Stefan Simrock - Business Analyst for IT Transformation

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Hamburg, Germany

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Experience

May 2025 - Present

1 year 7 months

Business Analyst

Large municipal utility provider

Conducting business analysis for battery energy storage systems and their commercialization (BESS)
Taking an end-to-end view of optimization and commercialization processes, including sales, technical qualification, implementation, optimization, commercialization, billing, and cross-functional processes
Designing and facilitating workshops with business units
Preparing, aligning, and embedding requirements
Transitioning to the Solution Design phase and mapping requirements to IT solutions

Aug 2024 - Apr 2025

9 months

Sabbatical

Sep 2023 - Jul 2024

11 months

Overall IT Project Manager

Uniper

Overall management of an implementation project for an IT solution for energy trading and supply
Extending an off-the-shelf product to support company-specific business processes
Developing a long-term strategy and turning around struggling projects that had been written off
Planning, managing, and monitoring project tasks
Improving the project organization of over 20 members and introducing traditional and agile methods
Introducing dependency and risk management and defining measurable project goals
Ongoing monitoring and reporting to the steering committee and top management
Stakeholder and supplier management in a challenging environment

Apr 2023 - Aug 2023

5 months

IT Project Manager

Deutsche Giganetz

Leading an IT project for strategic fiber-optic expansion and commercialization (FTTH)
Requirements management for sales, commercial, and technical construction teams
Facilitating requirements workshops
Developing an IT strategy and coordinating Solution Design
Aligning with stakeholders, business units, and IT departments
Project planning, management, and reporting to the Project Office

Jul 2022 - Present

4 years 5 months

Agile Coach

Supporting the implementation of agile ways of working and transformation
Stakeholder mapping and communication
Building and managing the backlog
Facilitating Team Vision & Strategy workshops
Refocusing the Product Portfolio and managing the roadmap
Applying Design Thinking methods
Working with agile metrics (Velocity, Burndown)
Using agile development practices (Pair Programming, CI/CD)
Ongoing improvement and feedback process (demos, reviews, retrospectives)

Nov 2019 - Jun 2022

2 years 8 months

Team Coordinator Trading Logistics IT (Interim Management) / Product Owner

Vattenfall Energy Trading

Led an international IT team for business-critical applications in energy trading and market access
Ensured the operational availability and ongoing development of highly critical 24/7 applications
Coordinated transformation projects in Trading Logistics IT and ETRM
Developed strategies to consolidate and modernize the IT landscape
Moved services to the cloud and migrated from on-premise to Microsoft Azure
Introduced automated release and deployment processes (CI/CD)
Coordinated security and access concepts and penetration tests
Managed stakeholders and requirements, resources, and budgets
Maintained and prioritized the backlog to increase the value of the agile product
Coached the team and supported its development in agile methods

May 2019 - Nov 2019

7 months

Sabbatical

May 2018 - May 2019

1 year 1 month

Team Coordinator and Operations Manager (Interim Management)

Vattenfall Energy Trading

Led an IT team of 5 members supporting critical 24/7 applications
Ensured operational availability and support
Managed knowledge and developed skills (Confluence, internal training)
Used agile and DevOps practices (pair programming, CI/CD)
Coordinated ongoing development to meet market and compliance requirements
Managed requirements and served as the point of contact for business units
Managed budgets and resources

May 2011 - May 2018

7 years 1 month

Business Analyst, Solution Architect and IT Project Manager

Vattenfall Energy Trading

Introduced 3rd-party systems (e.g., scheduling and nominations in the electricity market)
Further developed in-house software and IT infrastructure projects
Carve-in and carve-out projects
Analyzed and modeled processes and identified opportunities for improvement
Conducted interviews and workshops and documented requirements
Translated business requirements into technical specifications
Assessed solution architectures and conducted cost-benefit analyses
Prepared decision papers and coordinated governance processes
Traditional project management: planning, coordination, risk and dependency management
Managed testing and go-live processes

Jan 2010 - Dec 2011

2 years

IT Subproject Manager / Consultant

Raffinerie Heide GmbH

Supported the company transition through an IT carve-out
Identified and documented affected processes and applications
Developed and implemented decoupling strategies
Defined work packages for process and system owners
Planned, coordinated, and monitored implementation
Coordinated with and reported to the Program Manager and steering committees

Jan 2009 - Dec 2010

2 years

IT Project Manager

Yxlon International

Building and stabilizing a new software development team after a Carve-In
Ensuring knowledge transfer and documentation
Using Scrum and introducing agile methods
Coordinating external suppliers
Managing epics and translating business requirements into technical specifications
Preparing documentation and acceptance processes, and handing over to operations
Training users and rolling out the new software across Europe, the USA, and Asia

