Principal Consultant

• Sep 2020 - Present

Engaging in assignments with UK Government and MOD clients to understand their business objectives and requirements, diagnose problems within the company, and develop compelling, data-driven recommendations and fit-for-purpose solutions. • Engaged to rescue a ‘project in exception’ and realign the delivery plan for MOD logistics management. • Provided independent assessment and implementation options for a Department of Transport policy change to remove free under 18-year-old concessionary travel across the City of London. • Providing business change services and support to clients focused on Net Zero Carbon / Sustainability initiatives. Show less

Business/IT Change Programme Management

• Apr 2014 - Sep 2020

As an IT/Change Programme Manager, I build strong relationships with client company leaders to become a trusted advisor to company business and IT leadership teams, providing strategic change and communication support with the goal of helping the organisation achieve its objectives and meet their complex business needs, organisation-wide impacts, and scope. Between October 2018 and October 2019, I served as a Programme Manager for Standard Life Aberdeen PLC providing leadership and change management expertise to facilitate the formation of new business systems and services for the new stand-alone business formed from the acquisition of 7 independent businesses – ‘1825 Financial Planning’. I partnered with a new 3rd party outsourced service management partner on a migration plan to transition the acquired companies from the existing regional suppliers to the new centralised model. I also led the development of the new cloud-based HR management system performed by the 3rd party contractor as well as data migration and training for staff in the newly acquired companies. Prior to this project, I was involved in the Financial Governance Project Management for William Grant & Sons (August 2017 – September 2018). I reviewed current working practices across core finance business systems and warehousing/stock management system to identify opportunities for security access and master data management advancement. In the course of this project, I devised an improved operational procedural framework that was approved by Group Finance and IT directors. I also delivered more robust governance and authorisation of changes to the Financial Chart of Accounts components and structure by integrating the first phase of the new procedure. I also supported the Business Transformation Programme at Student Loans Company Ltd and Post-Merger Systems Support Review at Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Show less

Head of Corporate Planning / Business Transformation

• Apr 2011 - Apr 2014

I established and coordinated all activities and operations of a new Corporate Planning and Business Transformation Department to prepare the organisation for the anticipated budget reductions from the Government austerity programmes. As a Senior Member of the Corporate Services Directorate and Corporate Risk Committee, I co-managed corporate governance including budgetary control, audit, and government framework compliance. I developed and executed a 5-year strategic plan and implemented a new procedure to align corporate planning and budget management processes. Among my core accomplishments, I can list the development and integration of organisation’s first KPI reporting model that enhanced organisational governance and secured £6.3m over 3 years.Business Change Programme Highlights• Initiated and led the project to identify excessive expenditure areas within the marketing’s sales promotion activities that resulted in £405k of potential savings out of a £900k sales promotion yearly budget and a new budget distribution process• Managed a project to streamline an inefficient internal marketing business process which was realised by mapping existing and future state business processes and launching an IT solution to facilitate standardised business workflow process (built on SharePoint)• Rescued a failing project to deliver EPOS software across 87 stores by building an effective project team, establishing steering group with all functional areas, defining processes, and overseeing system configuration, testing, and phased roll-out which allowed delivering the system within strict timeframes and saving £350k p.a. Show less

Head of IT / Business Change

• Oct 2004 - Mar 2011

In the role of Head of IT/Business Change, I acted as a subject matter expert in IT governance and business transformation as well as a key driver for business change projects in the post-merger organisation. I developed and delivered the IT standardisation strategy in alignment with the overall organisational strategy and managed the implementation of a network solution that connected all 125 offices. I also led and provided strategic direction to Infrastructure Manager, Business Development Manager, and Service Delivery Manager.Key IT Transformation Projects• Led the implementation of ERP business systems and business process architecture based around Microsoft Business systems to support the evolving organisation:o Integrated Finance, HR/Payroll, Management Information (MI) reporting suite, and automated HR workflows for Corporate Serviceso Integrated stakeholder CRM and Billing, Retail Stock Management (EPOS), Digital Content Management, and MI for national and international marketing CRM• Introduced internal data centre hosting and service desk facilities with a technical support team of 25 staff that enabled an increase in IT service efficiency and customer satisfaction from <50% to 84% while capturing £700k p.a. in operational budget savings• Led the design and deployment of a new corporate intranet SharePoint following the merger of 15 organisations that enhanced collaboration between offices, created corporate data repository, and automated HR processes Show less

Programme Manager

• Aug 2000 - Sep 2004

I served as a Consultant and Programme Manager for public and financial services clients helping them identify and innovate the elements that work best in their environment and the areas for improvement. I utilised expert-level change management, organisation development, training, and communications expertise to ensure successful adoption of enterprise-wide technology solutions and execution of business strategies. Business Projects Highlights • Provided PMO service for BskyB PLC to secure Capability Maturity Model (CMM) Level 2 Accreditation and facilitated the acquisition of 7m digital service customers due to enhanced business development strategy • Served as a Programme Manager at Bright Grey handling the implementation of infrastructure disaster recovery to ensure business continuity as well as contributed to improving service delivery • Supported Alba Life as a Programme/Project Manager in the development of 3 trier architectural solution to protect legacy mainframe system and introduce a new call centre; as a result of this initiative the first call resolution rates reached >80% and 12 back-offices reduced FTE costs dramatically Show less

Senior Project Manager

• Jan 1997 - Jul 2000

Mechanical Engineering Project Manager

• Feb 1989 - Dec 1996

Engineering Designer

• Nov 1986 - Feb 1989

Jig and Tool Designer

• Aug 1977 - May 1982