Verna Jonck

• Managed and supervised administrative and daily program operations, complying with policies and regulations.
• Established strong relationships with key stakeholders, ensuring support for program initiatives.
• Developed strategic plans, setting clear objectives and achievable milestones for the team.
• Managed cross-functional teams for successful project completion within deadlines and budgets.
• Facilitated workshops and conducted one-on-one training to educate team members.
• Conducted comprehensive program evaluations, identifying areas for improvement and recommending actionable solutions.
• Managed multiple strategic projects with numerous sub-projects or workstreams.
• Identified program obstacles, risks and issues and communicated possible impacts to team.
• Identify and implement risk mitigation strategies.
• Utilized data-driven decision-making approaches to inform strategy development and optimize outcomes.
• Met with project stakeholders on regular basis to assess progress and make adjustments.
• Improved program efficiency by streamlining processes and implementing time-saving solutions.
• Championed best practices in project management, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• Synthesizing data across the Program of Work into written reports for Senior Leadership, providing them with transparency and a true reflection on the status.
• PMO Setup and Implementation: Led the design and deployment of PMOs from the ground up, including defining governance structures, developing standardized processes, and selecting appropriate project management tools. Successfully integrated governance into a diverse organizational environment, tailoring approaches to align with strategic objectives.
• Process Optimization: Streamlined project management processes by implementing best practices and methodologies, such as Agile and Waterfall, to enhance efficiency and project delivery. Introduced performance metrics and KPIs to monitor and improve project outcomes.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborated with senior executives and key stakeholders to ensure alignment between project goals and organizational strategy. Facilitated communication and managed expectations to foster a culture of transparency and accountability.
• Team Leadership and Development: Built and led high-performing PMO teams, providing guidance and support to project managers and team members. Implemented training programs to develop project management skills and promote continuous improvement.
• Risk and Issue Management: Established frameworks for identifying, assessing, and mitigating project risks and issues. Developed strategies to address potential challenges proactively and minimize impact on project objectives.
• Reporting and Governance: Developed comprehensive reporting mechanisms to provide visibility into project status, resource utilization, and financial performance. Ensured adherence to governance standards and compliance with organizational policies.

Responsible for ensuring that the product and associated features being created by the development team align to customer and business requirements. Working within the Agile framework of Large-Scale Scrum and contribute to the evolution of Agile within the organisation. Promoting continuous improvement in high quality products and services while collaborating with key stakeholders to ensure the technical teams have all the knowledge and support required. Key responsibilities:

● Work as a Product Owner within the current Agile (LeSS) framework

● Setting, prioritizing, and accepting the work generated through the relevant teams

● Gather feature requests and co-ordinate work throughout sprints

● Serve as the voice of the customer

● Work with internal and external customers to analyse the needs and align product development to strategic goals

● Work with the Product team to develop the product roadmap

● Develop, scope, define and prioritise backlog items (epic/features/user stories) that guide the software development team to deliver customer-aligned outcomes

● Work with teams and stakeholders to solve product related problems, and make decisions to complete trade-off analysis, ensuring we stay on track with deliverable commitments

● Collaborate with stakeholders, customers, users, and team members to ensure the right outcome is delivered

● Develop appropriately detailed specifications for the product features so they are clearly understood by the development teams

● Work closely with product management and senior management in order to create a product that fits the company portfolio

● Understand and be up-to-date with industry trends and market dynamics.

A good understanding and experience of Short-Term Insurance and Agile Best Practices have enabled me to successfully run three teams. In Page 3 of 8 total we maintained and supported 7 complex systems to the business and external vendors of Hollard Insurance. Together we delivered BAU activities, Enhancements and Projects. With my ability to recognise customer requirements and articulate them clearly to my teams, it enabled the teams to focus on their delivery. My attention to detail has aided me to plan well and prioritise key deliverables and deliver successfully. With a team focus in mind I have the ability to lead and motivate my teams, whilst using my exceptional communication skills to build rapport quickly with my key stakeholders.