Jan 2007 - Dec 2009

3 years

Software Architect

Shell

Developing the software architecture for a globally used business application
Defining guidelines and patterns for object-oriented development in C#/.NET
Taking SOX and IT compliance requirements into account
Developing a security framework and user authentication concept
Leading a 20-member development team
Preparing documentation and delivering user and support training
Supporting the Transition-to-Support process

Jan 2005 - Dec 2006

2 years

Software Architect and Team Lead

Speech Design Carrier Systems GmbH

Analyzing existing technologies and evaluating architectural approaches (Agent-based, SOA)
Designing and implementing core SOA components (ESB, Event-Dispatcher, High-Availability-Services)
Supervising and coaching developers, and conducting software reviews
Analyzing vulnerabilities and developing a concept for a scalable, highly available telecommunications application
Building a development team and introducing object-oriented programming (C#/.NET)
Increasing competitiveness through new product features

Industry experience

See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time.

Experienced in Energy, Information Technology, Telecommunication, Manufacturing, and Utilities.

Energy

Information Technology

Telecommunication

Manufacturing

Utilities

Business area experience

See which departments and functions this freelancer has contributed to most.

Experienced in Information Technology, Project Management, Business Intelligence, Product Development, Marketing, and Sales.

Information Technology

Project Management

Business Intelligence

Product Development

Marketing

Sales

Summary

I see IT transformation as a holistic approach that covers general aspects such as processes, methods, technologies, and architectures. These are complemented by company- and business-specific topics. I draw on a combination of strong business understanding, broad technical knowledge, and experience in team development and leadership to successfully deliver IT projects.

My experience comes from many years of in-depth work as a software developer and software architect on various technologically demanding and highly business-critical projects. In recent years, I have worked as a Business Analyst, Solution Architect, Project Manager, Agile Coach, and Interim Manager on numerous IT transformation projects for leading European companies in the energy, telecommunications, and industrial sectors.

