Grant Strachan

Senior Project Manager & Business Analyst

Cobalt Consulting
Tel: +44 (0) 7884 072187; Email: grant.strachan@iname.com

Profile / Summary

An experienced Senior Project Manager & Business Analyst with a track record of defining and delivering regulatory / change management initiatives, leading to process efficiencies and new system capabilities. Key strengths include: bridging the gap between business and technical teams to dynamically translate commercial requirements into best-in-class technical solutions; analysing business requirements / performing gap analysis across people, processes and systems to define robust technology roadmaps and overarching operating models; developing robust programme / project plans that embed superior governance across complex business change initiatives; and evaluating business operations / processes to mitigate risk and enable seamless implementations. Currently operating as an Independent Contractor via Cobalt Consulting Ltd, completing projects for blue chip companies including Lloyds, Barclaycard, Toyota and Nationwide Building Society

Grant Strachan

Key Skills

  • Programme & Project Delivery
  • Business Analysis
  • Requirements Management
  • Solution Design /Prototyping
  • Risk Management & Mitigation
  • Systems Implementation & Integration
  • Defining & Implementing Operating Models
  • Regulatory / Change Management
  • Business Process Design & Architecture
  • Team Leadership
  • Capacity & Performance Modelling
  • Managing Agile Environments
  • Resource Planning
  • Securitisation & Asset Collateralisation

Career Highlights

MTC Novo wanted a new Case Management (CM) & Risk Management (RM) system, for managing offenders & rehabilitation. Engaged as Senior PM / BA to design, develop & implement a new system. Captured requirements; analysed as-is & proposed to-be solutions; recommended alternative solution & supplier; secured board approval; designed bespoke RM prototype; managed development, testing & implementation; and provision of in-service support. Succeeded in delivering a cost-effective system, providing enhanced data of ~35K offenders rehabilitation, to Offender Managers & Probation Officers.

BNP Paribas wanted to implement a more robust, secure & standardised lease management system. Engaged as Business Analyst / Project Manager to develop & roll out new system. Analysed existing processes & created requirements document; secured stakeholder approval; guided development team during construction, participated in QA testing; developed new processes; led UAT for customer-facing web experience; and provided post deployment support. Succeeded in delivering a more efficient system which handled complex customer requirements & reduced resource requirements by ~50%.

Nationwide needed to reduce risk associated with their collateralisation platform & improve data provided to credit agencies. Engaged as Project Manager to lead implementation of new securitisation platform to manage £70b in assets. Investigated ‘as-is’ situation and defined project requirements; identified optimum platform supplier; drafted formal requirements; worked with stakeholders to adjust schedules, scope & resource requirements; and secured approval from FSA / Directors to confirm plan’s feasibility. Succeeded in introducing a new platform which reduced risk & improved data quality.


Career History / Work Experience

July 2015 to Present: MTC Novo: Senior Project Manager & Business Analyst (contract)

MTC Novo was established to bid for the 'Community Rehabilitation Companies' (CRCs) that were formed following the privatisation of probation services:

  • Engaged to lead the design, development and implementation of a Case Management (CM) and Risk Management (RM) system for managing offenders and their rehabilitation activities.
  • Reporting to the CIO, leading a team of 12 Business Analysts, SMEs, Developers and Testers.
  • Responsible for analysing, designing, developing, implementing and post implementation support for a new CM & RM system, providing high quality enhanced data to support decision making by Offender Managers and Probation Officers.
  • Interviewed key stakeholders to accurately capture system requirements and operational processes.
  • Led in depth analysis of as-is system and proposed to-be solution with existing supplier. Recommended alternative solution/supplier and secured Board approval for implementation.
  • Recruited project team of Business Analysts and Subject Matter Experts.
  • Acted as key interface on behalf of MTC Novo with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) for the development of business interfaces across multiple Community Rehabilitation Centres.
  • Led standardisation of probation processes across 45 offices in London and Thames Valley regions.
  • Designed and built a Risk Management prototype to enable testing and demonstration of proposed bespoke RM solution to senior managers.
  • Managed development of Risk Management component in Agile environment via 3rd party supplier, undertaking Product Owner role.
  • Successfully led the requirements, design and implementation of new integrated Case Management and Risk Assessment system working closely with the business, developers and MoJ to deliver enhanced data for ~35K offenders, to support decision making by Offender Managers and Probation Officers.
  • Provided support for Probation Officers risk assessment training.
  • Successfully achieved Risk Management accreditation from the MoJ.
  • Recruited and led team of System Analysts to manage system change requests and provide post implementation support.
February 2014 to May 2015: Barclaycard: Senior Business Design Manager (contract)

Barclaycard is a multinational credit card and payment services provider and a division of Barclays plc with over ten million customers in the United Kingdom.

