My journey from Grayce Project Analyst to National Delivery Manager

Melissa Burke shares her experience transitioning from the Grayce graduate programme to now developing graduates as a Delivery Manager.

Melissa Burke is a Grayce Development Programme Alumnus. She finishing the Programme last year and has now taken a National Delivery Manager role in the Management Team at Grayce. Find out more about her journey and how she’s using the skills and experience gained from the Programme to support more Analysts starting their career in business change and transformation.

"I joined Grayce in 2014 as a Project Analyst on the back of a 1st class BA Geography degree at the University of Liverpool. I was initially placed at a global pharmaceutical organisation as a PMO on a large IT programme of work. I thoroughly enjoyed this role, which quickly grew to Junior Project Management, a role as a Programme Integration Manager and finally a Project Manager position as part of a $190m programme of work.

I was given the chance to work within an array of disciplines; IT, Engineering, Operations and Change. Already, I had received such variety in my role and had real ownership of key programme deliverables. I had the opportunity to work alongside outstanding professionals and subsequent friends in the project and change field, really accelerating my development.

In parallel to this amazing experience, I also acquired a wide range of industry recognised qualifications; Prince2, Agile, APM and more. It’s been a brilliant start to my career!

As someone who is passionate about business change and project delivery (cue lots of hand gesturing and enthusiasm), I have always bought into the concept of Grayce as a business change model.

Helping to develop the change leaders of the future

So, at the end of my 3-year development programme, when the opportunity presented itself to be the first Analyst to transition internally at Grayce as a National Delivery Manager, I couldn’t say no! I now operate in this role and have done for the past 8 months, managing Grayce Project Analysts at a number of our clients, across multiple industries and programmes.

As a National Delivery Manager, my day-day role brings such variety, supporting, mentoring and coaching our Analysts on-site. This means that I meet with each Analyst regularly to discuss their professional development, individual projects, challenges and career development. I really enjoy sharing some of my knowledge and experience with Analysts who are forging their own careers in change and transformation.

Promoting cross-collaboration of Analysts across a range of clients, nurturing a cohesive and collegiate culture is another aspect of this role that I really enjoy. I also meet with Grayce clients regularly, understanding their programmes of work, processes, methodologies and key challenges that they face.

Working so closely with clients and Analysts allows me to identify new and common change themes across the industry and work alongside our fantastic Grayce Analysts and clients to help build pragmatic solutions.

I continue to be amazed at the consistently high standards delivered by our Analysts every day. They are delivering complex projects across the UK, offering fresh ideas and approaches in the change arena. I am proud to work and grow with Grayce as we continue to build a strong reputation in the change and transformation industry."