Skills

Interim Manager: Team Leadership And Development For Teams Of Up To 20 Members
Interim Management Of It Teams: Building And Leading Cross-Functional Teams
Coaching And Mentoring In Agile Methods (E.G. Scrum/Kanban) And Traditional Project Management Approaches
Promoting A Collaborative Team Culture, Conflict Management, And Team Development
Ensuring Knowledge Management And Skills Development (E.G. Sharing Tools Such As Confluence And Providing Internal Training)
Project Manager: Leading Software And Infrastructure Projects, Using Both Traditional And Agile Approaches
Planning, Managing, And Monitoring Projects Using Traditional And Agile Methods (Scrum, Kanban, Safe)
Taking On Various Agile Roles, E.G. Scrum Master, Agile Coach, Or Product Owner, Depending On Project Requirements
Risk And Dependency Management, Reporting, And Project Governance
Coordinating Test Management And Quality Assurance (E.G. Acceptance And Go-Live Processes)
Stakeholder Management At Different Levels (Business Units, External Service Providers, Management)
Agile Product Management And Software Development (Scrum And Kanban)
Epic Owner And Product Owner: Creating And Maintaining The Product Backlog And A Product Roadmap; Defining And Prioritizing Epics, Features, And User Stories
Working With Agile Metrics (Velocity, Burndown Charts, Definition Of Done/Ready) And Continuously Improving Processes
Supporting Development Teams With Implementation, Reviews, And Retrospectives
Coaching Teams In Agile And Devops Development Practices (E.G. Pair Programming And Reviews, Continuous Integration/Delivery)
Solution Architect: Analyzing It Landscapes And Developing Solution Approaches (Technical/Commercial), Including Business Cases
Documenting And Modeling Existing Processes And Identifying Opportunities For Improvement
Developing Strategies And Concepts To Consolidate And Modernize It And System Landscapes
Assessing Different Solution Architectures Based On Technical (Api Design, Cloud/On-Premise Integration, Security Requirements) And Economic (Roi, Tco) Factors
Conducting Cost-Benefit Analyses And Preparing Financial Viability Assessments To Support Decision-Making
Considering Regulatory, Security, And Market Requirements (E.G. In The Energy And Telecommunications Sectors)
Business Analyst: Requirements Management And Workshop Facilitation
Acting As The Link Between Business Units And Development Teams; Analyzing And Documenting Business Processes, Data Models, And Use Cases
Gathering And Documenting Requirements In A Structured Way (Requirements Engineering) Using Tools Such As Jira And Microsoft Devops
Facilitating Requirements Workshops, Interviews, And Collaborative Design Sessions (Design Thinking) With Stakeholders
Analyzing And Optimizing Processes (E.G. Gap Analyses, Creating Delta Concepts, Identifying Efficiency Improvements)
Translating Business Requirements Into Technical Specifications And Test Cases
Preparing Decision Documents And Supporting The Decision-Making Process
Creating Clear, Audience-Focused Presentations (Powerpoint, Confluence) And Decision-Making Materials (Business Cases, Proof Of Concepts)
Coordinating Decision-Making In Steering Committees, Project Boards, Or Top Management Meetings, Including Alignment With Sponsors And Senior Leaders
Including Risks, Dependencies, And Compliance Requirements In Decision Documents
Ensuring All Project Decisions Are Traceable And Documented
Stakeholder Management In Complex Environments; Acting As The Link Between Internal Clients, Development Teams, And Suppliers
Defining And Implementing A Communication Strategy For Different Stakeholder Groups
Managing Conflicts Between Business Units, Development Teams, And External Service Providers (E.G. Escalation Processes, Solution Workshops)
Ensuring An Ongoing Feedback Process (E.G. Demos, Reviews, Retrospectives) And Implementing Adjustments
Requesting And Evaluating Offers, And Managing External Partners In Terms Of Quality, Cost, And Timelines
Change Management And Organizational Development
Designing And Supporting Change Processes, Including Agile Coaching And Support For Product Owner Roles
Training And Involving Different Stakeholders (Management, Business Units, External Partners) In Transformation And Innovation Initiatives
Actively Managing Resistance And Implementing A Consistent Communication Strategy
Establishing And Promoting A Learning Organization (Retrospectives, Lessons Learned)
Introducing And Fostering Continuous Improvement Processes (Kvp)
Cloud And Infrastructure Projects (Azure, Aws, On-Premise Migrations)
Planning And Coordinating Data Center And Cloud Migration Projects (Data Center Closure/Relocation, Cloudification, On-Prem To Azure/Aws)
Coordinating The Development Of Security And Access Concepts, As Well As Security Audits And Pen Tests
Designing And Operating Hybrid Cloud Architectures And Automated Release And Deployment Processes (Ci/Cd)
Ensuring Stability And Scalability (E.G. Monitoring, Logging, And Alerting In Cloud Environments)
Working With Common Cloud Services (Container Technologies) And Infrastructure Tools

Languages

German

Native

English

Advanced

Certifications & licenses

Statistics

Experience

Total positions 13

Experience in Energy 16 y

Avg length 2 y 1 m

Longest experience 7 y

Expertise

Recent roles Business Analyst, Sabbatical, Overall IT Project Manager

Main industries Energy, Information Technology, Telecommunication

Main business areas Information Technology, Project Management, Business Intelligence

Qualifications

Certifications earned 1

Member since

February 2025

Last update

October 2026

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Frequently asked questions

Have questions? Find more information here.

Stefan is based in Hamburg, Germany and can operate in on-site, hybrid, and remote work models.

Stefan speaks the following languages: German (Native), English (Advanced).

Stefan has at least 22 years of experience. During this time, Stefan has worked in at least 11 different roles and for 8 different companies. The average length of individual experience is 2 years and 8 months. Note that Stefan may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

Based on recent experience, Stefan would be well-suited for roles such as: Business Analyst, Sabbatical, Overall IT Project Manager.

Stefan's most recent position is Business Analyst at Large municipal utility provider.

In recent years, Stefan has worked for Large municipal utility provider, Uniper, Deutsche Giganetz, and Vattenfall Energy Trading.

Stefan is most experienced in industries like Energy, Information Technology, and Telecommunication. Stefan also has some experience in Manufacturing and Utilities.

Stefan is most experienced in business areas like Information Technology, Project Management, and Business Intelligence. Stefan also has some experience in Product Development, Marketing, and Sales.

Stefan has recently worked in industries like Information Technology, Energy, and Utilities.

Stefan has recently worked in business areas like Project Management, Information Technology, and Product Development.

Stefan has 1 certificate: Certified Project Manager According to IPMA Level C.

The availability of Stefan needs to be confirmed.

Daily rate distribution

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<€640 €640-800 €800-960 €960-1120 €1120+

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Daily rate avg. 839 €

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Median rate 800 €

The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.

Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 6 Nov 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.