  • Engaged to lead the requirements and design of Identification and Verification (ID&V) policies, processes and system for Barclaycard commercial division, reported to the Director of Fraud Strategy.
  • Acted as the ID&V expert consultant during the Agile implementation of the project liaising directly with offshore technical teams.
  • Defined policy rule set for use in a telephony and digital environment, ensured they were logical and programmable.
  • Analysed as-is processes and policies for fraud vulnerabilities, recommended areas for improvement and replacement.
  • Defined and documented a new business policy, requirements and processes for implementation of a technical solution in the commercial cards division.
  • Successfully led the Solution Design for the new ID&V system ensuring it was scalable and re-usable, also aligned the solution to European and FCA regulations relating to secure and robust authentication.
November 2013 to February 2014: Toyota FS: Lead Business Analyst (contract)

Toyota Financial Services covers more than 30 countries and regions, financial services operations are coordinated by a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC).

  • Engaged to initialise a programme to implement an Asset Backed Securitisation transaction for TFS-UK, reported to the Systems Architect in the IT Division.
  • Defined business and reporting requirements and developed a programme plan for the implementation phase utilising six-sigma and PRINCE2 methodologies.
  • Initiated RFI for third party engagement of a securitisation platform
  • Analyse financial processes and data to determine reporting capability for proposed transaction.
  • Successfully documented end-to-end processes for use in data mapping, analysis and testing.
June 2013 to November 2013: LeasePlan: Senior Business Analyst (contract)

LeasePlan is a global company specialising in automobile leasing and fleet management.

  • Engaged to define requirements for the implementation of a new global financial system SAP system, reported to the Head of the Business Analyst Division.
  • Responsible for defining business and reporting requirements, developing project plans / approaches and monitoring testing activities in a lean six-sigma environment.
  • Applied PRINCE2 principles and processes throughout the project.
  • Co-created allocation methodologies to enable object-level reporting for financial-related items.
  • Managed several work streams focused on developing the existing platform and enabling the successful implementation of SAP system, also documented end-to-end processes for use in testing.
Dec 2011 to May 2013: BNP Paribas /Arval UK Ltd: Lead BA & Project Manager (contract)

Arval UK specialises in full-service vehicle leasing and is fully owned by BNP Paribas. Arval services are delivered in 29 countries by over 6,500 employees with a total leased fleet of up to 1,103,835 vehicles.

  • Engaged to lead the development and implementation of a new car leasing platform.
  • Reported to the Senior Project Manager and supervised teams of up to 4 Testers.
  • Structured requirements approach by facilitating requirements gathering and data definition workshops; co-created the migration strategy by providing detailed analysis of data migration rules / data and developing appropriate new processes to be used post-migration.
  • Provided detailed requirements for use by a 3rd-party supplier as well as managed change requests and developed testing strategies on a limited budget and strict timescale.
  • Mitigated risks associated with the platform implementation, liaising directly with the supplier and providing support to their developers.
  • Developed new business processes for use with replacement car leasing system.
  • Led and delivered functional and user acceptance testing (UAT) for the customer-facing web experience linked to the new system; implemented key payroll reporting requirements while providing live support following the solution’s implementation.
  • Successfully managed 3rd party developer to implement and roll out a new car leasing platform enabling cost reductions and resource efficiencies.
Nov 2010 to Dec 2011: Lloyds Banking Group: Project Manager & Senior BA (contract)

Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales, it has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four" clearing banks.

  • Engaged to oversee the development and documentation of customer service processes for the integration of banking systems and tracking/reporting of programme progress.
  • Reported to the Programme Manager and led a team of 4 Process Analysts.
  • Defined the approach and guidelines for processes, managed user control access control for the new system and developed contingency plans for the implementation.
  • Served as member of the Rapid Action team accountable for rapidly resolving any unforeseen issues arising as a result of the group-wide system integration.
  • Successfully developed new FSA-compliant processes to support the integration.
  • Key contributor to the integration’s success, underpinning the introduction of the biggest platform migration executed in the UK.
Relevant Earlier Career:
  • 03/2009 to 11/2010: Nationwide BS: Programme /Project Manager (contract)
  • 12/2008 to 03/2009: Lushsoft Ltd: Business Analyst (permanent)
  • 09/2007 to 11/2008: Alphacourt Ltd: PM & Business Analyst Consultant (permanent)
  • 12/2006 to 09/2007: Investec Bank: Business Process Analyst (permanent)
  • 10/1999 to 12/2006: Nationwide Building Society: Senior Business Consultant (permanent)
  • 09/1995 to 10/1999: BOC Distribution Services: Planning Manager (permanent)
  • 09/1994 to 09/1995: Refuge Assurance plc: Financial Consultant (permanent)
  • 05/1989 to 09/1994: Midland Bank plc: Sales Counsellor (permanent)

Technical Appendix

Methodology Experience: Agile,Prince 2, SDLC, Zachman Framework, Six Sigma, Lean Sigma, Storyboarding, Forcefield Analysis and Balanced Scorecard.
Software: Microsoft Office (Expert), Visual Basic, Tableau Reporting, Jira, Confluence, SharePoint, Aris, Casewise, WebSphere Business modeler, Witness Simulation Modelling and Crystal Reports.

Personal Details

Location: Salisbury, Wiltshire,
Driving Licence: Full UK (clean)
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