Donovan 💻 Grant

University of the Arts London

Imparting my knowledge in business analysis, I dispense job focused training and coaching, enabling student progression, advancing experience and ensuring wellbeing. As a business coach, I manage numerous training programmes, providing instruction and coordinating activities. Handling stakeholder communications, I partner with senior management to formulate bespoke plans. Orchestrating and facilitating groups and one to one workshops, analysing training results and testing knowledge to confirm understanding.

Here are some of the highlights of my achievements:

• Coordinating efforts with Business Analyst Managers, facilitating workshops; improving capabilities throughout business analysis teams.
• Identifying skills gaps presenting training and career coaching; enhancing careers of junior and senior staff.
• Forming strong and mutually beneficial relationships with internal and external stakeholders, collaborating with business
teams to share ideas and best practice; troubleshooting and resolving issues.
• Delivering Business Analysis on the university’s digital business transformation programme; confirming value and usability are delivered across change management plans.

Lead Business Analyst & Coach

Metadata Training

One-on-One Mentoring: Providing regular, personalised one-on-one coaching sessions to apprentices, ensuring the seamless integration of training course knowledge into practical workplace applications.

Bridging Theory and Practice: Playing a pivotal role in bridging the gap between theoretical learning and real-world workplace practices, ensuring that apprentices can effectively apply their skills.

Tailored Learning: Customising the learning process to align with the specific needs of both the employer and apprentices, ensuring that the training directly addresses the challenges faced in the workplace.

Alignment with Real-World Problems: Ensuring that apprentice learning aligns with the real problems they encounter in their day-to-day work, fostering practical problem-solving abilities.

Guiding the Learning Journey: Guiding mentees throughout their learning journey, helping them develop technical proficiency, and fostering their confidence.

Practical Skill Development: Enabling the transformation of theoretical knowledge into practical, hands-on skills, empowering apprentices to excel in their roles.

Coaching Through Challenges: Providing support and coaching to apprentices during setbacks and challenges, helping them navigate and overcome obstacles in their professional development.

Business Analyst Mentor

Heroic Public Benefit Corporation

Heroic is a dynamic platform that unites ancient wisdom, modern science, and world-class, scientifically validated tools to drive personal growth. 

In my role as a Heroic Performance Coach, I offer customised one-on-one coaching to help you unlock your fullest heroic potential and spark transformative change—one individual at a time. 

If you’re inspired, explore more at heroic.us or drop me a DM.

Heroic Performance Coach

London Metropolitan University

As a senior business analyst and coach, I executed business analysis, delivering group workshops and developing process improvements. A major part of my role, was to plan projects, share progress and evaluate results.

Here are some of the highlights of my achievements:

• Spearheaded Lecture Recording Project as part of virtual learning programme; delivered change, achieved results on time and within budget.
• Conceptualised and integrated continuous improvement initiatives, including focused project meetings; provided focused feedback and progress updates to ensure future business transformation.

Senior Business Analyst & Coach

HSBC Commercial Banking

Working with HSBC, I led requirements gathering workshops and obtained feedback from stakeholders to create business requirements documents and support the delivery of strategic initiatives and key projects.

Here are some of the highlights of my achievements:

• Motivated and coached team members; increased knowledge and confidence in use of systems, business analysis, project management and change management.
• Integrated continuous improvement initiatives; triggered improvements in reporting and strategic planning.

Visa Europe

In my role with Visa Europe, I assessed business conditions, considered project feasibility, identified areas for improvement and outlines solutions to deliver digital transformation. Partnering with internal and US stakeholders, I delivered global projects and met standards.

Here are some of the highlights of my achievements:

• Managed digital change projects; designed and instituted more transparent and secure payment options for members and customers.
• Played a pivotal role as an agile team member across three countries, mapped and documented business processes; originated improvement initiatives to achieve project deliverables.
• Contributed significantly to the launch of the new Visa Apprentice programme; delivered training and career coaching, marked assignments, tested knowledge and offered mentoring to develop a diverse range of IT professionals.

A decision maker and motivational communicator, a coordinator of key performance goals, I have coached individuals and teams to achieve digital change objectives. 

Engaging in key training activities, I am passionate about providing group and individual coaching to prepare business professionals for future business transformation. I also greatly relish new and refreshing challenges, which give me great satisfaction when I resolve issues.

A career performance coach, I deliver bootcamps providing exclusive coaching for technology professionals, enabling them to become more influential and impactful.

Presenting internal and private coaching for technology leaders and managers, I offer strategic support to enable organisational change. I am regularly called upon to deliver high performance coaching and training in value driven business analysis.

I guide business analysts and Technology professionals to move their mindset and businesses from their current position to where they want to be in the future.

As a business transformational coach and business analyst, I excel while leading challenging digital development projects and change initiatives to advance learning and improve business processes. I am a high achiever and impacting leader, with a talent for refining and advancing knowledge in business analysis, project delivery and change management within major organisations, creating and developing people and strategy to improve engagement.