Implement a new policy administration system to administer policies and improve the policy admin, claims and finance processes by including workflows and general system enhancements. Integrations to external vendor system, TransUnion, MM Codes and Finance Systems enabled efficient, cost and time reducing benefits to the business. Migration of policies from old system to new system and the quality of the migration was key to the success of the project.

• Closely collaborated with project members to identify and quickly address problems.
• Oversaw large portfolio of projects to support teams, report progress and influence positive outcomes for key stakeholders.
• Maintained schedules to meet key milestones at every project phase.
• Communicated project plans and progress to key stakeholders and project contributors.
• Kept project on schedule and within budget while serving as project leader.
• Recorded all project costs and expenses and aligned with project budget.
• Developed project plans and managed project scope using methodologies to guide projects from conceptualization to implementation and maintenance.
• Directed changes to project scope and cost and implemented appropriate change management processes to keep project on track.
• Oversaw internal and external projects by reviewing activities, maximizing efficiency and increasing collaboration and communication transparency.
• Adjusted project plans to account for dynamic targets, staffing changes and operational specifications.
• Project Initiation and Planning - development of the Project Charter.
• Team and Stakeholder Management - Facilitating meetings to engage with team members and stakeholders.
• Cost Management and Resource Procurement - estimate costs, determine budget, manage budget.
• Quality Management - conducting test plans, determien metrics, SIT, UAT and Functional Testing.
• Communication Management - active listening skills, ability to communicate well with all levels of staff.
• Resource Management - contract management, conflict management and team building and vendor selection.
• Change Management - facilitate change control meetings, maintain change control logs.
• Preparation and distribution of project status reports, steering committee meeting packs.
• Ensure Project Governance according to the PMO standards and processes.
• System Implementation Go-Live Management.
• System and Product Training Material Roll-Out.

Project achievements:

• With the application of excellent time management, analytical and problem-solving skills, the project was delivered on time, within budget and accepted by business as a quality and user-friendly system.
• Staff were well trained and ready to use the system on go-live.

Program / Project Manager within the Hollard HPL Division. In this role I did both Program Management as well as the role of Project Manager, to ensure the successful delivery of the overall Program of Work. This role required me to have the ability to focus on the big picture as well as be part of the "knitty-gritty" details that a project manager owns.

Key Deliverables as Program Manager:

• Brainstorming strategies and deliverables to meet business objectives, to ensure alignment to the overall strategic objectives of the organisation.
• Oversee the budget and resourcing for the different projects that form part of the program of work.
• Management and coordination and effective communication between the projects and steams (departments) and teams.
• Defining governance and processes to be in place to ensure accountability, responsibility and focus on delivery and monitor compliance.
• Assessing risks and working with department leads to take preventative and corrective measures.
• Provide guidance to project managers as part of the delivery team.
• Prepare detailed status reports, steerco reports and overall monthly program focused reports to the Business Management Forum.

Key deliverables as Project Manager:

• Setting clear goals, defining roles and responsibilities. Show an in-depth understanding of the project and clearly define goals.
• Communicating with the delivery teams on a regular basis, ensuring focus and removing any blockers.
• Develop the Project Charter, Project Management Plans, Work Breakdown Structures, Project Schedules, Risk, Issue and Dependency controls and overall project governance.
• Fortnightly Status Reports and monthly Steerco Reports.
• Successfully managed multiple projects simultaneously by prioritizing tasks according to urgency, resource availability, and alignment with organizational goals.
• Elevated project team morale and engagement through regular recognition of individual accomplishments, fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Reduced project risks by proactively identifying potential issues and implementing mitigation strategies.
• Monitored project progress, ensuring milestones were met while maintaining high standards of quality control.
• Managed cross-functional teams to ensure effective communication and collaboration throughout the project lifecycle.
• Developed comprehensive project plans for successful execution and timely delivery of projects within budget constraints.