Graham Thorpe Email & Phone Number

Kirton, England, United Kingdom

Providing edutech & management consultancy, and other related (and some non related!) services.

- Product planning, taking into account business strategy, market forecasts, customer feedback and financial imperatives - Internal and external stakeholder engagement to define requirements and outcomes- Capacity and financial planning and prioritising development against company strategies and customer requirements- Working closely with development teams, adopting different development methodologies as required- Supporting sales opportunities – from presenting to prospects to bid writing and stakeholder engagement- Working with project managers to ensure procedures are in place for efficient reporting of on going progress and costs of projects- Aggregating information and presenting at executive board level- Addressing and managing and product and/or project issues, make informed, proactive decisions and carry them though- Programme management across a number of projects- UK Product/Project Management for the successful VLE element of the national 1Bestarinet project which saw FrogLearn made available across 10,000 schools in Malaysia.

Building Schools for the Future (BSF) was a major government initiative aimed at refurbishing or replacing ageing school estate (including buildings, services & equipment) across England. - Large bid management- Reading large tender documents, summarising and presenting key elements back to the team. Distilling down into relevant and consumable sections in preparation for different disciplines to respond-Leading the bid team responsible for the overall ICT solution on large tenders-Solutions Architect, working with ICT teams within Capita- Working with partners in other disciplines (Architects, M&E, FF&E), to ensure the ICT solution integrated with their solutions, delivered on the customer's requirements and was within budget- Implementation planning, ensuring the ICT solution could be delivered during the phasing of the construction elements, allowing schools to operate during build/refurbishment- Stakeholder management – presenting the solution and reacting appropriately to feedback from council officials, consultants, and the schools themselves- Ensuring the solution was cost-effective- Integrating the ICT costs into the complex BSF funding & payment framework- Contract negotiation- New product planning, innovating to meet new markets

- Working with key customers, both existing and potential, to define their requirements and explore how the Frog platform could meet them- Project manage the activities required to successfully deliver the outcomes- Intervene on projects that had not progressed to the satisfaction of the customer, and formulate an action plan to work towards successful resolution- Working with key external stakeholders and the Frog Projects and Design team to define and develop new products- Develop solutions using the Frog platforms- Document solutions and deliver training- Work with overseas customers, including providing documentation & training to users whose first language was not English- Manage the operation team (7 people)- Continually review and improve operational procedures- Capacity planning- Recruitment- Product and implementation consultancy

Nottingham, United Kingdom

- A sound understanding of ICT from enterprise level to end user and specific domain solutions- Excellent communications and client facing skills- The ability to analyse and adapt to the needs of each authority and school- The ability to work to extremely tight deadlines- The ability to work SMARTly, and under pressure- Excellent presentation skills – both in meetings and through the written word- The ability to research and define new solutions to meet authority and/or school needs.- The ability to work as part of a team, while working on my own initiative where expedient and necessary- While I was in the bid team, Ramesys won 3 BSF projects (Manchester City Council, Waltham Forest and Westminster), and we were shortlisted for 6 others that I contributed to – three of which they went on to win after I left.

- Review & improve the process relating to the ICT support and development in the college- Design, develop & implement a successful job request/help & support system, supported by feedback to staff on the College Intranet - Developing the ICT technical staff to engender much more of a team ethos, with more mutual support- Introducing supervisory meetings and reviews for ICT technical staff to further develop the support that I was able to give them as their manager- Improved confidence in the use of ICT for administrative purposes in the college through consolidating the systems and better supporting the users- Implement one of the first Learning Platforms to allow teachers to develop and deliver computer based teaching & learning, and centralise some administrative functions- Working closely with key members of the Senior Leadership Team to ensure that the development and support of the ICT provision would contribute to the increase in attainment of the students- Change management to support the above- Manage and maintain the day to day running of the college ICT & technical provision

Gainsborough

MCLC was a wholly grant funded adult learning centre based in the deprived uphill area of Gainsborough. It was instrumental in ‘Breaking Down Barriers to Learning’ for a variety of adults – offering relevant and meaningful activities backed up with the support needed to allow the learner to engage and progress. - Project Management- Involvement in Community Development- Writing bids for funding - Budgeting and working to budget- Performance and financial reporting related to grant funding- Partnership working with a variety of statutory & voluntary organisations- Managing employees- Supervisory/appraisal skills- Prioritising, delegating and setting targets- Strategic decision making- Evaluating performance- Report and evaluation writing- Defining and writing policies and procedures- Handling disciplinary issues- Job specifications, interviewing and employing staff- Working with the public- Dealing with complaints- Defining innovative projectsDeveloping and supporting ICT provision for Surestart’s officesDelivering ICT Training

Sleaford

Education record

Education record