IT Project Manager – Steven Duncan

Download Résumé
Free Consultation
Executive Summary

As a seasoned IT Project Manager, I bring a wealth of knowledge from managing and delivering more than 25 large-scale IT projects, many with budgets exceeding £1M.

A key aspect of my expertise is leading multi-skilled teams of 20+ onshore and offshore technical resources in the private and public sectors, including significant projects for major financial institutions.

My proficiency in traditional hardware and cloud-based technologies and my ability to work with both Waterfall and Agile frameworks allow me to showcase my versatility and ability to meet diverse project requirements.

  • Managed the rebuilding and migration of a critical batch scheduling service (Autosys) for a banking client, resulting in operational cost savings of over £1 million after successfully transitioning to a new strategic data centre.
  • As a Project Manager, directed the migration of 200+ servers and services from legacy DMZ hardware to a new virtual, software-defined infrastructure, achieving cost savings of at least £1 million for a central UK bank.
  • In the role of Infrastructure Delivery Manager, led the infrastructure build for new national mobile bank branches as part of a comprehensive Bank Branch Review programme that reduced operational costs by approximately £2.5 million.

CAREER EXPERIENCE

Phoenix Group 2024

Client:                    Phoenix Group (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Assignment:          IT Project Manager

Dates:                    March 2024 –> December 2024

Objective:        In the LAN Refresh Program, I developed the business cases based on the initial project brief and the proposal submitted by the chosen supplier for multiple projects.
I then coordinated the work between internal and external resources.
This program of work was critical to the client’s maintaining warranty coverage with the supplier.

Resources:       9 months, >£1m, Company SMEs and various third-party suppliers – BT, Fortinet.

  • Created new business cases for multiple LAN Refresh projects.
  • Collaborated with the network team to ensure all new orders met the business requirements.
  • Coordinated third-party vendors and local network resources to successfully deploy over 100 Cisco network switches in two large office environments.
  • Managed local technical teams during the replacement of the Intrusion Prevention System.
  • Attended regular management meetings to update relevant stakeholders on the project status and to maintain the risk register.
  • Completed the handover process to remaining staff members.

Result:          Achieved a reduction in Operational Costs through the upgrade to the latest Network Hardware.

Assignment:          Senior Project Manager

Dates:                    February 2022 –> December 2023

Objective:        As part of the Data Centre Migration Programme, I was responsible for migrating the Bank’s critical Batch Scheduling Service to the new strategic Data Centre, projected to produce cost savings of at least £1 million. The migration process encompassed replacing servers and upgrading operating systems, application stacks, and databases.

Resources:       22 months, >£1m, 12 SMEs and working with third-party supplier – Broadcom.

  • Directed the scheduling and management of migrating the critical Batch-Scheduling Services from the Development, Test, and Production environments to the new Data Centre.
  • Supervised the allocation of resources, both onshore and offshore.
  • Partnered with the network team to ensure all new NSX firewall rules were implemented, enabling the application to operate seamlessly across the LAN/WAN infrastructure and connecting the new data centres to AWS remote locations and the legacy data centre.
  • Engaged in regular management meetings to update business stakeholders on project milestones and maintained the Risk Register.
  • Executed the final handover to Business-as-usual operations.

Result:               Assisted in a reduction in company op costs through the upgrade to the latest virtual infrastructure and software.

Assignment:         Senior Project Manager

Dates:                    February 2021 –> January 2022

Objective:        To achieve cost savings of at least £1m, coordinate the migration of servers and services from end-of-life DMZ hardware to new virtual, software-defined infrastructure as part of the RBS/NWG Bank Legacy Migration Programme.

Resources:       11 months, £1m, 8 SMEs and additional consultancy provided by VMWare.

  • Led a large-scale redeployment project scheduling involving multiple servers and platforms across development, testing, and production environments.
  • Organized separate workshops for technical and business-oriented stakeholders.
  • Supervised the allocation of resources, including onshore and offshore teams.
  • Partnered with the in-house network team to ensure uninterrupted network LAN/WAN connectivity post-migration.
  • Actively participated in the Agile Daily Stand-ups and Sprint retrospective meetings to inform business stakeholders of the project’s progress, milestones, and risks.
  • Handled the handover of business-as-usual documentation and created a Lessons Learned report to assist in future project rollouts.

Result:               Achieved a reduction in operational costs by approximately £1m.

Assignment:          Infrastructure Project Manager

Dates:                    September 2018 –> January 2020

Objective:        To help achieve at least £500k in operational cost savings as part of the Automation Programme.

Resources:       16 months, £1m+, 10 SMEs and additional consultancy provided by IBM.

  • Led the creation of a virtual deployment in multiple servers and platforms across development, test, and production environments.
  • Developed the requirements for the network firewall setup.
  • Managed the allocation of technical resources across the UK and offshore locations.
  • Actively participated in the introduction of Agile Methodology into RBS project planning, providing input to Sprint planning sessions and attending Daily Stand-ups.  This iterative approach keeps the stakeholders updated on the project’s progress, milestones, and risks.
  • Completed the final production handover to the Business-as-usual team.

Result:               Contributed to the reduction in operational costs by c. £500k.

Assignment:          Project Manager

Dates:                    March 2018 –> July 2018

Objective:        As part of the Technology Resilience Programme, proactively identify Bank systems that third-party vendors no longer support.

