Jim Gaston

JIM GASTON Program & Project Manager Email:-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-gaston Phone:- Dynamic IT leader with 20+ years of experience delivering enterprise-class service operations, IT support strategy, and digital transformation for federal agencies, Fortune 500s, and complex technical environments. Proven expertise as a Deputy CIO in managing large distributed teams, implementing ITIL-based service models, and leveraging analytics and KPIs to increase efficiencies by 20%. Have a background in SaaS, cloud migration, infrastructure modernization, cybersecurity compliance, and emerging technology, backed by extensive experience mentoring staff, managing multimillion-dollar budgets, and aligning technology to business goals. • Proficient in all phases of the project lifecycle and methodologies (Agile, Kanban, Waterfall) • Experience in managing and operating as part of a Project Management Office (PMO) • Managed Cyber Security and Compliance projects while meeting tight audit deadlines • Led Global IT Operations implementing improvements to increase response times by 25% • Awarded “Best New Employee of the Year” in the CSC Civil Group for exceeding all expectations for work done on the IRS Modernization Project • Directed software development for AOL Japan, Hong Kong, Brazil and Canada, valued at $25M each TECHNICAL SKILLS Agentive AI, Oracle 8i, 10g, 11i, SQL, SQL*Plus, PL/SQL, Oracle Developer 6.0, HTML, Basic, C, MS SharePoint, MS Office Suite, MS Project, SmartSheet, Visio, PowerPoint, Windows OS, MAC OS, JIRA, Confluence, Echo, Remedy, AWS, IBM Maximo, IBM Rational, ServiceNow, Azure, Intune, Amazon Connect, Zscaler, Crowdstrike, Qualys PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE PBG Consulting, McLean, VA 11/2022 – 2/2025, Program Manager Presidential Transition Team at GSA ● Member of the Tiger Team directing the stand up and implementation of a highly secure Zero Trust environment in the Azure Cloud within an extremely short timespan to support both Presidential Campaigns ● Managed the Service Desk and Change Control to support the campaigns ● Modified ServiceNow to increase usability and faster response times ● Aligned application workflows with diverse user needs to increase system usability, reduce friction, and improve service outcomes. Department of State IBM Maximo application support necessary for managing their domestic buildings ● Managed the operations and replatforming of a Maximo instance that was improperly configured and deployed to improve reliability, performance, and accessibility by 80% ● My team mapped Maximo processes to match the business processes utilized by the various user roles to increase the usability, efficiency and overall functional capabilities providing an enormous impact for the client ● We deployed financial capabilities to support the invoicing of services as part of the finance team’s billing for the Working Capital Fund effort ● Created plan to build out an instance of the latest version of Maximo into the AWS cloud environment Infinitive, Ashburn, VA 5/2021 - 4/2022 Program Manager contract supporting Capital One ● Program Manager for a large platform modernization impacting all lines of business utilizing AWS ● Worked with executive management to build teams and socialize effort across the enterprise TrustedQA, Reston, VA 3/2020 - 5/2021 Project Manager to Avaya, Inc. on short term contract as an on-site PM to manage the VOIP phone modernization project for Loudoun County Government ● Coordinated migration activities with several Executives, Contractors and Avaya personnel to ensure continuity of operations during and after migrations for 70+ sites ● Drove the execution of project tasks to maintain an aggressive schedule Data Impact Solutions, Reston, VA 3/2019 - 3/2020 Project Manager in charge of Mobile Application Development, Implementations and Upgrades ● Managed the Agile development of Mobile App solutions (both iOS and Android) for non-profit Associations ● Directed offshore development teams to plan, develop and implement ● Engaged with clients to tailor our solution to their requirements and ensure success EastBanc Technologies, Washington, DC (contract) 6/2018 - 2/2019 Senior Project Manager on contract supporting the DC Metro System (WMATA) mobile application project ● Directed the SmarTrip website team to develop (.Net) and support ongoing operations upgrades and enhancements ● Managed the mobile development team to meet all deadlines at 100% schedule efficiency utilizing Agile Methodology to modernize the web interfaces and APIs ● Coordinated with Executive Management, Program Management and external Vendors to develop the mobile application First Data Corporation (FDC), Hagerstown, MD 5/2015 – 6/2018 Business Systems/Portfolio Manager executing IT infrastructure projects for new and existing applications ● Met audit deadlines for compliance initiatives to meet security goals across several applications ● Governed the Demand Management process for the Cyber Security applications ● Supervised the