A brief overview of me
I have long been interested in technology and programming, but my career didn't start out programming, but in Administration and Human Resources. Apart from having a more diverse knowledge set, this was not lost time in terms of computer programming and engineering. Working in HR allowed me to be an end user of many systems, including internal web-based systems. Finding out what pitfalls I found in systems as an end user proves very useful when I'm creating systems for end users and has given me a great perspective on how the end user will view any application.
I worked in HR for 6 years in two different companies. It wasn't until I was about to start my CIPD that I truly realised that I wanted to do Web Development and System Architecture as a career, rather than just in an amateur capacity. The problem was at the time everyone was looking for commercial experience but I did not have any at that time despite having several websites to my name. I decided the only way I was going to get that experience was by going self-employed. Being self-employed gave me a great deal of insight into the business world and that knowledge has stayed with me through to the present day. Whilst I was self-employed, I did not have to advertise as my business was built on word-of-mouth. I was fortunate to win a number of well put together tenders I submitted. I secured a number of retainers based on detailed initial tenders.
Since my self employed days, I have since been employed in a number of technical roles, first starting at Broadland Housing Association, initially as a Web Developer then as a Systems Developer. During my time at Broadland Housing Association, I created a fully functional Recruitment System, installed a customisable CMS, where I was able to make content management much more regularly reviewed, and various other systems to help the day to day running of the business.
After 6 years at Broadland Housing, I moved to GML Consulting, where I took the lead on my own projects, creating and maintaining international, multi-lingual e-commerce websites which subsequently lead to me leading the Client Development Team. During my time at GML, I managed key client projects, sometimes on a sole basis, other times as part of a team. I worked closely with clients to ensure project requirements were fully discussed through and fully agreed before work began. I became a reliable point of contact for clients to advise on potential work and on other 3rd parties working with our clients. I worked with many third party companies, integrating services into client developments.
I have worked with 3rd party solutions such as; Salesforce, Pardot, Sagepay, Eway, Paypal, GoCardless, Feefo, Fixer.io, Access Dimensions.