CAPABILITIES

IT Service Desk Management

· Advising on IT-related business risks encompassing disaster recovery, business continuity, competition and physical security risks.

· Specialising in infrastructure development, systems administration, project implementation, and multifaceted IT solution migration and integration.

· Drafting and implementing comprehensive disaster recovery strategies which can be easily incorporated into the organisation's business continuity strategy.

· Designing policies and security processes and systems to improve the quality of operations at helpdesks and service desks.

· Promoting cost-conscious IT growth in organisations by planning and implementing IT procurement programmes.

IT Systems Management

· Monitoring as many as 23 Windows servers, 600 desktops and 150 laptops for performance, stability and security.

· Establishing and standardising IT procedures to improve system operation and stability and to shorten training times for new team members.

· Monitoring and reporting service desk incident and resolution patterns, measuring against metrics and creating management performance reports.

· Experimenting and evaluating different types of software and hardware for cost-effectiveness and usability.

· Maintaining stock records including equipment received, staged and deployed internally and externally.

Technical

· Keeping abreast of current and future technologies when assessing the use of virtualisation for servers and backups, VoIP, and open source content management systems as a viable alternative to commercial systems.

· Planning and implementing helpdesk / service desk software and processes involving Sunrise Optima, Sunrise Professional with in-house adaptations and Site Helpdesk IT using ITIL framework with web-based technology.

· Constructing new system specifications and plans for tender documentation.

· Solving technical issues and improving user service by creating "how to" documents for the Service Desk and the Intranet.

· Contributing to ICT development across the organisation with multimedia computing and equipment installations in teaching and training rooms, wireless laptop usage and cross-organisation Intranet development.

Leadership

· Assigning responsibilities to as many as 10 staff whilst delegating, mentoring and prioritising where appropriate.

· Training others to use technologies and software such as Sunrise Helpdesk products.

· Motivating team members to improve services against a backdrop of restructuring and pay reductions with team meetings and one-to-one meetings, initiating flexible working patterns to take pay changes into account and implementing a 'time off in lieu' system to account for overtime payment removal.

· Interviewing technical and non-technical candidates for IT Services Team vacancies.

Communication

· Negotiating to provide high quality equipment and services within budget and agreed time scales.

· Building relationships with colleagues, suppliers and customers via formal and informal meetings, discussions about technologies and a consistent approach which incorporates active listening and honesty.

Personal

· Working as part of multiple teams or alone to achieve business objectives and deliver high-quality services.

· Displaying a cooperative and empathetic attitude towards others and showing dedication to the organisation.

· Maintaining empathy as well as a positive and cooperative attitude whilst under pressure.

CAREER HISTORY

2006 - Present Lead IT Build Engineer, IBM @ Zurich, Portsmouth, Hampshire

IBM Infrastructure and Systems Management Services provides implementation and operational services to Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) which is a global insurance-based financial services provider established in 1872. Reporting to the Staging Project Team Leader, responsibilities include preparing 3000 machines for imaging, configuration and testing prior to staging and deployment. Identify and resolve staging and software build issues and provide ongoing training to IT Build Technicians. Support the Staging Project Team Leader with stock management and logistics planning, manage hardware asset disposal logs and securely store machines prior to their removal from the building. Also supervise two direct reports.

Major Achievements:

· Ensured that the correct configuration and hardware additions were in place prior to deployment and also that eWP software configurations and installations were complete and accurate by using IBM BlueBase and BlueWeb to detect and resolve issues including errors or partially installed software.

· Recognised as the only team to achieve up to 100 builds in an extended day against an average of 20 to 40 PCs per day.

· Restored machines to required specifications with extensive PC upgrade work after assessing all returned equipment for suitability in the current rollout by interrogating the BIOS, examining pieces of the hardware, and checking for quality and serviceability using diagnostic software.

· Oversaw the secure data wiping of over 3000 hard drives to DOD standards and enabled WEEE disposal certification to be issued despite difficulties with the age of many machines.

1997 - 2006 & Head of IT & Technical Services, Havant College, Havant.

1996 - 1997 A leading Sixth Form College with an Adult Learning and Business Training provision. Reporting to the Assistant Principal, responsibilities included managing all aspects of a busy IT department, providing line management for 10 staff including an electrical testing technician and facilitating the provision of classroom and one-to-one training. Advised Senior Management Team on technical development costs and benefits. Managed relationships and links with external support agencies, key suppliers and contractors. Invited suppliers to tender and awarded contracts as large as £45k based on best price and quality of service. Managed Health & Safety policies within all IT areas.

Major Achievements:

· Oversaw successful technological growth from 60 PCs and one Server to 600 PCs, 150 Laptops and 23 servers in the face of reduced budgets, senior management who did not see the need for IT even though competitors were investing heavily and BECTA recommendations advising ratios of at least one PC to five students and one PC to two staff members.

· Improved IT support efficiency for over 3500 users after implementing an ITIL-based IT Service Desk Software with CMDB, Configuration Management and Incident Management.

· Secured four-year warranties on PCs and five-year warranties on Servers after negotiating for better quality machines with longer warranties and also developing long-term relationships with suppliers to ensure the best possible specification within budget.

· Deployed the organisation's Intranet and managed ongoing content despite a lack of funding after developing a structure for the initial phase, motivating subject area staff to learn the basics of adding content, implementing training sessions for other staff and eventually initiating a comprehensive document management system.

· Defined and implemented a comprehensive Disaster Recovery / Business Continuity strategy by upgrading the network to a gigabit fibre backbone with Layer 3 edge switching, adding redundant Ethernet links, creating reciprocal agreements with nearby organisations which incorporated duplicate servers, failover technologies (such as Neverfail, Doubletake and Backup solutions and agents) and acquiring higher specification equipment through negotiation whilst becoming a reference site for the selected supplier.

· Created a strategic vision for future developments including VMWare Server for business continuity, Server Imaging for disaster recovery, Virtualisation of Tape Libraries for easier data recovery and invitation to tender (ITT) documentation for an integrated telephony, instant messaging and unified messaging solution.

1997 IT Technician - Manpower, IBM, Portsmouth

· Ensured that manpower resources met peak call demands, improved fault diagnosis and improved system testing prior to return to the customer by reorganising the technician rotation for 15 technicians.

· Cut ThinkPad issue resolution turnaround from over five days to two days and reduced outstanding calls from over 50 per week to approximately three or four after lengthening the technician rotation period covering ThinkPads from one week to one month.

1996 - 1997 IT Technician, Havant College, Havant

1994 - 1995 Software Configuration Controller, GEC Marconi IFES, Portsmouth

1985 - 1988 Store Manager, MFI, London

EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS

Member, Chartered Management Institute

ITIL Foundation Certification

ITIL Service Management Practitioner in Configuration Management Certification

BSc in Business Information Technology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, 1996

Other courses attended include:

· Business: NVQ Operational Management Level 4 ... GNVQ Business Information Technology and Business Administration ... OCN Project Management ... Essential Skills for Support Staff Managers

· IT: Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional … Supporting Microsoft Windows 2000 ... Implementing Windows 2000 Pro & Server ... Implementing a Microsoft 2000 Network ... Supporting, Troubleshooting and Optimising Windows 2000 ... Windows 2000 Network and OS Essentials ...Citrix Metaframe Administration