Working within the NW&C Region. Leading the Asset Protection Teams in NW and Central. Delivering commercial support on various ad hoc procurement activities. Working closely with C&P to deliver effective contracts that deliver for our stakeholders. Estimating, contract dispute resolution, tendering, ensuring scopes are pertinent to the sourcing activity, securing framework extensions, overseeing applications for payment. As the Senior Commercial Manager responsibility for the health and well being of my teams, mentoring and coaching my direct reports, motivating and supporting them to ensure we deliver whilst as individuals they have the opportunity to learn and to progress. Leading my teams through change to the best of my ability. My role is split between the Asset Protection team and supporting the Region with any commercial / contract questions, leading on contract concerns. Ensuring I am available to answer commercial questions and working closely with C&P to deliver a compliant procurement strategy.

Responsible for leading the Commercial Team, I was accountable for the commercial reporting and corporate governance guidance across the Northwest and Scotland region of NR Design Delivery, covering our Glasgow, Manchester, Crewe and Birmingham offices. Working to control and provide effective cost management across a portfolio of 300 projects with a combined value in the region of £20 million. Scoping and tendering for supply chain support as and when required. Working with project managers to achieve accurate periodic reporting and cost control of projects. A close collaborative approach has seen the number of F4 Reds and Ambers at period end drop drastically. I have promoted and pushed for more accurate reporting and better cost control. My approach has also improved our relationship with our clients by providing early warnings of any potential authority exceedances. Our region is now top in NRDD for achieving project delivery within +-5% of budget, 98%. I have worked to establish a user-friendly database that has the PMs and engineers buy in. The new tracker allows for easier extraction of project status updates. Initially developing this myself I have worked with my new ACM mentoring and training so that they now run this and have further developed it. Reaching out across NR provided the knowledge to automate the data downloads to update the information. This has both leaned the process considerably and increased the level of detail available. A traffic light system allows for a quick and easy high level project health check, whilst still holding the additional periodic more granular scrutiny with PMs and Engineers.

Pre and post contract commercial support to the delivery teams in accordance with the requirements of the Guide to Railway Investment Projects (GRIP). Evaluate and measure the works within the contracted scope; undertake periodic valuations of works in progress as required. Validate Interim Payment Applications values, negotiate and agree payments.Establish whether instructions are variations to contract and negotiate value.Assist in preparation of estimates for works. Input cost/quantity information into 3CM estimating systems and produce reports. Manage contractor’s day-to-day commercial issues.Prepare project budget and detailed estimates. Cost plan as necessary during development to meet financial targets. Prepare final accounts, including validation of contractor submissions by measurement and quantification. Assist in preparation of tender, pricing and contract documentation. Carry out cost analysis of tenders. Input data related to contracts into the company’s project management reporting system.

Project Managing timber frame construction of new build house

Researching alternate suppliers and providing business case reports for management review. Developing appropriate modelling parameters to cost business cases, cost benefit analysis of contract options. Preparations of tender documents from engineer’s scope prior to Contract & Procurement issue, project close outs including lessons learnt and updating of asset databases.Site walk outs with prospective contractors to ensure fair tendering, setting of tender weighted matrices, reviewing and scoring tender submissions, tender evaluation and report writing, key in encouraging noncompliant tenders to encourage alternate methods for delivery of project. Managing of Change Control process, costing and processing variations for sponsor review. Projects, I was involved in managing include signal structure, plain line and S&C renewals, construction of buildings and rail infrastructure renewals.Working with section managers and contractors to identify the cause of unit cost discrepancies, providing section managers with feedback on lessons learnt. Final accounting of suppliers at year end.Developed in partnership with resource planning department a proposal for the preferred Road Rail Vehicle contract retender terms, became the best practice proposal for the whole route. Participate in budget holder key meetings to support budget holders in understanding the commercial and financial processes, challenge standard practices for cost effectiveness and provide advice on contracts, suppliers and tendering.Monitoring and management of the multiple site maintenance contracts, developing schedules and scope for contract retenders. Liaising with other Network Rail project teams to continuously improve the processes behind data capturing to accurately monitor / report project costs and forecasts. Delivery Unit Corporate Governance advisor and ‘Super User’ providing advice and training within the delivery unit for all financial, commercial and procurement systems.

Owner of Troubeck Inn hotel, securing finance, VAT returns, recruiting and motivating a catering team buidling a sense of pride and individual ownership of their contribution to the successs of the of business.

Post Foot and Mouth the payments made to contractors in the earliest days of FMD outbreak were considered to be in excess of the contract terms. To check this we analysed the contracts through detailed computer modelling of the data from time sheets and invoices against contract terms and asset utilisation; this provided the evidence to secure retrospective credits. Later we worked under the direction of lawyers using the same modles to provide differing values to alternate contract interpretations. We prepared and collated the evidence required by the EU auditors in support of the UK claim from the EU.All new invoicing relating to FMD came to us for verification.

short term contract to audit and report on the service levels provided against contract on a contractor used at the Cumberland Infirmary

Taking over form the military in May 2001 I was responsible for the day to day tasking of vehicles. A system was in place to "bid" on a daily basis for render plant capacity, I had to learn this from scratch in 5 days, the aim being to only bid for the capacity that was required, but the bid had to be based on a forecast, which I prepared based on information within the Carlisle DCC gained by liaising closely with Vets and Field Officers, different events had the potential to vary the number of animals considerably thus local and epidemiological knowledge had to be combined to provide as accurate a forecast as possible in the limited time available. During this time Alex Atkinson was brought in as a transport contract specialist and together we worked on a new contract that provided a 30% saving without compromising response times or bio-security. As the outbreak was brought under control we assessed the appropriate response capability and reduced the size and cost of the vehicle fleet accordingly.Using computer modelling I compared subcontractors invoicing against contract terms requesting and securing credits / re-invoicing as required.