Novella M Springette

1945 Pharrs Rd, Snellville, GA, 30078

Project Manager / IT Advisor
Career Summary:
* Project Manager / IT Advisor with over twenty (20) year's experience with ind
ustry-leading organizations, who routinely translates business requirements into
actual production systems while working in a team environment.
* Experience in planning and organizing online and "paper" publications, virtua
l networks, web content management, PR events and seminars.
* Experience in cooperation with media, ministries and other partners in outrea
ch and public relations.
* Experience in the preparation of case studies and researches.
* Possesses strong technical, communicative and interpersonal skills.
* Experience in producing media events, video based infomercials, documentaries
and ads to market a company's activities.
* Experiencing in creating online media events to showcase local activities to
a worldwide audience.
* Self-starter who approaches every project in a detailed, analytical manner an
d thrives on challenges. Especially strong at taking financial, accounting and b
usiness needs and converting them to the language of the developer.
Experience:
Global Solutions Services
Project Manager
2006 to Present
Project Manager
* Writing Project Proposals in response to RFPs for IT and Finance based projec
ts,
* Creating action plans, workflows and budgets.
* Developing and driving the project work plan, supervising project team member
s and ensuring adherence to time, budget, key deliverables and project milestone
s
* Participating in the proposal development process by providing expertise in p
roject approach, risk management, cost estimation, scope definition and staffing
requirements.
* Maintaining project management standards and ensuring team adherence to the p
roject management methodology.
* Training and mentoring the project team members to improve skills and perform
ance
* Providing technical assistance when necessary and leadership during the proje
ct lifecycle
* Monitoring and controlling the progress of the project at an operational leve
l
* Defining project schedules, deliverables, tasks and milestones
* Conducting regular internal (team) and external (client) status meetings to k
eep project stakeholders informed
* Managing project risks and issues
* Managing change control process
* Verifying completion of deliverables and obtaining client sign-off
IT-based Media Consultant
* Running successful video based business that produces Ads, Documentaries and
does Special Events.
 * Work along with Senior Vice President of Marketing at multi-billion dollar co
mpanies such as Cable and Wireless to plan media events, produce infomercials an
d document year to date activities through Year in Review video based documentar
y presentations.
* Creating and managing web-based applications. Creating an online presence to
market company's information. Work along with the Press Secretary of the Prime M
inister to market the Government's activities to nationals overseas through vide
o based web-site www.feelthevybes.com and also present other ongoing news relate
d activities of the Federation. Utilized Joomla templates in creation of website
s.
* Creating multi-media portal for video, music and photos so that the resident
artistes and photographers could have a portal to launch their work and their mu
sic. www.musicvybes.com, www.sknphotos.com.
Government of St Kitts and Nevis
2006 to 2007
Advisor to the Minister of Information and Technology
* Authoring and publishing the National Information Communications Technology S
trategic Plan which was presented to the World Bank, IMF and United Nations as r
equired of the Government of St Kitts and Nevis
* Acting as a Liaison between the Ministry of Information and Technology and th
e Embassy of the Republic of China
* Working with Ministry of Finance to negotiate rates with Crown Agents regardi
ng Customs web-based project
* Creating Action Plans and Work Plans to manage National IT Centre when it cam
e on stream
Town Sports International, NY, NY
2001 to 2005
Senior Manager, Application Development
* Responsible for day to day operations of IT Application Development Unit that
supports Web-Based, XML, HTML, Visual Basic, SQL, Microsoft Access based in-hou
se developed systems for a company that spans five states with over one-hundred
and thirty (130) disparate locations. This involved dealing with payroll issues,
producing data to fulfill SEC reporting requirements and creating reports to sa
tisfy ad-hoc financial and accounting requests.
