Simon Close Email & Phone Number

Caerleon, Gb

Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom

Cardiff, United Kingdom

Newport, United Kingdom

I was responsible for supporting and analysing the capacity/project planning, monitoring the maintenance of operational information, as well as producing reporting information to identify potential problems, trends and deliverables for the next generation of Comtec product software. My responsibilities included creating and maintaining product release planning information and varied project management tasks for a range of Comtec products. For each release I worked with department senior managers and team leaders to create and analyse detailed schedules including resources and timescales. I then maintained and updated progress against these plans and schedules to identify and report when performance targets were being achieved. I collated project information from various sources to provide key performance indicators and operational performance reports, aligned and maintained information between project plans and time reporting systems to ensure accurate recording of project invoicing and utilisation. I regularly provided in house and ad-hoc support to various project teams when required through the maintenance of project information.During 2012 I was seconded to help introduce Resource Management into the company where I worked on creating an efficient and effective deployment of Comtec’s resources to help deliver our software projects and daily business needs. Whilst this was extremely challenging it did give me a very good insight to all levels of the business and helped to widen my communication and relationships with the teams. The Resource Management function is now a very important and integral part of the business.

Responsible for the completion of Incidents as part of the Maintenance Team for the Organisation Application Day to day use of the in-house technologies and tools to resolve the Incidents which include PL/SQL, XSLT/XML, Oracle Webforms, Websphere, TOAD, PVCS, Sharepoint. Development using PL/SQL, XML/XSLT, Oracle Webforms is carried out daily to resolve Incidents. Once developed, keep in close contact with the Quality Assurance testing team as the work is migrated through the test environments and eventually into the production system. Converse with Web Management, Lead Developers, contacts at Information Sources and the relevant business users of the Information Source BIP (Bulk Information) Applications.Select and complete Incidents on the basis of priority according to business need and skill. Control the progress of my own work in relation to Incidents.Communicate accurately on progress of work to interested parties which includes Business, Managers and Quality Assurance. Use my own PL/SQL scripts to run ad-hoc credit limit lists for the Business whenever needed.Day to day bug fixing and analysis of the 8 BIP Websphere Applications that provide buyer organisation data to Atradius. The data is stored as XML, an XSLT stylesheet is used to display the data to the user in Internet Explorer. Development and maintenance of the BIP stylesheets using XML/XSLT, this work is raised through Incidents by the Business. Investigation needed if any of the BIP Application links and scheduled daily jobs fail. This is resolved by checking the BIP Application logs and 10g Reports Database, liaising with the Information Source/Web Management and then carrying out the necessary fix. Liaise with Information Sources to provide the correct data for analysis and testing purposes in the test environments whenever needed.

Worked in ITS for the Project Support Office as a Project Co-ordinator where he was assigned to a number of large and small projects simultaneously. This role involved providing information and support from and to the project managers, project teams and management according to set procedures throughout the project life cycle. Needed to ensure that each project followed the governance and standards process and the necessary documentation was completed correctly and on time. Main duties included – • Developing and maintaining a detailed project schedule to ensure all deliverables are delivered on time. • Facilitating project meetings, preparing and completing any minutes/presentations that were needed. Ensure that all necessary issues raised at the meetings are followed up.• Working with the project managers to produce the project plan, maintain budget control and assign necessary resources. • Using organisational, planning and time management skills on a daily basis, especially when working on multiple projects at the same time. • Responsible for updating and tracking any project changes. • Ensure the completion and distribution of all project documentation and reporting was carried out on time. • Dealing with any project related queries and undertaking Project Office administration duties.

Responsible for approximately 500 UK and Ireland claims/recovery cases in the Claims/Recoveries Department. Needed to make decisions based on the amount of information available and liaise with buyers, customers, staff within Atradius and Insolvency Practitioners to ensure a successful recovery outcome for the customer.

Worked as a member of the dealing support team administering investments for customers.

Involved in a customer migration project, providing effective and efficient assistance to the project team leader and support to the business.

Worked in the Customer Programmes department responsible for an Access database to provide metrics data for weekly/monthly meetings.

Bsc (Honours) Degree, Information Technology

Btec National And First Diplomas, Information Technology