Business Analyst working on the Catapult's 'Living Lab', a user portal for the trial of greener and cheaper home energy systems.Views are my own.

Taking a Teacher Training PGCE in Computing

Head of IT with responsibility for Applications, infrastructure and Network for 300 shops.

Head of IT for £100-million pa Distribution & eCommerce company. Department consists of 40+ technical staff including Developers, Testers, Infrastructure and Desktop support technicians, Project management and Business Analysts.Employed to modernise ageing IT estate. Conceptualised IT strategy to support the business which included the following deliverables:-• Upgraded Network storage and server capacity to right-size them to meet current and future business requirements in a cost-effective manner. • Set up second site to have full DR capability, using Veeam and Site Recovery Manager, including procuring and installing new hardware (SANs, Blades, switches, ect), re-using old hardware to host dev sites and resulting in a reduction in 3rd party hosting costs• Initiated numerous best practice approaches e.g. server and firmware patching, security lockdowns, user self services, etc.• Initiated Server Room upgrades to replace substandard wiring and introduced Enterprise level, UPS supported, dual power feeds for greater resilience• Upgraded WAN network to more than double capacity with cost decrease.• Initiated W2003 - W2012 server upgrade programme• Moved hosted websites to AWS solution saving c.£100k p.a.• Moved hosting of MS Dynamics AX solution saving c.£150k p.a.• Initiated recruitment drive to restore department to full strength and increased under resourced areas such as C# Development, Project Management and Business Analysis• Delivered 57+ new eCommerce web sites• Managed Programme of improvements to IT Applications in accordance with business priorities including PCI & security enhancements and sustainability upgrades.• Initiated current strategy to redevelop all web sites to be device agnostic / Responsive (e.g. www.espares.co.uk, www.4ourhouse.co.uk )• Currently planning pilot roll-out of Virtual desktop based on Citrix XenDesktop and Xenapp solution.

Project Manager for one of the largest projects within Npower (c. £40m), replacing Npower’s Power & Gas Forecasting systems with a new Oracle UCCS based product.Successfully managed IT side of project end to end from Discovery & Design phase through to both Power and Gas Delivery phases, including Senior stakeholder management, business liaison, resource management, Project planning (using MS Project), Estimation, 3rd Party management, financial tracking and reporting of project budgets, RAID activities, and all other associated Project Management activities, including, where necessary, being technically hands on. Project Managed Infrastructure and Application Build & Test aspects, involving 30+ in-house IT staff in various teams across different operating companies and business areas using diverse technologies, including developers and Infrastructure resources, plus numerous on & off shore 3rd Party resources, including full Application Support Management of initial delivery phases through to delivery into BAU support.

Responsible for management of up to 200 permanent & Contract staff in Development Resource Pool across 6 sites, UK wide, who undertook the development and enhancement of 700+ applications across the Npower suite. Role required a broad understanding of all areas of IT development & support as well as understanding and developing the skill sets and capabilities of the staff, the ability to network and work with staff at all levels. Responsibilities included: - • Management of up to 200 resources within a matrix management environment, including Recruitment & Selection of Perm & Contract staff, Objective setting, Appraisal & setting of Personal Development plans, Coaching & Mentoring, talent management, management of appraisal process.• Re-organised staff into fresh teams, structured by location and technology. Technology teams included Oracle Database & Forms, SQL Server & C#, VB, C, Java, Business Objects, Cognos, Python, plus others.• Setting up and running of Apprenticeship scheme and running Graduate scheme including coordination of BCS Personal Development Scheme• Conceived and managed creation of ‘Skills Ladder’ tool used to identify training needs across all 5 Practices.• Resource allocation of resources to projects• Project Manager for the creation of an Agile delivery team• Creation of quality procedures including creation of Coding Standards and implementing Peer reviews• Driving the acquisition of new development tools and upgrading existing development tools to improve development efficiency and quality

Managing 150+ development staff who develop npower's Business Applications

Managing, Supporting & Developing all Law Society applications, databases & websites via speacialist teams & outsourced 3rd Parties.