* Responsible for overseeing the maintaining, enhancing and re-working of legac
y systems utilizing Visual Basic, Microsoft Access, SQL 2000, Crystal Reports in
a Windows NT/ Windows 2000 / UNIX environment. This involved incorporating chan
ges in contract laws, re-enacting of Sales Tax laws such as the Connecticut 6% l
aw in short-time frames and with the prospect that failing to meet deadlines wou
ld mean the company would be forced to pay thousands of dollars daily to the res
pective State for being in breach of these laws.
* Acting as Project Manager for crucial aspects of multi-million dollar project
that would convert hodgepodge of legacy based systems to n-tier, web-based appl
ication with SQL backend to fulfill point-of-sale, accounting and revenue demand
s for entire company. This included:
* Working with the users of the system to specify reporting requirements, distr
ibution, security profiles and rights of access to said reports. Defining freque
ncy and range of distribution.
* Overseeing the converting of the data from legacy systems. Defined the method
ology whereby information could be ported from Progress database to SQL 2000, ma
ssaged into the appropriate format, placed on staging tables and transferred to
new application. At the same time ensured that the profiles of the members remai
ned the same, maintained the integrity of the billing system and also the accura
cy of the accounting numbers.
 * Responsible for developing methodology for merging data from multiple systems
as the new software is rolled-out across five states in one hundred and thirty
(130) locations over a six month timeframe so that Senior Management could conti
nue to have a seamless view of the company's performance during rollout.
* Responsible for defining the requirements based on end-users input, setting t
he project deadlines, establishing milestones, coordinating testing and user acc
eptance of an on-line web-based system which would process compensation for sale
s consultants, massage therapists and fitness trainers from new point-of-sale we
b-based application and pass csv payfiles to KRONOS/ADP. Data included commissio
ns and bonuses when sales quotas are met.
* Establishing process that will take data from new system on a nightly basis a
nd integrate directly with Epicor to update the company's general ledger and acc
ounts payable information.
* Worked closely with Finance Department on the implementation of COGNOS Financ
e. Oversaw the creation of in-house systems that passed budgetary information fr
om COGNOS to Epicor and transactions from Epicor to COGNOS.
* Worked closely with Strategic Planning on the implementation of COGNOS PowerP
lay and ReportNet, defining data requirements with the aim of providing manageme
nt on a daily basis with a snapshot of sales, cancellations, cash and revenue fl
ows. Configured servers and defined database tables to facilitate daily reports
to Senior Management for the abovementioned company figures.
1999 to 2000
Senior Developer
* Responsible for writing code to maintain legacy systems utilizing Visual Basi
c, Microsoft Access, SQL 2000, Crystal Reports in a Windows NT/ Windows 2000 / U
NIX environment.
Teldata Control Inc., East Rutherford, NJ
2000 to 2001
I S Manager
* Managed team of developers who maintained and tailored in-house telecommunica
tions specific software utilizing mainly Access VBA front-end linked to SQL 7 ba
ckend. Dealt with routine requests from in-house account executives for data.
* Managed development of EDI system that accepted telecommunications data from
vendor on behalf of clients for in-house processing.
* Managed out-sourced development of customized software. Worked with company o
ff-site to lend a web-front-end to company's existing Access-based software and
convert Access backend to a SQL backend.
* Met with clients on a regular basis and based on information gathered would d
evelop requirements and pass such on to developers so that they could code chang
es. Based on the client's requests would customize the reports to display the da
ta they needed.
* Upgraded existing clients to new releases, coordinated clients requests and m
ade sure deliverables were well defined and that projects were finished on time
and within budget
CasioSoft Inc., Bridgewater, NJ
(dot-com Company that lost funding, no longer in existence)
03/2000 - 06/2000
Technical Consultant
* Established Windows 2000 network that used VPN to tunnel over Internet to acc
ess and transfer remote data. Enabled Salesmen who were in the field to dial in
and collect data.
* Provided Technical Support to Salesmen who were located in Connecticut, Phila
delphia and New Jersey and who were running Windows 2000 Server on standalone la
ptops.
* Installed Proprietary Software (MobileLink) which involved configuring and in
stalling SQL Server 7.0 and transferring data between SQL databases and establis
hing ODBC connections over a WAN so that Sales Team could demo software while vi
siting prospective clients.