As an imaginative and analytical individual, I can easily visualise the wider business, allowing me to steer change and strategic advancement to achieve results.

~~~

𝘗𝘴. 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵! :)

David Estyn-Jones

ICAEW

Leading ICAEW's transformation programme.

Transformation Programme Lead

Provek Project Management Training

Associate

mdj2 associates

Leading a programme to identify and implement a range of measures to improve the efficiency of the field operations team for a major hospitality business enabling annual savings of £3.7m.  The work included gathering qualitative and quantitative data, identifying process improvements, creating new role profiles, implementing changes to organisational design and improving the performance and leadership culture.

Efficiency Programme Manager

Connected Kerb

Connected Kerb are one of the UK's biggest and most innovative EV charge point operators (CPOs).  I joined the business in April 2024 on an interim engagement to provide immediate support for the PMO and Supply Chain teams who had recently lost their leader.  During six months in role I led the stabilisation and development of the PMO team and established simple, effective processes for the end to end delivery of the portfolio of new business and transformation programmes.

Head of PMO

Department for Business and Trade

Having handed over the role of Programme Director to a permanent replacement I was asked to stay involved with the programme to support the development of a new operating model.  This would look at how to accelerate the replacement of a legacy system using a bespoke built system as well as 'off the shelf' solutions for some of the simpler services.

Digital Transformation Consultant

The LITE project is transforming the licensing of controlled exports through the development of a new digital licensing platform and improved ways of working within licensing operations.  Joining the project at a critical stage I have led a review of project priorities balancing time, resource and quality to develop a workable delivery plan.

This has required engagement with internal and external stakeholders as well as our internal technology delivery partners.  Like most projects there is never enough time or resource to do everything stakeholders would like so complete clarity on what we are trying to achieve and robust prioritisation has been key.

Digital Project Director

Parkdean Resorts

Engaged on an interim contract via New Street Consulting to establish and lead a customer experience transformation programme for a private equity backed travel client.

Working with the contact centre teams and other cross functional stakeholders I helped the client bring multiple initiatives and projects together into a transformation programme aimed at delivering improved efficiency and profitability without impacting customer service.

Eton Bridge Partners Ltd

Engaged by Eton Bridge's consultancy team on a short term engagement with a rapidly growing European discount retailer.  My focus is to identify and recommend improvements to the way they manage their ambitious store opening and refit ambitions.

Retail Transformation Consultant

Prenetics EMEA 

Since handing over operational responsibilities to a permanent employee I've been asked to lead a number of strategic programs including the development of a wastewater testing capability and more recently the leadership of the Cruise testing programme across the UK and Europe for Q1 and Q2 2022.

Programme Director - Cruise

Prenetics is a leading global genetic testing and digital health company now at the forefront of providing bespoke Covid-19 testing solutions for clients in a variety of sectors including Entertainment, Sports, Travel and direct to consumers via our eCommerce operations and growing national of drop-in testing sites.

Senior VP Operations

Philip Morris International

I was brought into PMI as an Interim Programme Manager to take over the planning and delivery of a c£12m transformation to significantly reshape the UK IQOS* business to coincide with the EU-wide ban on Menthol cigarettes which took effect in May 2020.  This involved leading a number of varied, complex workstreams which delivered benefits including:

-Creation and launch of an IQOS starter kit for UK-wide distribution
-Development of new systems for the supply, sale and trial of the IQOS starter kit
-Creation of new consumer and retail websites to offer information about the menthol ban
-Building a new network of over 4,500 retail points in three months
-Creation partnerships with major UK retailers to offer an in-store presence
-Development of a 'buyback' scheme for the collection of unsold menthol products after the ban

The menthol programme was the most significant initiative for 2020 and despite the impact of lockdown has already transformed the UK business and greatly enhanced the distribution and adoption of PMI's reduced risk product portfolio.  

*IQOS is a device which uses 'heat not burn' technology to provide a similar experience to smoking with more than 90% less of the harmful effects. 

Initial 6 month contract, extended twice to June and then September 2020.

Transformation Programme Manager

The Body Shop

I was brought into The Body Shop as the Interim Head of Change as part of a major (£25m+) business transformation programme to redesign the core systems and processes of the global business.  The Body Shop (TBS) is a global business which develops all the products it sells across 65 markets and over 2,000 stores.  In addition to being an iconic brand it is also a multinational retailer.  Having grown exponentially in the 1970's and 80's, TBS had a huge variety of systems and processes across the business with very little commonality between markets.  As such, the implementation of the latest ERP system presented a great opportunity to drive best practice across the business.  As part of this challenging role my team delivered new target processes across the major functions of the business including Finance, Supply Chain and Commercial.

Initial 10 week contract during the discovery phase, extended to six months and then 12 months.

Head of Business Change

I LEAD SUCCESSFUL TRANSFORMATIONS AND CHANGE PROGRAMMES BY:

-Keeping things simple
-Focusing on the right things
-Building collaboration across business functions

What this means in practice is that I will work with your people at all levels to understand the challenges you face, prioritise effectively, get the right people involved, build effective plans and deliver them.  

My simple and pragmatic approach is borne out of a thirty year career in operational and commercial leadership roles.  

WHAT I WON'T DO IS:

-Introduce unnecessary project management process
-Take up too much time from people who are already busy with BAU
-Tell you what I think you want to hear
-Stick around longer than you need me
 
So you aren't going to find yourself inundated with paperwork, meetings, jargon and complexity by someone who tries to become part of the furniture.  

I'm also available to work part-time and often 2-3 days spread over a week will be enough to provide the leadership support your programme needs at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.

I work mainly in programme leadership roles such as transformation director and programme manager but also in more direct leadership roles such as operations director, chief operating officer or chief of staff.  Basically anywhere there is a need for experienced, temporary leadership to drive change, transformation or a turnaround in performance.

Please get in touch at david@bigpictureltd.com or call 07516 153502 for a chat about how I can help.

Interim Head of PMO and Construction Support

I will be supporting Connected Kerb from April 2024 to lead the PMO and Supply Chain teams as they support the delivery of roadside charging points across the UK.

taplio

The Battle

Donovan 💻 Grant

David Estyn-Jones

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?