Meet Roxana:

How did you come to join Endava? Tell us about your career journey so far.

Five years ago, I took on the role of Delivery Manager and switched from payments to the transport and logistics world. It was a significant change for me and a steep learning curve that I had to take on to better understand my clients and their business. I was welcomed into a passionate and supportive team, and everything went seamlessly.  

The magic that you feel in a terminal, with thousands of containers that somehow get to the correct port, to the right warehouse, their content to the valid address, so we can have the food, the clothes, the appliances or the cars we want in our homes, is purely incomparable. I grew to be amazed by the complexity of this industry while working with our clients in the maritime shipping, CEP and SaaS areas and how crucial they are in their mission to move goods and people around the world, especially in atypical times like the pandemic and the changed landscaped that emerged after. I worked on complex products, each playing a part in digitalising the world of logistics and making it more accessible, safer, transparent and sustainable to improve our well-being. 

A year ago, I also took over the role of Delivery Manager for Endava's software asessment service, which is highly valued for its innovative approach to revealing how software can impact a business. It was created by a colleague with over 25 years of experience in code quality and research and supported by a team with extensive experience. My role here is to ensure our clients and organisation have access to the service, understand how we can best serve their scope and follow through with the deliveries of the engagements.  

What is your professional driving force and motivation?

The openness, the support you get and how much people care about what they are doing, about their clients, their coachees or mentees make you feel part of a community that is there for you. And that is so rewarding. 

I’ve spent ten years at Endava, and I’ve often thought, knowing my forever ‘looking for a challenge’ self, what kept me here, what motivates me to be part of this ever-growing, ever-changing community? The answer was always there, but I think it took more maturity and experience to see it: I have a mission, and I have found the place to fulfil it. My mission is to put my knowledge, my time and my resources to help my community learn, grow and thrive by building relationships, teams and success. 

One of the ways I do this is by actively participating in our community events. They give me a chance to interact beyond the usual meetings, to debate ideas and also have some fun together. Being surrounded by people actively interested in technology makes it much easier to stay informed and up to date on any topic of interest. 

More recently, I was also part of Endava's RISE mentorship programme as a mentee. I had the chance to meet and create connections with a fantastic group of intelligent and passionate women and an equal panel of mentors there for us.  

What are you most proud of?

The past five years as a Delivery Manager came with a lot of challenges and an equal number of accomplishments. Starting and delivering an engagement with a new client during the pandemic is my proudest accomplishment.  

It started with two teams; in two months, we had seven couples, and in another four, we reached almost 100 people working on three different streams from four countries and six locations. The delivery process was intense, and we diligently went for our goals, but I am mostly proud of the people I had the chance to work with. It became clear early that our challenges will be more than timelines, budgets and production releases. Covid-19 has impacted our lives like never before. We've had to adapt and support each other. We worked on building a stigma-free, supportive environment to better collaborate and overcome challenges.  

I can't stress enough how proud I am of my team for their dedication to helping each other and exceeding their job expectations to meet our commitments. The moment we all met for the first time was towards the end of the project and the pandemic, after working together for two years. It was one of the most emotional, happy moments in the past years. I still follow up with them, and they are doing great things. This is my story, but stories like this happened all over Endava.  

What advice would you give to a someone joining Endava?

Brace yourself; it is going to be a fantastic ride!