Neil Lawrence
Product Owner at Placecube- Claim this Profile
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Topline Score
Bio
Laura Griffiths
Neil's passion and motivation to tackle messy or complex problems is enthralling. His ability to take others on a journey of change, developing their skills including how to apply Agile techniques while making web development interesting is a rare gift indeed. His personable approach, ability to communicate clearly, integrity and professionalism at all times makes his an absolute pleasure to work with. I would have no hesitation in recommending Neil or working with him again in the future.
Martin Cazey
Neil is one of those managers that is a joy to work for. I worked for him as a paternity leave cover for three months and would have loved for our collaboration to have lasted longer. His enthusiasm for all things digital is without bounds and this can be seen in the blog he writes as a record of his team's achievements, and his very active participation and lead in discussions online with councils around the country where his opinion is often sought by his peers. His blog shows his leadership skills as he is always quick to praise his team's contributions instead of taking the credit himself. Neil has a clear idea of how he wants Oxford City Council's digital presence to continue to grow and improve.. A not insignificant challenge considering the funding cuts hitting councils around the UK. But thinking smarter and making continuous small improvements is what Neil does best.
Laura Griffiths
Neil's passion and motivation to tackle messy or complex problems is enthralling. His ability to take others on a journey of change, developing their skills including how to apply Agile techniques while making web development interesting is a rare gift indeed. His personable approach, ability to communicate clearly, integrity and professionalism at all times makes his an absolute pleasure to work with. I would have no hesitation in recommending Neil or working with him again in the future.
Martin Cazey
Neil is one of those managers that is a joy to work for. I worked for him as a paternity leave cover for three months and would have loved for our collaboration to have lasted longer. His enthusiasm for all things digital is without bounds and this can be seen in the blog he writes as a record of his team's achievements, and his very active participation and lead in discussions online with councils around the country where his opinion is often sought by his peers. His blog shows his leadership skills as he is always quick to praise his team's contributions instead of taking the credit himself. Neil has a clear idea of how he wants Oxford City Council's digital presence to continue to grow and improve.. A not insignificant challenge considering the funding cuts hitting councils around the UK. But thinking smarter and making continuous small improvements is what Neil does best.
Laura Griffiths
Neil's passion and motivation to tackle messy or complex problems is enthralling. His ability to take others on a journey of change, developing their skills including how to apply Agile techniques while making web development interesting is a rare gift indeed. His personable approach, ability to communicate clearly, integrity and professionalism at all times makes his an absolute pleasure to work with. I would have no hesitation in recommending Neil or working with him again in the future.
Martin Cazey
Neil is one of those managers that is a joy to work for. I worked for him as a paternity leave cover for three months and would have loved for our collaboration to have lasted longer. His enthusiasm for all things digital is without bounds and this can be seen in the blog he writes as a record of his team's achievements, and his very active participation and lead in discussions online with councils around the country where his opinion is often sought by his peers. His blog shows his leadership skills as he is always quick to praise his team's contributions instead of taking the credit himself. Neil has a clear idea of how he wants Oxford City Council's digital presence to continue to grow and improve.. A not insignificant challenge considering the funding cuts hitting councils around the UK. But thinking smarter and making continuous small improvements is what Neil does best.
Laura Griffiths
Neil's passion and motivation to tackle messy or complex problems is enthralling. His ability to take others on a journey of change, developing their skills including how to apply Agile techniques while making web development interesting is a rare gift indeed. His personable approach, ability to communicate clearly, integrity and professionalism at all times makes his an absolute pleasure to work with. I would have no hesitation in recommending Neil or working with him again in the future.
Martin Cazey
Neil is one of those managers that is a joy to work for. I worked for him as a paternity leave cover for three months and would have loved for our collaboration to have lasted longer. His enthusiasm for all things digital is without bounds and this can be seen in the blog he writes as a record of his team's achievements, and his very active participation and lead in discussions online with councils around the country where his opinion is often sought by his peers. His blog shows his leadership skills as he is always quick to praise his team's contributions instead of taking the credit himself. Neil has a clear idea of how he wants Oxford City Council's digital presence to continue to grow and improve.. A not insignificant challenge considering the funding cuts hitting councils around the UK. But thinking smarter and making continuous small improvements is what Neil does best.
Credentials
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AgilePM® (2014) Practitioner
APMG InternationalNov, 2016- Nov, 2024 -
ITIL® Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management
-Feb, 2016- Nov, 2024 -
Postgraduate Certificate in Shared Services
Canterbury Christ Church UniversityOct, 2011- Nov, 2024
Experience
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Placecube
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United Kingdom
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IT Services and IT Consulting
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1 - 100 Employee
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Product Owner
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Sep 2022 - Present
Working as a member of the Product Team helping to develop products for governments, businesses and the communities they serve. Working as a member of the Product Team helping to develop products for governments, businesses and the communities they serve.
