Advising on and sourcing Commercial Finance solutions for SME businesses in the South West region, with access to a wide range of finance providers.

Assisting businesses in the supply chain of a large multi national company transition and seek funding to overcome initial challenges, diagnosing issues and helping them to refocus in preparation for new growth opportunities on behalf of Business Wales, which is the flagship business support programme for the Welsh Government.Helping new business entrepreneurs access Barriers To Start Up Grants and also funding via the British Business Bank Start Up Loan Scheme, working with them to develop robust business plans and cash flow forecasts in support of their applications.

Helping owners and Managing Directors of start-up and established businesses deliver their growth potential. o Diagnosing barriers, developing robust strategic plans and detailed business plans. o Coaching owners and directors and offering advice, guidance and support to help them develop their businesses sustainably and access appropriate finance facilities.o Delivering business planning master-classes to business owner network groups.

Delivering the High Value Manufacturing Advisory Programme (HVMAP) in Dorset, using a mix of face to face site visits and online tools, which supports established manufacturing SMEs across the South West to understand and develop their capability and capacity to improve and grow, with a particular focus on growth, productivity and competitiveness. Agreeing and overseeing grant funded projects along with hands on business advice and support, including brokerage to key stakeholders such as DIT and UK Export Finance and other specialist support.Met or exceeded all KPIs, including doubling of the job creation output and supported nearly 100 businesses. Significant stakeholder mapping exercise undertaken to highlight and prioritise the stakeholder landscape across the South West which helped colleagues understand the key stakeholders in their geographical patch and aided business simplification aspects and signposting to relevant services that could assist them further.Continuous improvement Six Sigma Yellow Belt training sessions delivered to Senior Management and Director team of 12 over 4 days in a £14 million turnover 50+ employee sustainable solutions company, with very positive feedback.Structured problem solving, lean principles, continuous improvement and building capable processes training delivered 3 times over 2 days each time to multiple businesses attending in different locations.Strategies for Manufacturing Success webinar delivered twice to numerous manufacturing business senior leaders attending and Lean Leadership training delivered online to several company teams.Carbon Footprint calculations and reporting undertaken with several manufacturing companies to help reduce their impact on the Environment and make sustainability improvements.

o Developing relationships with senior leaders of business membership and other organisations to maximise commercial opportunities in delivering business support which benefits SME and start-up businesses across Dorset, Hampshire and the south coast.o Overseeing bid writing activity and completing applications as part of senior management team.

Overall delivery and operational responsibility for Government (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) funded impartial business support one-stop shop to meet the needs of growth SME businesses across Dorset.o Managed stakeholders and partners to deliver business information, diagnostic and brokerage services and Inward Investment activities. o Line management, recruitment and skills development of a team of multi-disciplined and experienced account managers, advisors and specialists. o Led multi-discipline teams through change management; delivery and culture.o Managed business clusters development (Engineering and Manufacturing, Creative, Tourism and Hospitality sectors) and simplified the support service landscape.o Reported progress, project updates and achievement of key performance indicators (KPIs) locally to the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership via Service Level Agreement.o Exceeded all KPIs (achieved 111%) and achieved excellent customer feedback.o Liaised with senior leaders of complementary, and sometimes competing, support services.o Brokered solutions and negotiated and agreed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) arrangements to ensure cohesive and coherent delivery to end users.o Assisted business owners with bid and grant applications and assessed these. o Diagnosed barriers to business and suggested solutions.o Put Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in place.

o Led delivery of various business support projects, within budget and exceeding KPIs, including digital capability, website development and local broadband connection voucher scheme.o Advised business owners and senior leaders of start-ups and high growth businesses on their business and strategic planning.o Developed a robust understanding of employer skills and talent needs including Graduates and Apprentices. Arranged and delivered a successful Apprenticeship Employer Engagement event.

o Helped pre-start and start-up businesses in the early stages of their growth, advising and facilitating access to the necessary tools and expertise to assist with their growth plans.

o Mentored and assisted owners of new businesses to obtain Start-Up Loan finance via the British Business Bank, helping to develop their business plans and financial forecasts and also the loan application documentation.

Developed and sustained strong relationships with a diverse portfolio of predominantly growing small and medium enterprises with 30+ employees, working with the business owners and directors in capacity as a Business Link Advisor to diagnose, benchmark, challenge and address their needs.

o Relationship Management of SME businesses, using judgemental lending authority.o Managed branch service and sales for a portfolio of customers and businesses.o Managed Health & Safety, risk and operational integrity, including audits.o Line management; coached and developed staff and drove individual and branch performance.