Divash Patel

Experience

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  British Airways

  Jan 1988 - Jan 1996

  System Programmer

  Developed TPF application as a Software developer and designed and wrote complex algorithms for the Recoup application.Programmed and upgraded Systems tools. Managed small to medium TPF projects leading development and test teams.

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  Amadeus

  Jan 1996 - Jan 2004

  Information Technology Project Manager

  Led and managed a complex £0.5 million technical project that included Single Sign-on and Black Box solution across multiple sites (London, Nice and Erding) and facilitated technical workshops to define and agree the requirements and for technical dress rehearsal and implementation plans.Reviewed support issues and worked with IT operations to identify and implement process improvements leading to 25% reduction of incidents.Represented Amadeus (UK) at international technical conferences (TPF User Group) in USA.Coached, motivated and undertook performance reviews for the team members.Analysed and reviewed all system change requests and negotiated with end users and technicians to ensure appropriate technical solutions were designed and approved.Managed full systems implementation plans and cutover activities for BA to Amadeus Reservation migration. Show less

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  British Airways

  Jan 2004 - Sept 2020

  Led a two-part £7.6million Flight Scheduling Futures Rostering projects (Jeppesen Strict Seniority and LGW Crew Bid) and successfully delivered significant cost reduction through a benefits-led approach. Delivered a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution encompassing industry regulations and standards. Received many praises from directors, senior managers, suppliers and colleagues. Applied Agile Scrum methodology and used Jira and Confluence to manage the development and testing. Managed cross-functional teams across different sites and countries.Managed risks and issues within the projects and initiating appropriate mitigation and escalation. Improved ways of working with suppliers by introducing development days that enhanced understanding between both parties and reduced re-coding.Chaired Steering Group and provided status reporting and communications to all stakeholders and managed finances delivering the projects under budget. Provided support and shared learnings from the project to colleagues on other projects.Managed internal and external resourcing and demonstrated good negotiation skills by reducing supplier business testing resource costs by 10%. Whilst working on the LGW Crew Bid project was also assigned to project manage Training, Communication and Business Change on a multimillion-pound iFlight Neo programme. Facilitated workshops to agree Global Learning Academy scope of work to assist with training and clarify roles and responsibilities.Delivered early familiarisation and demo sessions for awareness of what is coming and what is changing to a wider core community and programme team. Used training needs analysis to identify scope of collateral to deliver fit for purpose end user training across the organisation. Show less IT Graduate Programme HeadLed the design and development of the long-term graduate recruitment strategy, ensuring roles and contracts that benefitted the business and attracted young talent.Managed recruitment activities and implementation of all stages of the selection process. Managed the IT Graduate programme by influencing and motivating key stakeholders to ensure the graduates built a diverse foundation including a range of soft and technical skills.Led and designed the first HNC Software Engineer Apprentice programme at BA. Managed contract negotiations with a local college working with BA Legal and Procurement. All twelve apprentices successfully completed their programme. IT Project ManagerLed and managed the identification and selection of suppliers for Specialist Testing Services and Customer Facing Mobile Applications for BA and Iberia. Applied Agile Scrum to deliver both projects in parallel.Managed the redundancy process for 50+ Outplacement Support colleagues. Improved processes for handling transition of Service Operation employees into Outplacement Support.Demonstrated flexibility and can-do attitude by volunteering to the following:Volunteered Fly Host, providing service recovery to the Airline.Assisted as part of the cabin crew during the disruptions.Coached college students about the interview process for jobs. Show less Managed 90+ IT staff and was responsible for ensuring mandatory training, personal development, annual reviews and absence interviews were undertaken.Provided expert advice to line managers on the application of people processes. Managed very sensitive performance and disciplinary cases, with high risk to BA both financially and in terms of reputation.Developed a strong working relationship with BA Health Services, Policy Case Support and Legal to ensure informed and timely decisions are made based on their advice.Developed effective and credible relationships with Trade Union representatives to raise awareness of attendance management processes and poor performance management. As the Diversity Champion for the IT department I raised awareness of harassment and bullying. Presented and ran workshops with all IT teams and departments at LHR and NCL. Show less

  • Operations Project Manager

    Apr 2017 - Sept 2020

  • Recruitment Manager

    Aug 2011 - Mar 2017

  • Human Resources Manager

    Jan 2004 - Aug 2011