remediation of audit and compliance vulnerabilities throughout the infrastructure Senior Project Manager (Temp to Hire Experis, Inc.) for mobile application solutions developed to integrate consumer loyalty and offer products with payment solutions for Fortune 500 clients ● Managed offshore development teams and partnered with vendors to create mobile solutions that enable the client’s ability to process mobile payments acting as SCRUM Master utilizing Agile methodology with JIRA and Confluence tools ● Collaborated with Executive Management to develop and refine the Mobile Product Strategy driving Mobile Strategy initiatives projected to reduce operating costs by 25% IMS Health Government Solutions (IMSGS), Fairfax, VA (contract) 11/2012 – 9/2014 Senior Project Manager responsible for managing the IT Division for IMS’s Government Services, which consisted of several development, test and operational environments; to include Production Systems for DOD ● Deputy CIO managing all IT staff to ensure effective planning, delivery and operations of internal IT and client solutions ● IT Project Manager for multiple application development projects to include commercial Healthcare Providers, DOD Health Services and SPAWAR ● Created the Modernization Technical Roadmap for system and infrastructure improvement projects for Red Hat Linux Servers, CISCO Network Hardware and various Operating Systems that increased overall reliability by 80% ● Successfully directed the IMSGS data center relocation and office move within first few months of employment with no unplanned downtime for any client systems ●​Evaluated vendors, implemented and migrated to a revised technical architecture improving systems performance by 30% ● Responsible for $1M+ annual IT budget, realizing an annual cost savings of $300K Digital Documents, LLC, Vienna, VA 2/2011 – 9/2012 Director responsible for all infrastructure and application projects, IT development, security and operations, utilizing outsourced vendors while controlling costs to ensure profitability ● Program Manager for Freddie Mac Making a Home Affordable contract and multiple client projects that included planning, budgeting and resource allocation ● Project Manager for custom online solution for Freddie Mac, from requirements, development and implementation, to operations and maintenance, leveraging a private cloud architecture to securely host sensitive data based on FISMA and HIPAA security guidelines ● Managed offsite vendor and subcontractor relationships while maintaining a strong profit margin ● Key proposal team member winning over $4 Million in contracts ● Maintained positive customer relations resulting in a 10% increase in revenue within existing clients ● Created and refined IT and Physical Security processes and procedures to meet and pass Freddie Mac’s audit requirements PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC (PwC), McLean, VA (contract) 4/2008 – 2/2011 Manager in the Federal Practice responsible for Project Management, Program Management, Process Improvement and Technology Implementations in secure operating environments PMO, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) ● Provided project oversight for a major financial systems implementation as part of the Project Management Office (PMO) using the PMI PMBOK guidelines, to ensure project scope, budget and contractual obligations were being met ● Advised client on remediating A-123 audit findings in their financial systems Project Management, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) ● Worked with the client to develop, update and deploy IT solutions both internally and externally per contractual guidelines ● Created Guidelines and Facilitated the adoption of an Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solution for the NRC PMO, United States Secret Service (USSS) ● Oversaw the Project Managers of a large system implementation in an advisory role, as part of the Program Management Office (PMO), improving the overall efficiency of the project by 20% ● Developed a cross project view of all the current development projects in the organization to identify resource dependencies and risks for the Director Project Management, Transportation Security Agency (TSA) ● Managed project on behalf of client to coordinate with the IT organization to build new MS SharePoint 2003 sites based on the client's requirements and TSA management directives ● Coordinated multiple contract teams as part of the PMO to migrate the organization’s MS SharePoint 2003 content to MS SharePoint 2007 JSG Consulting, Round Hill, VA (own business) 1/2007 – 1/2008 Project Manager, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) working as an independent subcontractor in a change management capacity preparing large organizations to efficiently utilize emerging technologies to streamline existing business processes ● Managed the transition process for $5M+ IT projects launched into the IRS Production environment as part of its modernization effort ● Identified, defined and communicated issues to ensure a successful