Writing
Lara Cini
CELTA Qualified ELT Teacher
Sliema
Summary
CELTA-certified English language teacher with a recently completed Bachelor of Humanities, specializing in English and Communications. Passionate about language education, intercultural communication, and fostering student engagement. Possesses strong analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills developed through academic studies and hands-on CELTA teaching experience. Demonstrated a successful 23-year career in banking IT, focusing on end-to-end Project Management and Business Analysis in the Payments sector. Gained extensive exposure to business operations, IT systems, and various payments platforms. Additionally, established and operated a wellness business in Malta, providing services such as Baby Massage, Baby Yoga, Toddler Yoga, and Pre/Post-Natal classes. Holds a Diploma in Holistic Massage and certifications in other massage disciplines.
Overview
30
30
years of professional experience
4
4
years of post-secondary education
3
3
Languages
Work History
English as a Foreign Language Teacher
AM Language School
Sliema
04.2025 - Current
- Started in my new role as an English as a Foreign Language teacher after finishing my CELTA qualification.
Senior Product Delivery Owner
GO PLC
Marsa, Il-Marsa
07.2019 - 01.2021
- During my time at GO PLC I was in charge of the Payment stream and my main duty was to manage a project for rolling out automated kiosks across all retail branches
- The project was successfully implemented in January 2021
- Along with this project I was also the Product Lead for the scrum team that took care of the newly implemented CRM system - Salesforce
- The project was very new and when I took this lead we were rolling out fixes to improve the processes used by the business
- My main responsibility was to agree and prioritise changes with the business and to then carry forward these requests to a successful implementation
Owner and Instructor
MamaBabyBliss (Malta)
05.2017 - 03.2019
- I started my journey as a MamaBabyBliss trainee instructor in May 2018 when I started my training for BabyMassage and Yoga
- I Ran classes and workshops in these two disciplines while I also studied for a Diploma in Massage locally in Malta
- This journey came to a pause when I decided to go back to an office job
- I still offer some sessions and massages but mostly on a voluntary basis - to friends and anyone who might want a private session
- Managed day-to-day business operations.
- Developed and maintained strong relationships with clients, resulting in repeat business and referrals.
BA Team Manager European Payments Software Delivery
HSBC LONDON - UK GLOBAL PAYMENT SYSTEM
04.2015 - 02.2018
- In April of 2015 I was requested to take on more responsibility within the team to replace the team manager and take on full responsibility of the team
- My responsibilities are: Managing 4 remote teams - a total of 18 resources, Responsible for requirements gathering for a European payments platform used for processing SEPA Payments, Dealing with vendor and business partners to implement changes in the most cost effective way, Work with the business to identify processes that can be put in place to better streamline our operations, Work with internal IT teams to identify solutions that could fulfill business needs when such a need arises, Manage team capacity and consult with management to identify how much change can actually be delivered in a stipulated time frame, Ensure we have the right governance in place to track, document and execute change requests
Transverse BA European Payments Software Delivery
HSBC LONDON - UK GLOBAL PAYMENT SYSTEM
02.2013 - 04.2015
- This project is aimed at migrating all SEPA processing from fundtech GPP platform onto a new platform - enabling higher volume processing and offering the bank a more competitive proposition and reducing risk
- Responsibilities: End-to-end consultancy with the business, IT and the vendor for new requirements and existing issues, Production support responsibilities, Provide guidance to the business on defining process and operational workarounds
- Achievements: In the short time that I have been in this role I have supported the preparation and the implementation of a major production release
- I have also been appointed as lead to the EVPS Project where I have line management responsibilities for 4 members of the team and I manage and supervise all new requirements
- I also have functional management responsibilities for remote teams in Poland and India - a total of 6 resources
BAM/IMAC UK Project Manager
HSBC LONDON - UK GLOBAL PAYMENT SYSTEM
06.2011 - 03.2012
- This project was aimed at producing a step change in the bank's ability to identify payment related system and process issues and manage any resulting business crisis
- The first phase was UK for which I was Business Project Manager for two Business Activity monitoring upgrade releases
- Responsibilities: End-to-end management of the system release from the agreement of the requirements and Release contents to the implementation of the release, Crisis Management Process Re-modelling - lead role in mapping processes for incident management and identifying opportunities for improvement, Organisation of Dry Runs to test the process
- Achievements: Delivered two upgrades to Business Activity Monitoring which introduced Data extraction functionality in the case of an Incident and better alerting of system and process issues
- Significant improvement to the structure and efficiency of the Operations Crisis Management processes
Issues Manager, UK High Value Migration
HSBC LONDON - UK GLOBAL PAYMENT SYSTEM
08.2011 - 11.2011
- Head of issues resolution within the dedicated 'control room' structure put in place to manage the migration of HSBC's UK payments from the legacy system to the Global Payment System based on Fundtech solution
- Responsibilities: Running the issues management team ensuring a 17hour support roster, Managed the resolution of issues reported to the helpdesk, assessing their priority and criticality, and routing them to the IT or Business Subject Matter Experts
