Arron Smith

I am a recent graduate of the University of Leeds, graduating with a MSc merit in Global Supply Chain Management and 2.1 BSc in Politics and Philosophy. I have begun my career in the supply chain field but through this have realized that my true passion lies with project management. After my manager left the business, myself and one other colleague assumed the workload of the department with the assistance of an interim supply chain manager. Assuming responsibility for the spare parts division of the business would ultimately lead me to this career trajectory shift. It was here that both sparked my interest and developed me into a worthy candidate for your Junior Project Manager position. When considering the triple constraint, the level of complexity involved with supplying Ministry of Defence contracts, and the current state of business operations within the company; I have been exposed to a fast-track course in project management, particularly the implementation phase of the project management cycle. Risk management and mitigation has been at the forefront of this management due to repeated errors caused by front end information input, meaning that parts were being procured incorrectly and therefore would not meet our customers' high specificity of requirements. This would occur at a micro level with many of the spare parts orders and has developed my abilities of critical thinking, resourcefulness and ability to own a project when there has been a setback and resolve issues through resourcing technical experts in a field. These experiences have also led to a high level of acumen in planning as our process had fundamental flaws in the front and back end. On the back of this, I showed my initiative and put forward process management and in doing so a series of meetings with our operational excellence team and other stakeholders within the business. All in service of a risk mitigation strategy that has reduced the amount of shortfalls we experience at the back end bottleneck which previously plagued most of our sales orders. In addition to my current experience, I also have taken a highly accredited online course in order to formalize the skills I have attained in managing concurrent projects. This has taught me the theoretical underpinnings of project management, along with the ability to produce all the necessary PM documents throughout the project life cycle. I feel this role is the next step I need in my career to develop and hone my skill set as a project manager. I have discovered a passion for managing projects and producing deliverables and I feel this industry and this position are perfectly suited to develop these skills within.

Producing Deliverables • Managed and oversaw the spare parts division, held primarily responsible for forecasting and delivering concurrent live orders with high specificity of requirements and complexity. Revenue hit highs of £73,000 and a mean of £26,000 for the business monthly under my supervision. • Led a workwear-focused project group that delivered on a promise to C-level management to improve the performance of an underperforming workwear supplier and introduce an optional company-wide clothing as part of a rebranding. All within budget and timeline constraints. Risk Management/ Problem Solving • I have been exposed to a fast-track course in risk management, risk mitigation and problem solving as I have worked in a business that lacked an adequate planning phase and subsequently continual bottlenecks occurred along the value chain. This is largely due to the complexity of supplying ministry of defence contracts and a lack of procedure within business operations at the time. Nethertheless this has provided me with the skills and acumen to deal with scenarios that threaten the triple constraint in the execution phase of the project management life cycle. Organization and Planning • Demonstrated exceptional organizational and time management skills whilst managing up to 15 live spare parts orders with varying levels of complexity, alongside my other responsibilities. • Experience as an acting project manager, in challenging circumstances, developed the ability to forward plan and organize projects. As a result of a mis-managed business process, I introduced a continuous improvement plan and series of meetings with our operational excellence team and all key stakeholders to introduce process management that would improve operational effectivity. • Capable in producing all project management related organizational and planning documentation as have taken online course. Communication Skills • Ability to communicate and manage relationships with stakeholders at all levels. Gained experience through meetings, progress reports with C-level management and cross department collaboration. • Strong leadership ability developed in my years of being a security professional. During this time, I led teams of staff, developed the ability to communicate effectively and assertively when necessary and am comfortable with conflict resolution.

MSc global supply chain management, BSc politics and philosophy