Darren Egan

Experience

• 

  Civil Service Career

  Oct 1985 - Apr 2002

  Various

  I have held a number of positions since starting my Civil Service career in 1985:• London Strategic Technologies Project Manager for the Department of Education• KS3 ICT Onscreen Test (Technology Strand) Project Manager for the Department of Education• Head of the Data Analysis and Dissemination Unit in the Department of Education• Public Expenditure Survey Database Manager for the Department of Education• Project Manager for the development of a financial and performance reporting system for the Senior Civil Service• Employment Department Cashier’s Office Manager• Employment Department HQ Budget Monitoring Manager• Leicestershire Area Office (predecessor of the Training and Enterprise Councils) Plans and Budgets Manager• Employment Service Claimant Advisor • Employment Service Fraud Investigator Show less

• 

  Department for Education

  May 2001 - May 2016

  I took a lead role in transforming Departmental IT infrastructure and culture by setting up and jointly chairing an Infrastructure Innovation Board (IIB). ‎The purpose was to modernise and exploit technology to ‎deliver transformed services (for 3,500 users) while making substantial savings. This challenge was achieved by encouraging the team to break out of an entrenched silo-based mindset. I gained buy-in to deliver rapid deployment of customer-focussed priorities across the end-to-end delivery chain. KPIs achieved included: • Delivering a platform and mobile devices to replace desktop kit (1,600 users moved to smart phones and Surface PRO tablets reduced laptop costs by circa 50%) • policy guidance and consumption reports to significantly reduce the average number of devices and data stored per user• an enterprise file transfer service to improve security and performance when transferring large datasets• a WAN replacement contract saving £2m • improved security for the Department’s network and IT infrastructure for two new buildings• rapid development of all major IT project feasibilities to ensure strategic alignment, a recommended option and a sound economic Business CaseAdditionally, I was the Programme Director for the Azure Pathfinder Project. This achieved security clearance for the Department’s new cloud hosting approach. The above deliverables were achieved by ensuring estimating, planning, risk, change and investment decision gate management were improved. This was coupled with an improved focus on integrating with architectural, procurement, security assurance, testing and service transition functions. The outcome was a more joined-up experience of IT services for both the business and end user. Show less I delivered the following objectives during this assignment:• Definition of a new portfolio and making programme benefits and delivery status clear • Improving project delivery pace• Improving the use of bottom–up estimating to enhance scheduling, budget planning and delivery risk planning• Standardising pre-project inputs and improve e2e governance arrangements• Introducing an investment decision-gate approach which improved scope and change management• Developing a ‘forward look’ of portfolio requirements to improve capacity planning across the delivery chain• Improving communications and integration across all e2e delivery chain components Show less The objective of my Savings Programme assignment was to drive benefits realisation for the Department for Education by:• Decommissioning legacy IT systems including managing associated risks to critical business delivery areas• Direct negotiation with suppliers to reduce costs and rationalise existing contracts• Transferring applications and hosting arrangements to less expensive delivery platforms • Ensuring IT assets were right provisioned throughout the organisation• Improving IT Service Management maturity and ensuring ITIL good practice was used when IT systems move to a live BAU environmentThe outcome of the above helped transform the Department’s IT ‘offer’ and moved the focus to the delivery of benefits and efficiencies. I exceeded my annual savings target of £750,000 within the first six months of the year. Show less I successfully delivered the objectives of this assignment, including:• Working with significant change and ambiguity when project managing the build of a new Parliamentary Question System. I use an incremental and iterative agile approach to collaborate and work dynamically with the customer. I focussed the customer on developing a requirement-based approach and managing risk. This enabled all to agree the schedule for appropriate planning, testing and security accreditation activities, while developing user stories, features and acceptance criteria • Managing the application development and hosting suppliers to ensure delivery risks were proactively managed, and a fit-for-purpose system was delivered to schedule and budget• Ensuring the Critical Success Factors for the Parliamentary Questions (PQ) Module were met including load testing, agreeing a disaster recovery process and achieving security and design assurance accreditation• Managing transition to a