- Achievements: Implemented improvements to the issue management tracking process by putting in place a log that tracked the defects that were being raised along with any workarounds that were put in place and how resource intensive they were and the level of risk associated with each manual process
GPS Project Manager
HSBC LONDON - UK GLOBAL PAYMENT SYSTEM
06.2009 - 08.2011
- My main responsibilities were to co-ordinate all in-country activity including the Release User Acceptance Testing for two major release with 12 EU countries and on-shore and off-shore testers
- During this time, I was also responsible for the delivery of SEPA AI - the advising solution framework for SEPA that the bank had embarked on implementing
- Responsibilities: Lead the testers and co-ordinate directly with IT in order to ensure a timely delivery of the fixes for errors encountered during testing, Define and agree action plans in order to ensure everyone was aware of the issues and what was required of them in order to resolve them, Represented EU countries in defect calls to ensure their defects got necessary priority, UK Operations, PCM to priorities defects and implement sustainable work arounds where required
- Achievements: Improved engagement with EU countries by introducing more structure, regular updates, involving them in project updates
- The successful implementation of the SEPA advising solution with no customer disruption
GPS Release Manager
HSBC LONDON - UK GLOBAL PAYMENT SYSTEM
12.2010 - 06.2011
- Release 6 was the first release following the migration of UK payments to Fundtech's GPP platform
- It's aim was to fix defects in order to improve STP rates, reduce risk and headcount
- The typical size of the release team was over 50 FTEs, with IT Project Manager, UAT Manager and Operational Readiness Manager functionally reporting into me during the releases
- Responsibilities: Responsible for end-to end management of all aspects of the release from requirements to IT and Fundtech code deliveries, testing to Implementation, Responsible for ensuring progress to plan and key deliverables are on target and within budget
- Management of any exceptions, Delivered weekly updates both written and verbal to all major stakeholders namely Operations, Product Management, Customer Groups, IT and Countries
- Achievements: Significant Improvement to Straight through Processing Rates for High Value processing leading to an STP rate of 98% post-implementation
- Eradication of manual workarounds and reduction in associated head count and risk
- Release delivered successfully without customer disruption
Assistant Manager Projects
HSBC MALTA
03.2008 - 06.2009
- Global Payment System Releases in-country coordinator responsible for: Liaising both with Group IT and local IT to ensure coverage both for any changes required and support during projects
- Coordinating and actively participating in ensuring that we were operationally ready for each release by working closely with Operations, PCM and the local e-channels team to ensure we had updated procedures and staff trained as demanded by the Release changes
- Subject matter expert on SEPA related matters
- Leading a team of 2FTE who were responsible for supporting and testing any local initiatives related to cards and payments
Projects Support Officer
HSBC MALTA
09.2006 - 03.2008
- Moved to the business where I held a support function for the business by being first line of support for business queries and the extraction of Management Information as required
- Achievements during this period where the successful implementation and upgrade of the bank's ATM system and the rollout of SEPA including the first Global Pay Plus Release
IT Projects/Support Officer
HSBC MALTA
03.1995 - 09.2006
- During this time, I was a programmer on various Bank Main Frame and Back Office Systems
- Main duties included the analysis of new requirements by users, problem solving and investigation of day-to-day issues, first line of support to help-desk by investigating issues and ensuring resolution within set SLAs
- Supported the bank on a 24/7 basis as part of a pool of people who were on call on a roster basis
- Participated in various major system implementations and held leading roles in smaller scale projects
Education
Bachelor of humanities - English, communications studies
University of Malta
10.2021 - Current
Diploma in IT -
University of Malta
Imsida, MaltaDiploma in Holistic Massage - Holistic Massage Therapy
ITEC
Paola, MaltaCertificate in Teaching English To Adults - CELTA
University of Cambridge ESOL
IELS -Sliema02-2025
Skills
- Problem solving
- Analytical skills
- Clear communication
- Concise communication
- Negotiating skills
- Stakeholder management
- Leadership skills
- Relationship building
- Self motivation
- Interpersonal skills
Accomplishments
- Successfully transitioned into English language teaching, earning CELTA and a Bachelor of Humanities.
- 23-year career in banking and technology, with 14 years in Malta and 9 years in London.
- Founded and managed a wellness business, creating marketing campaigns, social media content, and client outreach from scratch.
Interests
Reading
Hiking
Photography
Timeline
English as a Foreign Language Teacher
AM Language School
04.2025 - Current
Bachelor of humanities - English, communications studies
University of Malta
10.2021 - Current
Senior Product Delivery Owner
GO PLC
07.2019 - 01.2021
Owner and Instructor
MamaBabyBliss (Malta)
05.2017 - 03.2019
BA Team Manager European Payments Software Delivery
HSBC LONDON - UK GLOBAL PAYMENT SYSTEM
04.2015 - 02.2018
Transverse BA European Payments Software Delivery
HSBC LONDON - UK GLOBAL PAYMENT SYSTEM
02.2013 - 04.2015
Issues Manager, UK High Value Migration
HSBC LONDON - UK GLOBAL PAYMENT SYSTEM
08.2011 - 11.2011
BAM/IMAC UK Project Manager
HSBC LONDON - UK GLOBAL PAYMENT SYSTEM
06.2011 - 03.2012
GPS Release Manager
HSBC LONDON - UK GLOBAL PAYMENT SYSTEM
12.2010 - 06.2011
GPS Project Manager
HSBC LONDON - UK GLOBAL PAYMENT SYSTEM
06.2009 - 08.2011
Assistant Manager Projects
HSBC MALTA
03.2008 - 06.2009
Projects Support Officer
HSBC MALTA
09.2006 - 03.2008
IT Projects/Support Officer
HSBC MALTA
03.1995 - 09.2006
Diploma in IT -
University of Malta
Diploma in Holistic Massage - Holistic Massage Therapy
ITEC
Certificate in Teaching English To Adults - CELTA
University of Cambridge ESOL
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