Владлена

VLADLENA KOVALCHUK
Dnipro, Ukraine
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PROJECT & OPERATIONS MANAGER
FinTech | International Operations | Team Leadership | Client & IT Coordination
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Project and Operations professional with 10+ years of experience in an international environment, combining operations management, team leadership, client management, business development, and cross-functional coordination with technical teams.
Progressed from a client-facing management role to Team Lead after demonstrating strong leadership, ownership, initiative, and the ability to take responsibility for complex operational and client-related matters.
Experienced in managing a team of 6, coordinating developers and system administrators, translating business and client needs into actionable tasks, monitoring implementation, performing functional testing, coordinating issue resolution, and supporting the delivery of changes from initial requirement through release.
Strong domain knowledge of FinTech and financial markets, including payment processing, payment gateways, international wire transfer processes, KYC-related documentation, brokerage operations, and communication with international English-speaking clients.
A strong connector between business, clients, and technical teams, with the ability to understand a problem, clarify requirements, coordinate resources and budget, translate needs into actionable tasks, follow implementation, test the outcome, and ensure issues are resolved.

CORE COMPETENCIES
Project & Operations Management
• Project Coordination
• Operations Management
• Team Leadership
• Cross-functional Coordination
• Task Planning & Prioritization
• Deadline & Delivery Control
• Process Coordination
• Incident & Crisis Management
• Stakeholder Management
• Escalation Management
Business & IT Coordination
• Business Requirements
• Requirements Clarification
• Task Definition
• Development Team Coordination
• Functional Testing
• User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
• Bug Identification & Retesting
• Implementation Follow-up
• Change Coordination
• Release Readiness
FinTech & Payments
• Payment Processing
• Payment Gateways
• International Payment Processes
• Wire Transfer Principles
• Issuer / Intermediary / Recipient Roles
• KYC-related Processes
• AML-related Documentation
• Financial Markets
• Brokerage Environment
Client & Business Management
• International Client Management
• Key Client Management
• B2C
• Stakeholder Communication
• Crisis Communication
• Business Development
• Customer Needs Analysis
• Marketing Coordination
• Budget Coordination
• Negotiations
People Management
• Team Leadership
• Task Allocation
• Recruitment & Initial Interviews
• Employee Onboarding
• Training & Knowledge Transfer

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
INTERNATIONAL COMPANY — CONFIDENTIAL
Team Lead / Project & Operations
2015 – early 2026
International environment involving financial-market-related products and services, technology, and international English-speaking clients.
Career Progression
Started in a client-facing management and business promotion role and progressed to Team Lead after demonstrating strong leadership, initiative, ownership, and the ability to become a key point of reference for the team and management.
As Team Lead, became a primary escalation point for complex operational matters, key clients, technical issues, and crisis situations.
Team Leadership & Operations
• Managed a team of 6 employees, including task allocation, prioritization, deadline tracking, and follow-up on deliverables.
• Coordinated work between team members, management, clients, developers, system administrators, and external vendors.
• Took ownership of a broad range of operational and cross-functional matters.
• Served as a primary escalation point for complex, sensitive, and urgent issues.
• Reported directly to the company director on key operational matters and results.
• Made independent operational decisions within the assigned area of responsibility.
• Coordinated multiple workstreams and priorities simultaneously.
Project & IT Coordination
• Identified customer experience and usability issues and initiated improvements.
• Analyzed business and customer needs and translated them into clear, actionable requirements for development teams.
• Discussed implementation options and estimated development effort with developers.
• Defined specific expected outcomes and acceptance criteria for development tasks.
• Coordinated implementation approach and budget with management.
• Assigned tasks to developers and monitored progress through completion.
• Performed functional testing of implemented changes.
• Identified bugs, inconsistencies, and deviations from requirements.
• Provided detailed feedback to developers and coordinated required corrections.
• Conducted follow-up testing after fixes and verified readiness for release.
• Coordinated communication between business, client-facing, and technical teams throughout the implementation cycle.
International & Key Client Management
• Managed communication with international English-speaking clients, primarily in a B2C environment.
• Personally handled key clients and sensitive client-related matters.
• Became the primary point of contact for the most important and complex client issues.
• Conducted business communication and negotiations in English.
• Communicated with clients via email, online chats, Zoom, and other communication channels.
• Managed difficult and sensitive situations while balancing client needs and company interests.
Incident & Crisis Management
• Coordinated team response during critical technical and operational incidents.
• Worked simultaneously with developers, system administrators, and client-facing employees to determine priorities and appropriate actions.
• Coordinated communication with clients during service disruptions and other critical situations.
• Provided operational direction to team members during urgent incidents.
• Took responsibility for immediate decision-making when senior management was temporarily unavailable.
• Coordinated internal and external communication until normal operations were restored.
FinTech & Payment Processes
• Communicated with payment processing providers regarding the integration and implementation of payment solutions.
• Developed practical understanding of payment gateways and payment processing workflows.
• Practical understanding of international wire transfer processes.
• Understanding of the roles of issuer, intermediary, and recipient in international payment flows.
• Practical understanding of brokerage operations and financial-market processes.
• Prepared, adapted, and maintained KYC-related documentation according to company requirements.
• Worked with documentation related to KYC/AML processes.
Business Development & Marketing
• Analyzed customer needs, behavior, and objectives to support business development and promotional decisions.
• Participated in decisions regarding company and product promotion.
• Coordinated advertising activities and external vendors.
• Prepared and coordinated advertising budgets with management.
• Monitored market and customer behavior to identify opportunities for further promotion and development.
Recruitment & Training
• Participated in recruitment and conducted initial candidate interviews before management review.
• Supported onboarding of new team members.
• Delivered initial training covering key processes and responsibilities.
• Supported knowledge transfer and delegated further training to designated team members.

MEDIA HOLDING “REKLAMNOE POLE”
Advertising & Client Manager
2014 – 2015
• Managed client relationships and developed the customer base.
• Sold advertising, design, print, promotional, and related services.
• Identified customer needs and prepared commercial proposals.
• Conducted negotiations and supported contract closing.
• Coordinated client orders and monitored execution throughout the process.
• Worked with external vendors and advertising partners.
• Managed documentation and accounts receivable follow-up.

ADVERTISING AGENCY “REDIL-1”
Advertising Manager
2012 – 2014
• Managed and developed the client base.
• Processed client requests and prepared commercial proposals.
• Conducted negotiations and supported contract closing.
• Analyzed the advertising market.
• Coordinated communication with media and advertising agencies.
• Managed documentation and accounts receivable follow-up.

“ARTLINE” (2PiR)
Senior Market Development Specialist
2006 – 2012
• Developed and maintained the client base.
• Sold advertising services and developed new business opportunities.
• Analyzed the market and competitive environment.
• Prepared commercial proposals and conducted negotiations.
• Supported client brand promotion through advertising solutions.
• Coordinated execution of client projects and monitored delivery.

EDUCATION
Ukrainian State University of Chemical Technology
Specialist Degree, Chemical Technology of Fuels
2006

LANGUAGES
English — Upper-Intermediate (B2)
Ukrainian — Fluent
Russian — Native

TOOLS
Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Ads, WordPress, CRM systems, Trello, PDF tools, online communication platforms.
Fast learner with the ability to quickly adapt to new software, internal systems, and business processes.

PROFESSIONAL STRENGTHS
Leadership and ownership, structured thinking, independent decision-making, stakeholder communication, problem-solving, cross-functional coordination, ability to quickly understand new processes, and ability to remain effective when handling multiple priorities and complex situations.