live service and ensuring early life support arrangements were in place eg knowledge transfer to Helpdesk and agreement of SLAs with the business, the hosting supplier and the application supplier• Managing the requirements gathering and business analysis necessary to recruit a supplier to build future modules. The output was met to ensure the Invitation to Tender was issued on 31 March 2014The outcome was achieved to deliver a straightforward and intuitive first iteration of the PQ system. The new system delivered efficiencies and significantly improved the Department’s communication with Parliament and members of the public. Show less • The objective of this assignment was to upgrade and implement knowledge management tools within the Department for Education and across all its agencies. • This was a complex IT business change programme that involved managing several project strand managers and three external suppliers in a matrix management environment. The total user base was over 4,000 and there were 4.5 million documents to be migrated with associated permissions. • The outcome was achieved to deliver a coherent, integrated and simplified knowledge management service (including interactive intranet, document storage, improved search and mysites components) across the new education group, enabling significant behavioural and cultural change. • The benefits were delivered; to improve how the Department works with, protects and exploits information, while at the same time enabling financial decommissioning savings. My programme delivered one of the best knowledge management tools in the Civil Service and this was a core objective set out in the 2012 Departmental Review. Show less • PPM, Centre of Excellence and PMO Team Leader for the Chief Information Officer Group (CIOG) at the Department for Education• Direct line management responsibility for eight project managers and five project support staff, responsible for delivering, supporting and assuring the Group’s £25+ million portfolio of IT change• The challenge included setting up a PMO and CoE for the first time within this part of the organisation, and bringing together and upskilling resource on four different geographical sites• The outcome of the Network Convergence project was achieved and the Department's IT was integrated after significant structural reform Show less I developed and owned the process which provided assurance on the Department’s key change programmes/projects to the Permanent Secretary and Ministers. This challenge included developing a high-quality set of OGC compliant IT assurance best practice tools. This was used to assess and report on all the higher risk programmes in the £200+ million programme portfolio. I was responsible for reporting progress to a Director General and the Permanent Secretary, and making sure programmes were on track to deliver benefits aligned to the Department’s strategic objectives. Show less I started as deputy and was promoted to Project Manager for the Department’s ‘Broadband in Schools’ project. This four year, £600 million initiative successfully delivered broadband to 23,000 schools in England by the target date of 2006. I managed multiple suppliers and took the key role in devising the strategy to improve delivery from underperforming Local Authorities. This involved negotiating with ‘Directors of Children’s Services’ to agree local strategies and remedial action to ensure the Prime Minister’s target for Broadband was achieved on schedule and within the spending envelope. Show less • I defined the project scope, drafted the project Work Breakdown Structure and managed two suppliers to deliver an innovative and fit-for-purpose product within the £¼M budget• I used the WBS and plan to ensure good practice materials (interactive CD, self-assessment tool and good practice booklet) where delivered within schedule and budget tolerance. This enabled Ministerial visits to schools, to deliver the innovative ‘Narrowing the Achievement Gap’ interactive materials to the education sector and the media• I then delivered the product to Headteachers and senior Local Authority officials in a series of nationwide presentations Show less

  • Departmental IT Infrastructure Programme Manager

    Feb 2015 - May 2016

  • Gateway Review Team Leader

    Aug 2008 - Apr 2016

  • Interim Head of Portfolio and Programme Delivery

    Oct 2014 - Feb 2015

  • Savings Programme Manager

    May 2014 - Oct 2014

  • Department of State Functions PQ Project Manager

    Oct 2013 - May 2014

  • Programme Manager for the Knowledge Programme

    Nov 2012 - Oct 2013

  • Deputy Head of the Architectural Review Board and IT Pipeline Manager

    Nov 2011 - Oct 2012

  • Head of Project Delivery and PPM Centre of Excellence (CoE)

    Sept 2009 - Nov 2011

  • Head of Project Assurance

    Aug 2008 - Sept 2009

  • Identity Assurance Project Manager and Policy Lead

    Jan 2007 - Aug 2008

  • Broadband in Schools Project Manager

    May 2002 - Dec 2006

  • Project Manager for schools facing challenging circumstances

    May 2001 - Apr 2002
• 

  Aten Consultancy

  Jun 2016 - now

  Project Manager