Steph Chamberlain: Delivery, Transformation, Data
Turn your challenges into opportunities
An acclaimed C-level Transformation Consultant with experience as an Entrepreneur,
Investor, Agile coach and Programme Manager. Also a Santander Breakthrough
Mentor, Formerly, Visiting Industrial Fellow for Aston Business School, Guest Lecturer at
the University of Warwick and published in proceedings of XP2006 (Agile Methods
and User-Centred Design). Passionate about creating positive change in complex
organisations. Trained in Finance and Technology (City University, Saïd Business
School) with a strong track record in commercial sales and negotiation. Genuinely
independent with a customer-centric approach and an engaging style. (Please note that some assignments are confidential and so this is not a full list).
Steph Chamberlain
Agile Transformation Assignments
Paypoint
transformation Director
C-Suite advisor on agile and lean processes.
- Agile transformation met its targets by reducing product release times by 50%.
- Provided process coaching to Legal and Financial teams and gave counsel to the CEO on performance targets.
That year PayPoint smashed its investor targets.
Age UK
Agile Trainer
- Actioned the board's agile business plan for improved efficiency
- Advised on organisational re-design
- Designed training programmes tailored to company needs.
Delivered multiple training programmes in Kanban, Scrum, Lean, Project and Programme Management. - Monitored employee progress, offering feedback to management on additional training requirements.
- Evaluated training impact through surveys and performance assessments.
Jaguar Land Rover
Agile Coach
- Training of 100 team members from 6 different organisations on this Agile Digital Programme.
- Coaching scrum masters and product owners.
- Maturity assessments and coordination with stakeholders across multiple businesses.
- Delivered a previously overrunning project with major supplier issues within six months to great international acclaim.
Maestros method became the go to method for all JLR's digital output as a result.
UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office
AGILE COACH
- Supported the first-ever agile project for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
- The project team delivered its outputs within six months allowing the organisation to support worldwide emergencies.
- A key sponsor said, "Magic Milestones (Maestros) have earned their entire fee in the last half day through what you have delivered."
Steph Chamberlain
Delivery Management Assignments
CGI
release Train Engineer & Consultant
- Responsible for setting up this large-scale SAFe agile programme from scratch to support CGI in their client engagement with an international energy supplier.
- Agile Coach and Lead Trainer for SAFe.
- Line Management of circa 80 individuals.
- Contract advisor to CGI legal team in agile contracts.
- Re-cut the £35M programme in terms of value to deliver the client benefits of over £1M some six months earlier than planned.
Reed Business Information
Project Manager and Portfolio Support
- Led team and introduced key suppliers to up-skill the technical team in XP methods, setting up CI, BDD etc.
- Set up the project within a more extensive change programme and successfully handed over to the Magic Milestones (now Maestros) team
- Programme Level support given to PWC and the Global CIO with Change Management and Programme Process Design
- Established clear budgets and cost control strategies to meet objectives.
- The wider Magic Maestros teams continued to delivery this multi-million, multi-year programme alongside PWC whilst I acted as Account Manager.
BT Expedite
Project / QA Manager
- Collaborated with developers to identify and alleviate software bugs.
- Embedded software development best practice to achieve and surpass KPIs.
- Oversaw programming and quality assurance functions for new product software team.
- Provided detailed progress reports and milestone updates to key stakeholders, maintaining project momentum.
- Worked with cross-functional development teams to improve technical standards and manage project workloads.
- Partnered with customers to understand software needs and advise on best-fit options.
National Apprenticeship Service
Project Manager
Programme Manager
Programme Manager
- Bought the Apprenticeships Vacancy Matching Service from a distressed state of "red" to completion within time and budget as required by Gordon Brown by December 2008.
- £35M programme working with CapGemini
- Strong supplier management at partner level
- Stakeholder management skills across various organisations to bring this work programme under control and deliver to the challenging deadline
Steph Chamberlain
High-Performance Coaching Assignments
Euromonitor International Ltd
Stable TEams Consultant
- Re-designed the technology department for greater accountability and effectiveness
- Investigated issues affecting group operations, prepared reports and supporting the leadership team to correct problems.
- Created new role classification system for company-wide use.
- Saved significant HR costs. Designed and implemented training to further develop staff based on business goals
- Coordinated hiring, recruitment and training strategies to build successful delivery management team.
Elsevier (RELX PLC)
Stable Teams Consultant
- Recognised dissatisfaction and employed Five Behaviors® training to resolve complaints, boosting motivation and satisfaction amongst teams from under 50% to over 80% within 6 months. Worked within existing OKR framework and embedded good practice.
- Re-designed the 80 strong programme team in order to increase productivity by 12%
- Provided a variety of training in Agile, Lean and team cohesion
- Magic Maestros then continued to support the client on my behalf
Scouts
Stable Teams Coach
- Engaged by the Chief Digital Officer to help restructure the newly formed digital team
- Supported a critical transformation programme across the Scouts and Girl Guides with a 3 month coaching programme.
- Implemented research findings and client feedback to improve programme material and delivery.
- Coached and trained the team on the Five Behaviours, team purpose, agile and lean, securing high satisfaction rates by catering to specific organisational needs.
- Kicked off a coaching programme (delivered by Magic Maestros) that made a considerable difference to 5 members of staff.
John Lewis
Five Behaviors® Certified Trainer and Coach
- Gained 100% approval rating through this officially approved training course delivered throughout July 2019.
- Developed a report for identification of the Technical Leadership team challenges, while verifying alignment with business goals.
- Successfully identified opportunities for process improvement, employing Five Behaviors® to develop strategies that achieved better team cohesion across 3 independent business units post-merger.
