversaw external client and partner relationships to enhance collaboration and satisfaction.
- Formulated category activation strategies focusing on priority markets to drive growth.
- Collaborated with Customer Marketing and Development teams to boost market presence effectively.
Founder and CEO
ACX Productions
Islamabad, Pakistan
01.2004 - 01.2009
- Researching markets to identify opportunities for event management
- Liaising with clients to ascertain their precise event requirements
- Producing detailed proposals for events (e.g., Timelines, venues, suppliers, legal obligations)
- Agreeing to, and managing a budget
- Coordinating venue management, caterers, stand designers, contractors and equipment hire
- Liaising with clients and designers to create a brand for the event and organising the production of tickets, posters, catalogues, and sales brochures
Education
Bachelor of Telecommunications Engineering -
National University of Computer And Emerging Sciences
Skills
- CISSP and CRISC Certified Cybersecurity Transformation Program and Project Delivery Practitioner
- Identity and access management
- Privileged access management
- Multifactor authentication and SSO
- Operational excellence
- Lean Six Sigma black belt
- Change management
- Facilitation and elicitation
- Communication skills
- Problem solving
- Negotiation skills
- Ability to work under pressure
- Analytical thinking
- Certified project manager
- Agile and Scrum practitioner
- Stakeholder management
- Solution consultancy
- Pre-sales support
- Tender response management
- Robotics process automation (RPA)
- Artificial intelligence (AI)
- Release management
- Virtualisation technologies
- JIRA proficiency
Certification
- Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), (ISC)²
- Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC), ISACA
- Cybersecurity Leadership Program, Cyber Leadership Institute
- Executive Cyber Resilience Program, Cyber Leadership Institute
- Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certified, Six Sigma Global Institute, IASSC Accredited Training Organisation
- Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Management Institute (PMI)
- Scrum Master Certified (SMC), SCRUMstudy
- ITIL Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management, EXIN
- Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) on Server Administrator on Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft
- Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), Microsoft
- Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), Cisco Systems
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
Lead Project Manager IAM and PAM - Cybersecurity Uplift Program
Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure
02.2023 - Current
Lead Project Manager - Transformation
Endeavour Group
12.2021 - 01.2023
Principal Transformation Program Manager (Artificial Intelligence and Automation)
Winning Formula
12.2016 - 12.2021
Senior Technical Project Manager & Business Analyst - Insurance Transformation
Axe Group
10.2016 - 12.2016
Lead Pre-Sales Consultant & Business Analyst - Healthcare Al, BPM & Paperless Transformation, Time & Motion studies
Winscribe Australasia
08.2013 - 09.2016
Managed Services Consultant - Systems Engineer
Fixit-IT
02.2013 - 08.2013
Lead Systems Administrator - IT Infrastructure, IAM, Network
Netsolace Inc.
06.2009 - 09.2012
Regional Manager - Brand Activation & Marketing
Bullseye 360
01.2009 - 06.2009
Founder and CEO
ACX Productions
01.2004 - 01.2009
Bachelor of Telecommunications Engineering -
National University of Computer And Emerging Sciences