About Billson'sBillson’s is a brewery and distillery based in Beechworth, in North-East Victoria. It’s one ofAustralia’s oldest breweries, having been making beverages since 1865.In 2017 the company was bought out by the current owners who instigated a revival, increasingproduction of the then small range of cordials, and restoring a range of beers and spirits(primarily Gin). Since then they have also expanded their range to include vodka premixes &sodas, with further plans for more artisanal Gins, Rum, Whisky and Tonic Waters.The brewery now houses a large retail outlet, two bars & a commercial kitchen.In 2020 they opened a retail outlet on the site of a converted church in Windsor, Melbourne andI successfully applied for the role of manager.ResponsibilitiesInstalling & maintaining POS system & stock control systems from start-upManaging stock control & orderingRecruitment of temporary staff when requiredImplementation & adhering to all Health & safety at work, RSA & liquor licence rulingsPromoting the Billson’s brand, products, business, the “Billson’s experience” and the VictorianHigh Country as a whole to all visitors to the store via tasting & information sessions.Providing a first point-of-contact for wholesale customers & potential clients, as well as anyother interested parties.

Corum is a leading supplier of Dispensing and Point of Sale software to Pharmacies, with over 1000 customers across Australia.Responsibilities Involved in the QA Life Cycle, then implementation, of major updates and upgrades to Corum’s range of products, including their primary point of sale program, their two dispensary software programs, their warehousing & distribution head office program & handheld RF stock control units.Experience of using Agile methodology, SQL Server, and a variety of testing platforms including VSTS, TFS & Test Track.Testing and implementation, to the standards laid out by the Department of Health and Human Services & Medicare Australia, of all government-required changes to pharmacy software, which have recently including ePrescribing, eScript Dispensing, PBS Online and My Health Record, as well as changes made to allow pharmacists to dispense emergency prescriptions during the Covid-19 pandemic.Ensuring each release is tested on a variety of suitable databases as completely as possible within time and budgetary constraints, and allowing for any necessary rework.Preparing, then writing all relevant documentation for both the Support team’s & customers’ use.Liaising with pilot sites to gauge feedback and react accordingly to any incidents and enhancement requests.AchievementsResponsible for the testing then subsequent roll-out of each upgrade to over 1500 customers well within each project’s allocated time frame.Promoted to a QA role within 6 weeks of joining the company as a Support Analyst.

TK Maxx is the European branch of the US ‘Off-Price’ department store chain TJX (now also in Australia) who also own the American retail company TJ Maxx. Since opening their first UK store in 1994 they now have over 200 stores throughout EuropeResponsibilities Managing third parties and contractors to ensure successful installation of all IT hardware & software in new store developments and refits across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, at a rate of approx 25 new sites and 10 refits per year.Liaising with telecom suppliers, satellite dish installation contractors, and local Council representatives to ensure that communications between sites and Home Office facilities in both the UK and USA were installed within a strict timeframe.Implementing upgrades to all stores’ IT systems to a predetermined timescale & budget.Documenting all project methodology and stakeholder reports to required, Sarbanes-Oxley standards.AchievementsInstigated a program of software validation and piloting for all newly released applications, where previously every change had been released untested onto the entire estate.Responsible for successfully managing the implementation and installation of Chip & Pin EFTPOS hardware and software across the entire company, 2 months in advance of the UK Government deadline for all retailers’ compliance.Became the specialist IT Project Manager for all stores in the Republic of Ireland

Responsibilities Liaising with Development & Implementation teams to ensure that technical functionality was understood, then preparing and delivering comprehensive technical training for new and upgraded systems as part of a formal rollout plan.Establishing training needs analysis for individual members of Store, District & Regional Management teams, as well as Loss Prevention teams and 3rd party suppliers when required.AchievementsAssisted in the introduction and founding of the Technical Training Dept via a series of presentations to all senior managers of each dept, including company directors.

Responsibilities Provided field-based technical support, within a designated geographical region, for all IT systems outside the scope or capability of the Helpdesk.Liaising with the IT Development team to rollout new hardware and software, and upgrades to existing systems.Maintaining a supporting presence at new store openings to oversee the opening day’s trading, and supplying assistance with technical support if required.AchievementsPersonally oversaw the successful networking of every UK store’s payroll server and subsequent upgrade to the company’s entire payroll system from a postal based floppy disk system to a streamlined, more effective networked system.Oversaw the upgrade of the entire company’s mark-down equipment to RF based technology.

About The Time GroupThe Time Group was one of the largest manufacturers & retailers of computers in the UK with over 300 stores across 2 separate brands: Time Computers and Time Talk Mobile Phones.Responsibilities Supplying POS and Systems training to over 250 staff in 45 stores throughout a designated geographical region, & across both brands of Time’s retail business.AchievementsSuccessfully produced then presented a proposal for a comprehensive course of POS & Lotus Notes training to the Time Group board of Directors, including the Company’s owners.Assembled, then managed, a team of 12 staff seconded from Time Talk stores to successfully train every Time Talk employee (approximately 2000 staff members) within a 3 month period.Co-ordinated and conducted all presentations at the Time Computers Managers Conference.

About PCMS Ltd.PCMS Ltd is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of POS applications, their Vision21 software is used by a wide range of international clients including Co-op Supermarkets (CWS), World Duty Free Retail (WDF), Alpha Retail Duty Free, & The Body Shop. ResponsibilitiesValidating then installing Vision 21 retail software and hardware for CWS & WDF.Preparing and delivering training packages for PCMS Vision 21 Retail system.Providing 3rd line support to the helpdesk, and implementing support & upgrade packages.Writing documentation for clients during the development & implementation of upgrades.AchievementsDesigned a Y2K-compliance functional specification and testing program for Alpha Retail, then conducted all testing within a 2 week time frame.

About AAHAAH is a UK based subsidiary of the German Pharmaceutical company Celesio, and owners of Lloydspharmacy, the largest community pharmacy chain in the UK with over 1600 branches.Responsibilities Installing and programming Patient Medication Records (PMR) and POS systems into Lloydspharmacy stores throughout the UK during a 6 month rollout program.Providing full training & support for pharmacists and store staff following the implementation of both systems.Repairing any hardware and software faults that may arise during or after implementation.AchievementsAlthough originally employed for a short term 3 month contract I was kept on for a further 6 months as my work was adjudged to be amongst the best of the implementation team.

Responsibilities Maximising sales opportunities without compromising payroll and stock-holding budgets.Ensuring safe and effective working area as outlined by the UK’s Health & Safety at Work instructions.Store security and stock control.Recruitment, training and development of all employees within Our Price structure up to management level.Management of finances and payroll in line with strict budgets.AchievementsSuccessfully turned one of the worst performing stores in the English Midlands into one of the company’s top 20 most profitable stores within 3 months of becoming manager.

About Our PriceOur Price was a UK-based chain of music stores that numbered over 200 stores.During my time with the company it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Virgin Retail.Responsibilities Training shop staff and management in use of Epos-Linked Virgin Information System (ELVIS).Continued development of staff and management with regular appraisals & training sessions.AchievementsSeconded to the newly created IT Dept after the successful pilot of the ELVIS software in my store.