Nafiseh Abbasi
Fairview Heights,New Zealand
Summary
Nafis is an experienced project control professional with 16 years in a project management office, working on a wide range of infrastructure projects including roads, rail networks, tunnels, and buildings. She has collaborated with various companies, stakeholders, and client groups. Her passion for people, processes, and technology; her flexibility and resilience enabled her to be known as a collaborator with a positive attitude. She believes building trust with the project team, staying committed to learning and adapting the innovative technologies and sharing lessons learned are key toward project success.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Project Planner
Ryman Healthcare
09.2023 - Current
- Working in group planning team to manage project planning for over ten retirement villages across New Zealand and Australia
- Developing baseline and maintaining program schedules to support end-to-end projects management using Oracle Primavera Cloud
- Working collaboratively with the Design team to plan and manage packages of work across Australia and New Zealand in conjunction with the NZ and AU Planner
- Working with Development managers (Australia projects) to consolidate projects’ overall program showing project hold points and covering all approval process from initiations to close out as one of the key stage gate document approvals
- Monitor the overall longest path to make sure all the key milestones have been tracking constantly to achieve construction trigger date
- Creating different program scenarios to support team decision making
- Carrying out one to one the monthly update control process with the Design Team, Construction Project Managers and Development manager collating information and analyzing changes and potential impact
- Reviewing project cashflow with program progress of work and analyze variances
- Develop Power BI Report from project to portfolio level showing trends and project status
- Driving a consistently high standard with regards to planning and maintaining project schedules, while supporting and informing Project Managers and the wider team on Planning best practice
- Maintaining a centralized SharePoint site containing all program plans and sharing information across the organization as required
- Highlighting issues and risks, particularly in relation to delays to key milestones
Senior Project Control /System Development Specialist
KiwiRail
06.2021 - 09.2023
- Worked in central PMO and cross functional with project delivery team as a project management support (more than one hundred projects; small to large projects; from initiation to close out)
- Developed project WBS, project schedule plan, project program for different clients and multi-disciplinary projects using P6 and Project Online
- Developed soft reporting for different level of project / program and portfolio using Power BI
- Mentored project managers and project planners using best practice tool to develop rolling plan program and integrated schedules of work
- Provided visibility of key resources, constraints to supply chain team to ensure effective optimization and prioritization of the work plan and consolidating an integrated resource management report
- Evaluated project schedules quality and health checks based on DCMA (Assurance status)
- Collaborative work with project delivery team to ensure accurate project plans are in place so progress, and milestones are well maintained
- Developing Governance report in a regular basis (Performance Status)
- Initiated different manuals and processes such as: how to develop and maintain program, Implementation of resource management
- Managed projects as a project manager in project delivery team (pedestrian crossing design projects)
- Setting up customized Project Online SharePoint sites and project information to integrate online reporting
Project Control (Consultant)
Aurecon
08.2018 - 06.2021
- Various infrastructure and commercial projects including Downtown Infrastructure Improvements Program, Connected Communities Single Stage Business Case, Puhoi to Warkworth, SH11 (Kawakawa to SH10) Single Stage Business Case, State Highway 20B, WMUP Program Development (KiwiRail- Wellington), Pedestrian Level Crossing Removal SSBC, Tatora Haumaur, Drury Town Centre
- Responsible for Project financial controls (invoicing, cashflow, earned value, and variance analysis)
- Creating project WBS, assigning resources, and developing project baseline schedule using P6 and project online
- Update project/program schedules and analyze the critical path
- Implementing project controls plan as part of the project execution plan
- Developing an integrated cost and time report for major Joint venture and alliance project using ARES PRISM
- Liaising with project stakeholders conducting risk workshops, updating risk registers as required
