Rachel Crane Email & Phone Number

United Kingdom

Blackpool, England, United Kingdom

Blackpool, England, United Kingdom

Preston

A member of the University's Senior Management Team, I led the Corporate Operations Service, a department of programme, project and change management, process improvement, business analysis, communications and risk management professionals, reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer and then Chief Finance Officer. I spearheaded a culture of change, growth, innovation, and continuous improvement. This involved redesigning professional services and academic departments, where I showcased expertise in developing, designing, and implementing improved target operating models.Throughout my tenure, I successfully led multiple cost reduction and cost improvement programmes, significantly enhancing efficiency and effectiveness across various operational domains. Moreover, I played a pivotal role in setting strategic direction, writing and delivering multiple strategies and executing prioritised strategic transformations, setting and achieving targets that aligned with the organisational long term strategy and objectives.

I was responsible for managing large scale change projects within the institution's 'Student First' Improvement Programme. Recognised as a high performing change specialist, with the ability to seamlessly deliver complex initiatives within challenging operational environments, I was appointed to deliver the largest project within the programme, and was later asked to support the management of the overall programme. I applied multiple methodologies including Lean, PRINCE2 and MSP and utilised my stakeholder engagement and management skills, verbal and written communication skills, and my problem solving abilities to successfully achieve the intended outcomes and benefits of the programme. I led a large transformational change project to restructure a number of professional services,with a focus on increased efficiency, enhanced customer service and greater value for money. As deputy to the Director of Corporate Operations I also led team meetings, allocated and monitored projects, and presented progress with the project portfolio within the corporate governance structures.

Uclan University, Preston

Prior to multiple restructures, the Strategic Development Service (SDS) was the key delivery unit for strategy development, improvement and change at the university. A member of the leadership team, I was responsible for the co-ordination and management of the institution's corporate planning, performance and risk activity.In addition to managing, appraising and giving direction to the Corporate Planning Team, I led the university's risk management process, oversaw its performance against key performance indicators and prepared corporate documents, submissions and bids for THELMA awards.

Bolton, United Kingdom

I led the fourth largest M&S food hall in the North West, with responsibility for leading the team on the journey to improve the sales and business KPI's. I developed and implemented a service strategy with the aim of achieving 100% customer satisfaction and loyalty, whilst also improving our operational efficiency. During the strategic planning process I took into consideration a number of critical factors associated with the business to ensure the strategy was achievable as well as challenging. These included: - Market conditions that impact growth and service demand- The state of the organisation, performance gaps and areas for improvement- Service level targets necessary to meet customer satisfaction goals- Resource requirements to meet projected service demand- Staff training and development initiatives- A review of the Service offering portfolio- Service tools and systems to enhance efficiency and productivity.I also helped lead a cultural change programme which involved the introduction of 'YPP' (your people planning) systems. This altered the way in which the time of employees was managed and required a large amount of process re-engineering work. We removed one layer of the administrative structure, consolidating areas of expertise into a new, integrated service model and redesigning business processes to meet the needs of our staff and customers.

Bury The Rock

As General Merchandise (GM) Commercial Manager, I was responsible for the management of sales across six business units with a large annual turnover. I led a team of 6 section managers and 300 customer assistants keeping a strong focus on KPI's, customer service, and sales. I successfully launched a new initiative, 'Customer Ready GM' which involved a large cultural change programme, new operational processes and procedures, and a huge investment in people and IT solutions. I liaised with internal and external stakeholders to ensure deadlines were met and I consistently communicated and engaged with my teams, completing training sessions for all employees on the new processes and procedures.

Manchester, United Kingdom

I competed against more than 11,000 candidates to achieve a position on the prestigious Marks and Spencer graduate scheme. I was responsible for developing various business competencies during the scheme including; communicating and influencing, business leadership, setting direction, commercial acumen, people and resource management, managing ambiguity, decision making and change management. During my training I gained commercial management experience in two of the largest stores in the North West region and proved my ability to increase sales, manage KPI's and people.

Master Of Science (Msc), Management, Merit

Ba(Hons) English Language And Sociolinguistics, 2:1