Steph Chamberlain
Lean Portfolio Implementations
Telegraph Media Group
Lean Portfolio Management Consultant
- Supporting the C-suite in fostering good agile behaviours.
- Increased agile maturity using the SAFe maturity model.
- Advised and mentored the Portfolio Director in creating a new "Investment Management Office."
NHS
Agile Trainer and Portfolio Support
- Supported this three-year programme to deliver apps, e-learning, and video content to the citizens of the West Midlands working in partnership with Maverick Television (Embarrassing Bodies).
- Involved in the set up of the first-ever public sector agile portfolio office.
- Magic Maestros (then Milestones) then continued to support the client on my behalf
Kantar
Global Portfolio office IMPLEMENTATION
- Set up a global portfolio office to improve management information for the International Board of this market research firm.
- Board-level advisory on programme organisation and prioritisation.
- Delivered training in Chicago, Austin and Warwick.
- Researched and implemented solutions to improve client processes, increasing business efficiency.
- Conducted RAID analysis to identify critical portfolio issues and risks accurately.
- Maximised client revenue growth by delivering business outcome-driven objectives.
- Helped recruit and transition to a permanent team.
BBC World Service
Programme Manager/ PMO Manager
- Worked as part of the Magic Maestros team to develop the BBC World Service's approach to Project management processes using PRINCE2, UCD and Scrum.
- Overrunning programme projected to deliver in 10 years reduced to two, using Lean and Scrum methods
- The leading site won a Webby Award.
- Transitioned to a PMO managed by five Magic Maestros consultants
Steph Chamberlain
Key Permanent Roles
Stable Teams® Ltd
Group CEO & Founder
As principal investor, strategic director and head of governance for the group, the Founder/CEO role allows for intermittent targeted engagements with high-profile clients working under any of the brands within the Stable Teams Group.
- In this role Steph has:
- Driven product and business development to achieve consistent growth.
- Designed and introduced cutting-edge products to support high-performing teams.
- Scaled existing processes based on future business needs.
- Envisioned long-term business strategy based on market-research and field data
- Secured appropriate funding, contributing to pitch material and grant applications as well as self-funding of continued expansion.
- Streamlined critical operations to maximise efficiency and Return On Investment (ROI) through Brexit and the global pandemic.
Magic Maestros Limited (Formerly Magic Milestones)
Chair & Founder
- Won, £10.5M of business including £3M in public sector contracts
- Secured a total of £0.5M in funding including European and SMART Grants for
- Product Innovation
- Supported C-level clients, advising the alignment of Organisational, Product and Technical architectures for a more customer-centric culture.
- Spearheaded a digital transformation, re-brand, corporate re-structure and
- product re-positioning strategy which led to the formation of the Stable Teams® Group in four distinct areas of customer focus.
- Oversaw all financial activities, implementing strategies to grow profits, corporate and social responsibility, cost reduction and consolidation.
- Reviewed individual department performance and worked with leadership to improve processes, procedures and practices.
BBC Future Media & Technology
PMO
Project Manager
Programme Manager
Project Manager
Programme Manager
Project Manager in the Future Media division, working on Mobile and Web projects using Scrum and XP.
- Agile Coach to a number of teams.
- Spent two years working on the deployment of a content management system to 42 regions for online journalists.
- Programme Manager for Mobile, overseeing the delivery of the first news clip on mobile
Channel 4 Television
Senior Project Manager
Project Manager on a range of ERP projects for Channel 4, including finance and HR systems development.
- Introduced Agile ways of working
- Implemented change management processes to keep project up-to-date and smooth resistance to new concepts.
- Oversaw each step of project, meeting goals and achieving deadlines.
- Led and motivated talented project teams, consistently achieving against KPIs.
Steph Chamberlain
Volunteering & Official Appointments
Aston Business School
Visiting INdustrial Fellow
2014 - 2016
2014 - 2016
- Served as visiting lecturer, undergraduate finance modules.
- Lectured classes using communication techniques to enhance engagement.
- Represented SME community in the Houses of Parliament.
Santander Breakthrough Mentor
Mentor
- Taught skills in digital transformation, financial management and scaling via individual instruction.
- Supported individuals with business planning.
Help to Grow
Mentor
- Accepted and trained to volunteer for this post-covid government programme, supporting people on their entrepreneurial journey.
- Coaching in team dynamics, finance and becoming investment ready.
Growth Accelerator
Consultant/ COACH
- Designed KPIs for optimal business improvements for a dynamic agency in Birmingham.
- Documented workflow charts, records and job descriptions to guide overall organisational improvements.
- Guided clients towards improved organisational structures and better solutions for identified problems.
- Highlighted undetected organisational needs to improve business performance.
Steph Chamberlain
Education & Qualifications
10KSB
Goldman Sachs 10,000 small businesses
2012 - present
2012 - present
- Mini MBA completed in 2014
- Won a Santander Trade Mission place to NYC
- Selected for advanced Saïd Business School & Aston Business School Cohorts
University of Bristol
BA Honours in Philosophy and theology
with 2:1
with 2:1
- Studied formal logic which built a good foundation for a career in tech
- Formulating valid arguments and Socratic dialogue techniques built a useful toolkit for studying contracts.
Main Credentials
Accreditations and Certifications
- Five Behaviors® Accredited including DISC® (Current)
- Certified Holacracy Practitioner (Current)
- Certified Scrum Master (Current)
- PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner (Lapsed)
City University London
MSc in Business systems analysis and design
with distinction
with distinction
- Database design
- Coding
- IT Strategy
- High Performing Tech Teams
- Thesis on the integration of Agile with User-Centred Design published in XP2006 conference proceedings.