transition to the Data Center Operations and Business units within the IRS while coordinating with the affected organizations to mitigate risks and resolve issues ● Briefed Division Chiefs on the impacts to their organization that would be forthcoming, due to the changes in infrastructure; to include manpower requirements, training and process improvement UNISYS, Reston, VA 4/2005 – 1/2007 Project/Program Manager leading multiple software and hardware projects Transportation Security Agency (TSA) ● Managed Oracle 11i and J2EE Case Management development projects for TSA, delivering on time and within budget ● Mitigated potential loss on a project saving the company $500K, by streamlining the development team and test activities, closely managing the project schedule and scope, and modifying the Waterfall methodology to an iterative Agile approach ● Worked on proposal teams to grow the practice and deliver value to the client Release Manager – Oracle 11i and J2EE TSAApplications ● Managed all aspects of the Release Process, coordinating with key TSA and UNISYS stakeholder organizations ● Successfully deployed ten to fifteen planned releases per month into the Production environment ● Identified project dependencies and worked to mitigate any identified issues in order to keep projects on schedule and within budget Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), New Carrollton, MD 3/2002 – 4/2005 Project Manager on the Executive Steering Committee for the $600M/year IRS Prime Modernization contract ● Awarded “Best New Employee of the Year'' in the CSC Civil Group for exceeding all expectations ● Managed the successful delivery of $500 Million in IRS Modernization projects, which involved coordination, communications and leadership working with multiple contractor teams, in a matrixed environment ● Prepared and maintained MS Project critical path schedules which executives used to brief the IRS leadership and Treasury executives ● Mitigated project schedule risks and issues to ensure the timely release of the SaaS software and hardware ● Managed cross-project dependencies between several large projects utilizing shared enterprise infrastructure ● Identified, mitigated, resolved and/or escalated issues/risks to executive management via regular weekly release integration briefings and monthly Program Management meetings with the client, showing the status and challenges faced by the program and individual projects ● Primary interface for all IRS PRIME projects and the IRS Data Center in West Virginia. Resolved issues at all levels and met with the Directors and Executive staffs regularly to discuss process improvement, planning, operational issues and ongoing project development AOL Time Warner, Inc., Dulles, VA 2/1996 – 1/2001 Project Manager leading several key initiatives within AOL Global Services ● Directed commercial software development projects for AOL Japan, AOL Hong Kong, AOL Brazil and AOL Canada, valued at $25M each coordinating with offshore development resources for each ● Proactively managed new client products and development by coordinating scope, schedule and budget with multiple matrixed organizations ● International team lead for the AOL 6.0 Mac Client/Host development program ● Evaluated and determined optimal solutions to update existing clients with code fixes and enhancements as the international representative on the Risk Management Team ● Product Manager for the International Home Networking product, for France, Germany, United Kingdom, and Canada ● Responsible for all development and technical issues/emergencies that related to AOL Japan, to include escalation issues, crisis resolution, and task negotiation ● Managed the development and initial launch of the AOL Hong Kong Service to meet globally publicized marketing deadlines for AOL’s first Chinese language client ● Awarded special recognition for managing AOL Hong Kong launch issues that would have impacted Steve Case’s presentation to the Press Program Manager (Y2K), AOL Business Process, Planning and Management ● In charge of the Client, Host, and Billing Systems remediation to prepare AOL and CompuServe systems for Y2K ● Advised the Disaster Recovery consultants to deliver a plan to mitigate any Y2K emergencies Interactive Media Developer, AOL International ● Technical consultant for the international production teams in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada and Japan ● Identified and tested problems with code, then resolved or negotiated with Development and the International teams to successfully implement solutions ● Provided training and support of new tools and technologies to the international producers EDUCATION ● Bachelor of Science in Economics, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA ● Lean Six Sigma White Belt ● CMMI for Development v1.3 Certification ● AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner ●​ Leading SAFe Trained PERSONAL ● Clearances: DOD Secret ● Served in the U.S. Air Force (Trained as a Navigator) ● Volunteered as EMT with local Fire/Rescue ● Eagle Scout