Resources:       4 months, £120k, 3 SME (Business Analysts)

  • Took charge of analysing and revising a delayed project and developing a revised timeline to bring it back on track.
  • Evaluated outdated bank systems to verify the continued availability of third-party support.
  • Identified systems that the bank could upgrade or might need replacing in the future.
  • Implemented new procedures to manage the Resilience Tracking Process.

Result:               Prepared a comprehensive analysis to assist in achieving future reductions in operational costs.

Assignment:          Infrastructure Delivery Manager (PM)

Dates:                    May 2016 –> March 2018

Objective:        To reduce operational costs by at least £2M as part of the Bank Branch Review Programme.

Resources:       22 months, 15 SME (Technical Specialist, BA), additional consultancy provided by BT and Vodafone.

  • Led the management of the IT infrastructure build for newly launched mobile van bank branches.
  • Forged strong working relationships with business stakeholders, aligning on project milestones and proactively managing risks.
    Managed budgets for internal resources and external third-party goods and services.
  • Delivered 3rd-level technical support during the warranty period, including nationwide site visits.
  • Conducted regular workshops to update business stakeholders and participated in daily and weekly management meetings to provide the latest management information (MI) reports.

Result:               Contributed to the reduction of operational costs by approximately £2.5M.

Client:                    Lloyds Banking Group (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Assignment:          Infrastructure Delivery Manager (PM)

Dates:                    November 2014 –> May 2016

Objective:        To mitigate future operational risks of FCA fines as part of the Customer PPI Repayment Program.

Resources:       18 months, £5m+, 20 SMEs, and working with consultants provided by KPMG and BT.

  • Core team member responsible for developing the Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) remediation and reporting system.
  • Allocated and managed the project infrastructure budget.
  • Supervised the creation of the IT infrastructure for three new UK call centres and provided technical support during the warranty period.
  • Collaborated closely with in-house Technical and Network teams and third-party suppliers based in the UK and offshore.
  • Participated in regular meetings and workshops to update relevant business stakeholders.

Result:               Completed the program, significantly reducing the operational risk of additional penalties.

Assignment:          Infrastructure Delivery Manager (PM)

Dates:                    May 2013 –> November 2014

Objective:        Achieve a reduction in operational costs by approximately £1 million through a collaborative effort to update ATM hardware.

Resources:       18 months, £1M, 10 SMEs and additional assistance from partners, BT and Securicor

  • Supervised the budgeting and time allocation for Technical Teams.
  • Fostered effective relationships with business stakeholders.
  • Delivered on-site technical support during ATM installations at various supermarket locations.

Result:               Collaboration with partner project teams reduced operational costs by approximately £1 million.

Assignment:    Project Manager / Lead

Dates:               September 2011 –> May 2013

Objective:        To reduce operational costs by £2 million as part of the Amstelveen Data Centre Exit Program.

Resources:       20 months, £2M, 10 to 20 team members.

  • I successfully led a team of ten IT engineers with diverse skills and oversaw their work to ensure a smooth migration process that did not impact business users.
  • I conducted an audit and prepared Windows servers for migration, ensuring the process was seamless and efficient.
  • I assisted in relocating the legacy infrastructure to the new UK-based data centres, ensuring everything was set up correctly.
  • I provided mentorship and leadership for international support groups tasked with resolving application defects, ensuring they could work together effectively to achieve their goals.

Result:               Directly contributed to reducing operational costs by £2M.

Dates:     Pre-September 2011

  • Systems Consultant – Royal Bank of Scotland, Edinburgh
  • Infrastructure Consultant – NHS Greater Glasgow, Glasgow.
  • Systems Consultant – Barclays Wealth, Glasgow.
  • Systems Consultant – Capito / Dell, Glasgow.
  • Migration Specialist / Project Manager – National Australia Group, Glasgow.
  • Exchange Consultant – Directline (Royal Bank of Scotland), Glasgow.
  • Exchange Engineer – SAIC / BP – Los Angeles & New Jersey, USA.
  • Software Engineer – Compaq Computers, Glasgow.
  • Email Specialist – Origin IT Systems, Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
  • Email Administrator  – SAIC / BP, Aberdeen & Bogota, Colombia

Prince II Practitioner

Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer

Additional Information:

I have completed various technical assignments worldwide, including in the UK, the Netherlands, the USA, and Colombia, across multiple sectors such as Financial Services, Banking, Oil, Education, and the NHS.

As a Prince2 accredited Project Manager, I possess a pragmatic understanding of its principles, which I apply in reporting and managing resources, finances, third-party suppliers, and stakeholders.

I am also a Microsoft MCSE consultant with recognised expertise in Windows Server Infrastructure Migrations and Upgrades.

Agile | Scrum | Waterfall | Project Management | IT Transformation | IT System Migration | Costing & Budgeting | Project Scheduling | Resource Mobilisation | Strategic Planning & Evaluation | Profit & Loss Management | Partnership & Relationship Building | Stakeholder Management | Staff Training & Leadership | MS Office | Excel | Word | PowerPoint | MS Project | SQL | Financial Services | Banking | NHS

Request the latest version of the Resume

then follow link supplied in email

Verified by MonsterInsights