- Liaise with senior PMs to review project changes and variations to re baseline the program following change control board approval
- NZ champion of the global rollout of new project management platforms for managing projects, programs, and portfolios
- Mentoring and training senior PMs and project team in project management theory and systems such as Cost, Planning, and risk
- Visiting project sites as required and attending construction site meetings
- Engaging with Opportunity/Client Managers to offer project control services for new opportunities as they arise (Tendering Process)
- Providing consultation (to clients) to improve their existing project control processes and procedures
- Analyze project delays (EOT) for public private partnership contracts (PPPs)
- Offering mentorship to Senior project managers concerning project controls health checks
- Supporting and actively participating in the company’s project controls national and international initiatives
Project Control
McConnell Dowell
11.2015 - 11.2016
- SCIRT was a five-and-a-half-year program comprised of hundreds of individual projects and work packages that were agreed to be delivered via the Alliance contract model
- Scope of work included 3water, pump stations, road, bridges, retaining walls, etc
- The overall contract value was $2.2B with MCD delivered about $300M
- Created and maintained project construction program on a regular basis and compared the actual work performed against the baseline program using P3 and MSP
- Visited sites on a fortnightly basis and attended construction site meetings
- Identified and updated project’s handover and commissioning dates based on the latest progress reports
- Provided progress / analytical reports to program manager and client
- Communicated regularly with area project managers and client to update project reports
- Analyzed project performance (KPIs) and report variances
Project Control Manager
Tehran City Council
06.2004 - 05.2015
- Various Road, Building, Tunnel, Bridge, streetscape upgrade project from initiation to final benefit handover
- Involved in setting up Organization’s Project Management Office
- Led and managed a team of 5+ project control engineers
- Conducted local government official meetings as part of stakeholder management
- Managed project claims to verify and approve time extension required for each project
- Developed and implemented Web-Based Project Portfolio Management System
- Prepared technical information and documents for International Project Excellence Award 2014 for Sadr elevated expressway and Niayesh tunnel (IPMA 2014)
- Prepared technical information and documents for 5th Metropolis International Award for Design, Construction, and Operation of Persian Gulf artificial lake
- Estimated and collated organization’s annual budget plan and allocated them to program and Projects
- Procured consultants for professional PM services to support PMO process needs
- Identified project’s cost/time variances and provided reports to internal and external stakeholder
- Identified /updated critical path of the projects and monitored critical milestones closely
- Visited projects’ site regularly and reviewed project progress
- Analyzed projects performance (Earned Value Management) and prepared related reports
- Supported and promoted company Health and Safety policies
Education
Master’s degree - Industrial Engineering
Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST)
01.2014
Skills
- Earned value management
- Cost control
- Primavera
- Microsoft Project
- Governance
- Manual development
- Procedures development
- Multi Criteria Decision making
- Problem-solving
- Microsoft Office
- Risk Management
- Power BI Reporting
Hobbies and Interests
- Gym
- Baking
- Travelling
- Reading work innovations/science articles
Training
- Data Landscape of GenAI for Project Managers (PMI), 2024
- Talking to AI: Prompt Engineering for Project Managers (PMI), 2024
- Procurement Qualification, 2022
- Information Management Practitioner, 2022
- Project Management Professional, 2020
- Project planning & Control Using Oracle Primavera P6 PPM professional, 2018
- Knowledge Management, 2015
- Claim Management (Germany TUV Institute), 2014
- Project Management (PMBOK introductory and advanced certificates), 2013
- Risk Management (FRANCE SKEMA SCHOOL), 2009
- Health Safety Environment Course (HSE) (Tehran Council), 2009
References
Available upon request
Timeline
Senior Project Planner
Ryman Healthcare
09.2023 - Current
Senior Project Control /System Development Specialist
KiwiRail
06.2021 - 09.2023
Project Control (Consultant)
Aurecon
08.2018 - 06.2021
Project Control
McConnell Dowell
11.2015 - 11.2016
Project Control Manager
Tehran City Council
06.2004 - 05.2015
Master’s degree - Industrial Engineering
Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST)
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