Dynamic professional with a track record in agile working, product management, and leadership in the public sector. Skilled in strategy development, effective communication, and fostering strong relationships. Always putting the user at the heart of solutions
Key member of the Product Team, developing strategic direction for product development, sales and communication
Product Owner for the DHLUC Low Code Waste Phase 2 project; using open source tools to create waste reminder notifications, a Business Account capability and a full-featured trading platform for local authorities. £350k budget
Product Owner for Open Place Directory; shaping the future direction of the product to meet customer needs, develop sales and adapt to growing demand for use of the Open Referral UK data schema
Product Owner for Digital Place's core platform development; using customer feedback and best practice to guide new capabilities and features. Managing the product roadmap using ProdPad
Representing the company in sales demonstrations, lunch and learn sessions, conference workshops and written promotional material, such as blog posts.
Product Owner, responsible for the ongoing development and improvement of the website and user experience of digital services
Managed a team of six content designers within the wider Digital team and introduced a website design governance group, running on Sociocracy principles
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 and the ongoing governance and development of microsites
Introduced an agile workflow for content design using M365 functionality, moving the content design team away from service-based ownership
Supported the Head of Transformation to drive delivery of the New Ways of Working transformation programme by leading on a range of projects and programmes
Enabled and supported project teams to deliver on savings proposals and build experience and skills within the organisation
Brought practices up to date to ensure the organisation was flexible and responsive to change, including Agile working
Acted as a conduit between project teams and enabling services to ensure timely delivery of projects
Led on data analysis and insight for the council's COVID-19 community support actions and outcomes
Managed an expanded six-person Digital team focused on developing the council’s front end digital offer
Led an in-house intranet development using GovIntranet with a full content rewrite in 3 months, saving £6,000 per annum
Led an government-funded discovery project on chatbots and AI with 11 other councils; Involved training all councils in user research techniques, researching across 4 services areas. £80k budget
Partnered with 3 other councils for an government-funded discovery project into how to encourage code sharing between councils through a common publishing platform, leading to the development of LocalGov Drupal. £75k budget
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 design
Developed and delivered a Digital Strategy focusing on five key guiding principles: inclusion; supporting business growth; customer in control; Digital by Default; collaboration
Drove channel shift and self-service based on customer-focused digital solutions to increase efficiency and improve customer service
LocalGov Digital South Peer Group lead and Steering Group member
Worked with Heads of Service and Operational Managers to embed and implement the Council’s Performance Improvement Framework and develop a performance improvement culture that was embraced throughout the organisation.
Drove continuous service improvement within designated area of responsibility, challenging existing practice and actively seeking ways of achieving greater outcomes and leaner delivery
Personally facilitated and led service reviews to evaluate service cost effectiveness to demonstrate value for money
Project managed the redevelopment of the Council's intranet using Drupal open source software, and managed the ongoing development and maintenance of the site
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
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.
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.
Training and Qualifications
2019
Agile for Teams (Government Digital Service)
2019
2016
ITIL® Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management (QA Training)
2016
2016
AgilePM® Practitioner (APMG International)
2016
2011
Postgraduate Certificate in Shared Services (Canterbury Christ Church University)
2011
2010
MSP (Managing Successful Programmes): Foundation and Practitioner (Pearce Mayfield)
2010
2005
PRINCE2: Foundation and Practitioner (Capita Training)
2005
1992
Institute of Personnel Management: Post Graduate Diploma (Oxford Polytechnic)
1992
1986
HNC (with distinction) in Business and Finance (Oxford Polytechnic)