Ruth Whitehead Email & Phone Number

Newbury

London, United Kingdom

Penistone

Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Morley, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Uk

Hillsborough, Sheffield

Responsible for the establishment of the Business Change team and implementation of this core IT service across the various operating companies that make up SIG UK at Board level, working with key stakeholders to understand business strategy and translate to IT service strategy and project priorities.Responsibilities:• Working with Board executives defining business strategy to elicit and document high level requirements and bring this into IT services to align IT strategy, projects and initiatives to fulfil those requirements• Working with the wider business on business acquisition and site relocation projects across the UK, defining business requirements which IT Services will then deliver• Responsibility for organisation and facilitation of the IT Steering Committee through which the business make decisions on project priorities• Preparing Project Initiation documentation against which prioritisation decisions can be based• Monthly reporting to the various operating company’s Board members and attendance at Board and management team meetings• Management of the Business Change Team• Responsibility for the IT portfolio of projectsAchievements:• Establishment of the Business Change team, including recruitment and development of staff• Establishment of processes to aide delivery of business requirements• Establishment of a more integrated process (including various central teams – H&S, HR, Business Development, Finance) for dealing with business acquisitions and site relocation projects• Implementation of the IT Steering Committee, meeting bi-monthly to prioritise business projects • Creation of the Business Change strategy aligned to both the business and IT Strategy

Sheffield, United Kingdom

Responsible for the establishment and recruitment of the Project Management team and implementation of this IT service across the various operating companies that make up SIG UK. Responsible for the formation of the IT Portfolio and management and control of that portfolio. During this period I also provided support to the department whilst there was no IT Director in post. Responsibilities:• Management of the Project Management Team, developing staff and aligning resources to prioritised projects, including external Contractors. On-going review of the workload of the PM Office prioritising work based on business need, legislative demands on the business, benefits and savings. Providing support and guidance to the team in understanding the SIG business and its needs, the framework to which SIG IT work and establishing a reporting mechanism to demonstrate to Board the progress of all in-flight projects, aligned to budgetary requests• Programme Management of the entire SIG IT portfolio of projects• Provision of Project KPIs to the business and IT Senior Leadership Team• Definition and implementation of a project methodology and framework by which all projects will be delivered and governed (there was previously no project management team within SIG UK IT Services)• Development of a suite of standard templates to facilitate delivery of project to the agreed standard• Ensuring projects and programmes are executed using the agreed framework and any outputs are to standard in order to ensure quality delivery• Monitoring project expenditure• Lead the RFP process• Understanding and scheduling resource availability across the department.• Research and writing of base cases for IT developments and requirements within the businessAchievements:• Establishment of the Project Management Team• Establishment and implementation of the Project Management framework• Bringing control to the department in management of its projects and resources

Sheffield, United Kingdom

Responsible for the planning and delivery of various IT software, infrastructure and relocation projects.Responsibilities:• Preparation of Project Initiation documentation• Responsibility for costing, estimating and planning projects• Production of weekly and monthly project update reports, including KPIs and budgets as well as preparation of status reports that will be communicated to key project stakeholders• Identification, costing and processing any contract variations• Updating project plans to include approved changes and tracking activity against plans• Organising and facilitation of project Steering Committees and other project meetings• Working with project teams to understand and mitigate risks and issues and escalating issues and risks of concern• Full lifecycle IT Project Management, broadly Prince 2 methodology across a number of IT and business projects• Management of the Energy Management IT Team via secondment, whilst maintaining my substantive post, analysing and understanding the requirements of the business and the responsibilities and duties of the IT team. My work resulted in the reduction of the team by two posts (IT Manager & Developer) and the centralisation of the team, aligning skills to new roles within the IT Testing, Service Desk & PMO functions. Promotion of 4 staff.• Assumed responsibility for the definition, delivery and continuous improvement of all IT Services required by the business• Planning and delivery of IT solutions aligned to the UK IT Director’s strategy• Deputising for the IT Director on various issues where appropriate

International market leader of software applications and business process servicesResponsibilitiesHome based IT business management consultancy and analysis work for Civica, across the UK, with the APP product. Contribution to the development and implementation of the functionality of the APP system, identifying potential growth areas, interpreting and monitoring new legislation and professional guidance (which work includes the writing of specifications, analysis of requirements, QC work, Project management of software implementation within Local Government & Housing Associations, multiple concurrent projectsSupporting customers through advising on UAT, specification/mapping of data conversions, writing user documentationWorking with customers to develop more efficient business processes, based on cost/benefit, requirements analysis and Return on Investment modelsManagement of own workload and responsibility for own key result areasSubject matter and functional area expert within Waste Management, Anti Social Behaviour and some Licensing issuesAchievementsSuccessful project management of a number of concurrent, complex implementation projects across various authorities and various disciplines, planning and execution of system implementation, data migration and integration to a successful Go Live in line with Prince 2 methodologyEffective redefinition of business processes to gain efficiency savings through the introduction of technologyExtensive range of software development specifications written & implemented and which achieved customer growthProven multiple Return on Investment achievementsPositive and effective relationship developments with user sites specifically requesting my input on implementation projectsAdding extensive value to our existing product and potential customer base

Local Government provider, specifically working within Regulatory Services (Environmental Health, Trading Standards, Private Sector Housing, Waste Management, Street Scene services and Licensing)ResponsibilitiesManagement of the department's Service and Strategic Planning process, development and review of Service Plans and Departmental longer term strategiesManagement of the Best Value Review project Direct management of twelve staff, including personal development and organisation of work loads across the teamAlthough not initially a formally recognised element of my role, I developed and managed the FLARE (APP) system, rolling out its use across the service as well as developing a training program for existing and newly recruited staff I was responsible for the delivery of reports in line with my Service Development remit to Elected Members, as well as the development and presentation of business cases for growth within the serviceAchievementsMulti level consultation, facilitation and development of clear plans for delivery of short and long term strategyDevelopment of core Performance report set for the businessSuccessful integration of services, with streamlined business processes, development of new structure and merging of teamsDevelopment of a number of successful business cases for service development Development and management of the administration teamDevelopment of training and development plans

included managing Clerical staff, monitoring of the Community Care budget within my area, development of the community care administrative and management information systems, development of the SSIS database and training of departmental staff.

Providing support to elected Members, organising and administering Council meetings, managing the small office, monitoring and controlling Council expenditure and acting as Personal Assistant to Chief Officer

Post Graduate Diploma, Strategic Management, Change Management

Education record