Experience

The Bar Standards Board

• United Kingdom
• Public Policy Offices
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Examinations Officer

  • Apr 2014 - Present



The Royal College of Surgeons of England

• United Kingdom
• Hospitals and Health Care
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Assistant Examinations Officer

  • Sep 2010 - Mar 2014

  Responsible for:- Recruiting, training and retaining examiners.- Managing and delivering five post graduate dental examinations.- Event managing five post graduate dental examinations. (Booking venues, hotels, catering and dental equipment. Communicating pertinent information to examiners and candidates.)- Using Excel macros to record and process examination results for up to 300 candidates. Responsible for:- Recruiting, training and retaining examiners.- Managing and delivering five post graduate dental examinations.- Event managing five post graduate dental examinations. (Booking venues, hotels, catering and dental equipment. Communicating pertinent information to examiners and candidates.)- Using Excel macros to record and process examination results for up to 300 candidates.



Chartered Insurance Institute

• United Kingdom
• Insurance
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Team Leader, Diploma / Advanced Diploma General Insurance Examinations Department

  • Apr 2008 - Jun 2010

  Responsible for:•Managing a team of staff to prepare 70 general insurance examination papers each year•Liaising with examiners and scheduling appropriate dates for the return of examination papers•Ensuring work carried out according to schedule and the standards of exams were maintained•Producing examination statistics using Microsoft Excel to aid in the setting of the pass marks•Overseeing the prize winner process and chairing prize panel meetings•Responding to candidates’ results queries including obtaining scripts for review by the examiner, analysing marks, identifying areas of weakness and suggesting appropriate follow-up actionKey achievements:•Streamlined the examination paper production procedures by removing unnecessary steps•Introduced dedicated support for each examiner significantly improving communication•Booked meetings and organised work schedules up to 12 months in advance, facilitating examiners time to plan and complete their work for the CII•Chaired the CII’s Social Committee and organised several large company social events•CII’s senior fire marshal – responsible for the safe evacuation of the whole building•As the Investors in People (IiP) committee member I helped the CII achieve re-accreditation in 2009 by holding mock interviews with staff and liaising with staff regarding IiP initiativesKey Skills Gained:•Liaising and managing external stakeholders to write the exam papers on behalf of the CII•Use of Microsoft Excel macros and formulas to produce complex examination statistics•Interpretation of the statistics to enable a panel to set the pass mark for each examination paper•Problem solving skills to understand and correct errors on the statistics•Staff management skills including holding one to one and team meetings•Project management skills by managing each examination paper from inception to delivery

• Examinations Co-ordinator, Diploma / Advanced Diploma General Insurance Examinations Department

  • Jan 2005 - Apr 2008

  Responsible for:•Processing 10 examination papers from receipt of first draft to delivery of final proof to printer•Proofing and editing typed examination papers at all stages using Microsoft Word•Liaison with examiners, monitoring progress and chairing examination paper production meetings•Administering the prizes; identifying winners, writing letters to prize winners, sponsors, employers and local institutes; preparing prize lists for publication and arranging prize presentation luncheonKey Achievements:•I undertook a prizes project to research and present in one document how each of 42 prizes were set up (in permanent trust, under discretion of trustees etc) and how they were funded•My attention to detail resulted in a halving of the incidents of errors occurring on exam papersKey Skills Gained:•Proof reading skills•Use of Microsoft Word mail merge, track changes, grammar checker and other advanced tools•Managing external insurance industry experts to write examination papers•Chairing meetings containing high level staff including chief medical officers of Swiss Re



LifeSearch

• United Kingdom
• Financial Services
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Sales Support

  • Sep 2003 - Jan 2005

  Responsible for:•Making outbound calls to doctor’s surgeries and life insurance companies to ensure customers’ applications were processed in a timely manner and to applicants to update them on the progress of their applicationKey Achievements:•Within 12 months I was promoted to dedicated sales support for the top selling broker in the officeKey Skills Gained:•Thorough knowledge of the life protection market•Outbound call and organisational skills Responsible for:•Making outbound calls to doctor’s surgeries and life insurance companies to ensure customers’ applications were processed in a timely manner and to applicants to update them on the progress of their applicationKey Achievements:•Within 12 months I was promoted to dedicated sales support for the top selling broker in the officeKey Skills Gained:•Thorough knowledge of the life protection market•Outbound call and organisational skills



Aegon

• Financial Services
• 700 & Above Employee

• Sales Support

  • Jul 1999 - Sep 2003

  Responsible for:•Supporting sales consultants by processing new business, providing valuations for existing investments and answering queries from Independent Financial Advisers•Setting up new group personal pensions which involved the manipulation of employee data using Microsoft Excel and then the migration of this data to a web based new scheme set upKey Achievements:•Becoming a ‘super user’ for the SmartScheme html based software on the company’s website.•Responsible for training colleagues to use it and being first point of contact for any queries•Financial planning certificate. (FP2 and FP3)Key Skills Gained:•Thorough knowledge of pensions and investment products•Time management and prioritisation skills



Robert Fleming

• Investment Banking
• 1 - 100 Employee

• IFA Pension Helpline

  • Sep 1995 - Jul 1999

  Responsible for:•Receiving, inputting, printing and posting pension quotation packs the same day•IFA helpline answering calls concerning pensions and investments•First point of contact for new and existing pension customers, answering queries, providing fund valuations, producing personalised quotations and literature packs and handling complaint callsKey Achievements:•FP1•Assisted in the smooth closure to new business and set up of pension call centreKey Skills Gained:•Thorough knowledge of Pensions including PPP, Final Salary, SSAS, AVC, FSAVC and GPP•Inbound call centre and time management skills