Sara Dabbelt

Experience

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  Wright State University

  Jan 2011 - Jan 2012

  Director of Women's Basketball Operations

  Acting as Director of Operations was so enjoyable as I was able to mentor and work with such an impressive group of student athletes as well as a first-rate support staff. In this position, I interacted with a broad range of people, young student-athletes, hotel/restaurant/travel employees, driven coaching staffs, and esteemed university staff, so I learned the importance of communication and flexing your style to connect with various audiences. I gained a great foundation in many topics such as budgeting, where I managed a budget of $.5 million and worked hard to ensure I was employing cost-efficient practices, for areas such as equipment, travel, training and overall admin expenses. I also gained first-hand experience in creating and managing complex schedules, agendas, and detailed checklists, making sure all was in place for travel and events for groups of 20+ people at a time. I served as main point-of-contact for the NCAA and made sure the team was compliant through all events, travel, finances, and academics. Lastly, I gained solid experience in creating and implementing promotional programs that helped to finance the team, and the Athletic Department, including ticket sales, local sponsorships, and camps. Show less

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  DPL, Inc.

  Jan 2012 - Jan 2016

  In this role, I was able to build upon all the skills I learned as Business Analyst, as well as gain important new experiences. My expertise in financials and analysis were integral as they allowed me to play an important role in accurately defining business requirements for a new billing system. I evaluated multiple vendor proposal responses, identified and analyzed potential risks and process changes, and based on careful analysis, I recommended the best overall product/vendor to senior management.What I really enjoyed about this role, beside the analysis and research sides, was the ability to take a leadership role in terms of overall project management. For example, I was relied upon, and took accountability, for the overall direction and leadership in this project, and maintained communication with senior management at every critical step. In addition, I had the opportunity to collaborate with diverse teams within Operations as well as with the overall Project Champion to deliver desired programs and performance, within an extremely challenging timeline and budget, while making sure the expectations of the various stakeholders were met. I also assisted the Director in establishing and monitoring the most effective controls to evaluate the performance on this new billing system in meeting objectives related to productivity, industry compliance and cost-effectiveness. Lastly, I took on the additional duties of keeping apprised of current developments in the field of regulatory proceedings and decisions, statistical methodology, new and revised tariffs of other companies, and economic and financial trends, and disseminated critical information as needed to my team. Show less I consider myself very lucky to have secured such a challenging role at DPL Energy Resources as my first job in the “real world”, not related to sports. As a Business Analyst, I collected, classified, interpreted, and analyzed business, customer, and financial data to ensure billing accuracy, error-free results, and operational efficiencies. There was a great amount of detail involved and I gained some impressive skills in managing complex financial, accounting, and administrative duties. In addition, I supported complex analysis including short and long-range financial forecasts, and expertly managed data coordination, documented assumptions, and generated reports, all of which was presented to management and was crucial in their decision making. I enjoyed working collaboratively with different departments to support their analysis efforts as well, as it afforded me the opportunity to learn about other areas of the company. I gained expert-level skills in Excel spreadsheets, databases, and other software applications and developed tools for analysis projects, and many of the skills I learned in this role are still used in my current roles. In addition to the above, I documented all processes and results, as well as created training documentation which ensured that team members employed a consistent and correct methodology. Lastly, I was an active participant in daily and periodic reviews of business and technical systems, where I often made recommendations that improved performance, reduced delivery times, and increased quality of data. My performance was very well regarded by my co-workers and management team alike, and in fact, I was offered, and accepted a promotion to Operations Supervisor in 2015. Show less

  • DPL Energy Retail Operations Supervisor

    Jan 2015 - Jan 2016

  • DPL Energy Business Analyst 2

    Jan 2012 - Jan 2015
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  IGS Energy

  Jan 2016 - now

  In this role, I blend both business and technical skills to ensure the delivery of first-rate results in all aspects of revenue assurance including reporting, advanced data analysis, revenue management, issue prevention and business process change. The experience I gained at DPL Energy was a great foundation for this new role, and it allowed me to jump right in and deliver day-one successful results. I am positively challenged by the opportunity to oversee a diverse team responsible for generating 1 million Natural Gas/Power invoices per month ($80 Million), through an environment of continuous improvement, process optimization, and collaborative teamwork. I communicate extensively with other departments to discuss the results of the monitoring actions I undertake on company financial and operational metrics, and I appreciate the opportunity to uncover their specific needs, as well as to implement best practices and define error resolution processes. I also investigate complex cross-functional processes, and as a result of my findings, I propose potential improvements which clearly articulate the steps needed to achieve the best results, and ensure revenue. In my analytical role, I efficiently outline both the risks and opportunities, and provide a detailed breakdown of cost models, and project planning milestones, and regular communication and reviews. It is important that the data analysis and reporting represent a true snapshot of not only what each department requires, but also, that this snapshot is based on factual information, and as a result, the information gathering process is quite extensive, and involves communication across many areas. This is perhaps the most challenging aspect of my role, as the end data is presented to the leadership team for aid in their decision making, and my recommendations have a significant impact on budget allocation, and project prioritization. Show less

  • Product Owner

    Jan 2016 - now

  • Revenue Assurance Manager

    Jan 2016 - Oct 2024