* Configured IIS Admin to allow viewing of Crystal Reports running over local I
ntranet.
* Prepared Customized Training Manual on proprietary software CSI MobileLink to
instruct brand new users on how to utilize this software in the field. Manual s
howed not only how to use the software but how to connect the hardware that woul
d be used to link to the server.
Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, Basseterre, St. Kitts, W.I.
1992-1999
Senior Systems Analyst
* Headed team that implemented an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) format for
the transmission of the monthly Balance Sheets from forty-four member banks. Met
with the economists who required the data, the bank managers and line staff who
transmitted the information. Analyzed the situation, developed the solution usi
ng Lotus/Excel/Macros/VBA and then traveled to all member banks to train staff i
n the use of the customized solution. Reduced errors from previous manual method
of inputting data and reduced the time spent in obtaining this information by 9
0%.
* Member of the team that replaced outmoded accounting software with a $3 milli
on fully integrated accounting system. Met with the department manager and with
the fifty system users to document the limitations of the old system and to defi
ne the mandatory and desired requirements for its replacement. Wrote the Request
for Proposal (RFP) and sent it to select vendors. Took part in the evaluation o
f the vendors responses and compiled the team's evaluation of the RTP's. Develop
ed and presented a PowerPoint presentation with written documentation to the IT
Committee and to senior management. Implementation of top choice allowed company
to cut staff and re-deploy some to other areas and was an effective cost-cuttin
g measure as well.
* Responsible for establishing an Internet presence for the ECCB. Developed pro
totype using Microsoft FrontPage and secured senior management sign-off on layou
t. Outsourced the development to third-party vendor and saw that the project was
delivered on time and within budget.
* Main Developer at the ECCB for eight years. Developed financial applications
initially in FoxPro for DOS. Oversaw and worked with team of programmers who wer
e responsible for porting all applications to Windows NT environment using Visua
l Basic, Access, Crystal Reports, SQL Server and Visual FoxPro. Developed transi
tion plan for both Applications and Hardware.
* Supervised and recruited staff for a help desk that provided software and tec
hnical support services to departmental computing project managers. This include
d installation assistance, configuration, trouble shooting, problem resolution f
or hardware, systems software, and applications software in a complex networked
DOS/NOVELL/Windows NT/Windows 95,98/UNIX environment.
* Prepared Training Manual and taught users at the ECCB how to use Word Process
ing Software, Spreadsheet Software and Document Administration software. Most of
these users had never used a computer prior to the class and was able to bring
them to a level of competency that enabled them to fulfill their duties adequate
ly.
Four Seasons Resort Nevis, Charlestown, Nevis
1990-1991
Systems Supervisor
* Part of start-up team for five diamond hotel. Provided support for IT infrast
ructure, oversaw cashiers, produced reports.
TDC, Basseterre, St. Kitts
1989-1990
Systems Administrator
* Responsible for helping to design database system to track sales at Retail Tr
ade Company.
* Assisted in the conversion of existing manual system to fully computerized po
int-of-sale system, tracking all the way through to inventory management, budget
forecasting and tying in to the company's financial system.
Merner Research, Wall St, NY
1987-1989
Research Assistant
* Analyzed data on stock market using Lotus Macros, modeling and spreadsheets.
Paid bills and produced monthly accounts.
Education:
1996-1997 Linacre College, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
Masters of Business Administration (Commonwealth Scholar)
1986-1989 Baruch College, City University of New York, New York, USA
Bachelors of Business Administration - Computer Systems
(Magna Cum Laude, Beta Gamma Sigma)
Personal Achievements:
1996/97 Commonwealth Scholar, GMAT score 660 (top 5% in world); AWA score 5.5 (t
op 5 %) City University of New York Student-Athlete of the Year, National Deans
List, USA Eastern Colleges Athletic Conference Award for Scholarship, Captain Va
rsity Women's Basketball Team, President ECCB Staff Association