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.
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

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
  • 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.
Magic Maestros then continued to support the client on my behalf with delivery capability

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.
  • 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

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 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
  • 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
  • Mini MBA completed in 2014
 (Cohort 2)
  • 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
  • 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
  • Database design
  • Coding
  • IT Strategy
  • High Performing Tech Teams
  • Thesis on the integration of Agile with User-Centred Design published in XP2006 conference proceedings.