The latest in our series of interviews with the Williams Commerce team sees us speak to Ankit Jadav, a member of our project management department.
Have a read and learn more about Ankit, as well as our approach to project management. You can also read our interviews with Laura Otten, our Ecommerce Solution Specialist, and Tom Wheeler, our Head of Ecommerce Delivery.
Tell us about your background and how long you’ve been with the company
I originally come from a small town in India called Diu. We moved to Reading when I was 13, and went to Nottingham Trent University where I studied Information Systems. I originally started using FrontPage in school and since graduating, I’ve worked within ecommerce in various roles, including as an ecommerce assistant, a systems analyst and as an IT manager. The roles have helped me gain a wider perspective into the ecommerce industry as I’ve had experience going beyond launching a website, making sales and shipping products.
The combination of my degree and working in these roles has helped me hone a strong skill set across various tools of the trade. These range from third party platforms such as eBay and Amazon FBA, Magento and WordPress, to third party channel inventory tools such as eSellerPro (now Volo), BrightPearl and Linnworks. I’ve also been able to learn the basics of languages such as HTML, PHP and CSS, as well as developing a strong working knowledge of online-marketing, product management and SEO.
I joined the Williams Commerce project management team in March 2019.
Tell us about your job role.
I take ownership of the actions, risks and issues for all the projects within the existing Customer portfolio we have at Williams commerce. I stay on top of project budgets, scope, resourcing, tracking and documentation. And of course, I take charge of managing the client relationship and expectations with regards to their current programme of website development
I also manage 3rd party relationships, and identify and mitigate risks associated accordingly.
I look to identify and manage risks throughout the project, and proactively collaborate with the internal team here at Williams Commerce to keep projects on the right course.
I also work with our development team, including time tracking within each project and overall capacity planning for each client’s particular development team. I will naturally monitor a project’s progress and update Tom Wheeler, our Head of Ecommerce Delivery, on a regular basis using project tools Atlassian software suite to manage the project.
Once a go-live has taken place, I will carry out post project ‘wash ups’ to ensure the business takes on board any learning for future projects and prevents any mistakes being repeated. I’ll also hold weekly calls with the client to provide progress updates and manage expectations.
And I’ll outline any customisation of the website within confluence to ensure a smooth handover to the support team post go-live.
I also work with our retainer clients, which include a diverse range of businesses such as the Folio Society, Sue Ryder, Floral Silk and Hancocks.
What makes a good project manager?
Well I think losing all your hair shows clients you really care… you can’t lose anymore!
In all seriousness, a good project manager needs to be a strong problem solver, taking a helicopter approach to any situation, organised (let it be organised chaos at times) and being able to put yourself in the client’s shoes.
Being technically minded is important, as is having a working knowledge of a variety of ecommerce platforms and programming languages. This doesn’t mean being able to code from scratch but knowing where to look if there is an issue and how to solve the issue is a huge plus when working in ever-changing ecommerce industry.
One of the most important elements is being able to translate business requirements into technical specifications and vice versa.
This is crucial to not only meeting the expectations of our clients, but also helping to streamline processes and allow projects to get over the line in a shorter time period. As I work with a range of clients with varied technical knowledge, this helps communicate in the way that a client can actually understand and respond to, instead of throwing a lot of technical jargon their way.
I also think a good project manager needs to be able to work across a wide range of teams, and have a continuous willingness to learn.
What’s your favourite thing about working at Williams Commerce?
The people are great here, and it’s the opposite of a static environment – there’s always something going on.
Also, finally being interviewed by the marketing team is a definite highlight of my time here for sure.
Outside of work, what do you like to do?
I’m really into console gaming, and I also like to run and play basketball. I also love to read, listen to audiobooks or have a good old Ted Talks running in the background.
I love spending time with my family, while I’m also a big foodie and love to try new places to eat.
And I’m learning to cook at the minute. I’m a horrendous baker unfortunately, but I can eat a lot of cake so that makes up for it, right?
Interested in working with Williams Commerce? Get in touch with our team.