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Dorset Council UK
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United Kingdom
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Government Administration
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400 - 500 Employee
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Web Manager
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Oct 2020 - Sep 2022
Product Owner, responsible for the ongoing development and improvement of the website and user experience of digital services. Managed a team of content designers within the wider Digital team. Oversaw the migration of the main website from Contensis to Liferay, preserving all design features and functionality, and also the creation of two new microsites on the platform Developed a council-wide approach to the architecture and strategy for community directories Introduced an agile workflow for content design using M365 functionality, moving the content design team away from section-based ownership Rationalised microsites within the council and developed an approach to their ongoing governance Introduced a website design governance group, running on Sociocracy principles
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Oxford City Council
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United Kingdom
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Government Administration
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500 - 600 Employee
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Programme Manager - Transformation (secondment)
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Dec 2019 - Oct 2020
Supporting the Head of Transformation to drive delivery of the New Ways of Working transformation programme by leading on a range of projects and programmes.Enabling and supporting project teams to deliver on savings proposals and build experience and skills within the organisation.Bringing practices up to date to ensure the organisation is flexible and responsive to changeActing as a conduit between project teams and enabling services to ensure timely delivery of projects.With team colleagues, designing and delivering a 5-week programme of courses and activities to promote New Ways of WorkingLeading on data analysis and insight for the council's COVID-19 community support actions and outcomes
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Digital Transformation Manager
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Feb 2018 - Dec 2019
Managed an expanded Digital team following a restructure in ICT Achieved consistent national top 10 performance (Govmetric benchmarking) for website satisfaction, and grew proportion of online transactions a further 6%Achieved a top decile performance for web accessibility (2020 Q2 Sitemorse)Developed a new intranet using GovIntranet and a full content rewrite in 3 months, saving £6,000 per annum and developed entirely in-house.Led an MHCLG-funded discovery project with 11 other councils; "Learn how to help customers avoid calling councils unnecessarily through the use of chatbots and AI". Involved training all councils in user research techniques, researching across 4 services areas (Revs & Bens, Highways, Waste and Planning)Partnered with 3 other councils for an MHCLG-funded discovery project into how to encourage code sharing between councils through a common Drupal website platform
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Digital Development Manager
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Nov 2015 - Jan 2018
Managed the design, development and maintenance of the Council’s digital-based systems and resources including the website, intranet and its mobile app.Championed, delivered and continually developed its use of digital technology and online presence to support corporate priorities, positioning it as a beacon of good practice for local government digital designDeveloped and delivered a Digital Strategy focusing on five key guiding principles: inclusion; supporting business growth; customer in control; Digital by Default; collaborationDrove channel shift and self-service based on customer-focused digital solutions to increase efficiency and improve customer serviceLocalGov Digital South Peer Group lead and Steering Group member
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Performance Improvement Manager
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Aug 2011 - Oct 2015
Working with Heads of Service and Operational Managers to embed and implement the Council’s Performance Improvement Framework and develop a performance improvement culture that is embraced throughout the organisation. Driving continuous service improvement within designated area of responsibility, challenging existing practice and actively seeking ways of achieving greater outcomes and leaner delivery Benchmarking across all relevant sectors to compare value for money, performance management and customer service in order to drive performance improvement Challenging service plan targets to enable identification and adoption of creative approaches to meeting and exceeding performance targets through a variety of mechanisms. Leading and owning the performance reporting framework, including preparation and presentation of reports to senior management and members. Overseeing the development and exploitation of the Council’s corporate performance system to streamline and automate the reporting of results and ensure they are easily accessible and can be understood by officers at all levels, customers and members. Personally facilitating and leading service reviews to evaluate whether a service is being provided in the most cost effective manner and thereby enable the Council to demonstrate it is providing value for money. Project managing the redevelopment of the Council's intranet using Drupal open source software, and managing the ongoing development and maintenance of the site, working with internal stakeholders to identify development priorities. From November 2015, project managing the redevelopment of the Council's website.
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Cherwell District Council
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United Kingdom
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Government Administration
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200 - 300 Employee
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Improvement Project Manager
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Sep 2007 - Aug 2011
Led on the development, delivery and programme management of the council’s Corporate Improvement Programme. Acted as a member of the council’s Extended Management Team to develop the strategic direction of the council in line with its strategic priorities and promote a culture of continuous improvement across all its services. Led on the delivery of the council’s value for money programme, identifying savings of £3.7m over 3 years. Developed a bespoke financial benchmarking tool for the council to analyse its high spend and target priorities for improvement. Project managed a £680,000 scheme to create a walk-in health centre and dental surgery in Banbury from a redundant office building, including design, procurement and on-site delivery stages. Worked in partnership with NHS Oxfordshire. Project manager for improvement projects such as reducing fear of crime, improving the council’s carbon footprint and redesigning front-end customer service to migrate to more efficient delivery channels.
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Oxfordshire County Council
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United Kingdom
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Government Administration
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700 & Above Employee
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ePlanning & Business Process Re-engineering Project Manager
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Dec 2006 - Sep 2007
Led a 15-month project with a £382,000 budget, working with 7 teams across two service areas along with District Council partners and the national Planning Portal, implementing improvements in planning services through the specification and procurement of specialist software and services.Acted as corporate BPR practitioner to improve services through improved business processesImplemented improvements in planning services through the specification and procurement of specialist software and services.
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Performance and Change Manager
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Dec 2004 - Dec 2006
Led and managed a team of eight performance management and customer service staff for the Environment & Economy departmentDeveloped and implemented a bespoke performance management system undertaking quarterly reviews of performance progress. Introduced a project management approach in the Directorate, including a risk-based governance model. Acted as Directorate lead on risk management, service improvement and as Directorate Scrutiny liaison officer.
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Performance Review Adviser
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May 2001 - Dec 2004
Undertook and lead on Best Value reviews across a range of council service areas. Led a best value review of the library service that took it to top quartile performance and was regarded nationally as one of 10 reviews nationally that delivered significant change. Undertook other reviews into Learning Disability services, Promoting Independence In Older People, Heritage Services and Staff Development, all leading to significant service change. Responsible for Comprehensive Performance Assessment strategy and external performance assessment inspections for the council, liaising with government inspection agencies
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Management Support Officer
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Jul 1996 - May 2001
Provided analytical and administrative support to the Head of Highways; Managed winter maintenance information systems and out-of-hours staff; Led on tourism signing policy implementation; statistical analysis and performance measurement. Acted as Health and Safety Adviser for the Department. Created an online roadworks information system using Microsoft Access, used until 2007, and received a Chairman’s Certificate of Achievement as a result
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Education
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Oxford School for Boys
Community
