Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
References
Timeline
Generic

Arlene Strachan

Insch,Aberdeenshire

Summary

Retired but dedicated Police Officer with over 15 years’ experience, where I worked with various partnership agencies and attended meetings. Have exceptional report writing ability and submit reports timeously and accurately. Detail orientated, resourceful and disciplined with good leadership skills, high integrity and analytical strengths and remarkable organisational skills. Highly effective at taking leadership direction from superiors but equally effective tutoring probationer police officers. Team orientated, with a willing to learn new procedures to enhance my performance but equally capable and motivated working on my own and unsupervised. Computer literate with working knowledge of Word and Excel and other Microsoft packages. Quick thinking, skilled in assessing risks and making critical decisions under extreme pressure. Situational awareness and attention to detail. Ability to manage conflicting and busy workloads. Currently a Carers Advocate, advocating and giving carers a voice and a right to be heard. Recording, collating and reporting evidence to all necessary parties as required. Promoting and maintaining productive and positive working relationships with other professionals, organisations and community groups. I’m also a lay member of the Scottish Legal Aid Board Criminal Quality Assurance Committee. We meet online, on the last Friday afternoon of the month. Now seeking a new and equally rewarding job opportunity where I feel I maximise my full potential in a positive and professional manner.

Overview

28
28
years of professional experience

Work History

Independent Carers Advocate

Advocacy North East
Inverurie
04.2023 - Current
  • My objectives are to provide effective independent advocacy and /or representation to unpaid adult carers
  • In particular for those carers who are, or may be at risk of being disadvantaged or ill-health due to their caring role and who require support to understand their rights, access information, navigate systems and/or engage with Health, Social Work, Social Care, Specialist Carer Organisations and professionals in order to benefit their caring role, personal well-being and their ability to self-advocate
  • Recording of case work, maintain of client files and collating information to produce regular detailed reports for monitoring and evaluation purposes
  • Conducting health and safety risk assessments, maintaining accurate case work records
  • Recording, collating and reporting evidence to all necessary parties as required
  • Promoting and maintaining productive and positive working relationships with other professionals, organisations and community groups

Customer Service Adviser

AXA
09.2021 - 04.2023
  • Working from home
  • Taking inbound calls for home emergencies
  • I was the first point of contact for any claims that customers wished to log on their policy
  • I had to ensure delivery of excellent customer service by providing excellent customer service by providing relevant and accurate information to every customer, using my initiative as well as information resources available to provide the best outcome for the customer
  • Answer calls whilst ensuring accurate and timely completion of case notes, logs and diaries for each customer
  • Utilise strong attention to detail, remaining calm in the face of challenge to effectively help customers when they need us the most
  • Providing excellent customer service and communication skills, both verbal and written
  • I dealt with customers who were often distressed by the need to make a claim and often the fact that they had to make a claim was one of the most distressing things to happen in their lives

Police Officer

Grampian Police/Police Scotland
Aberdeen
08.2000 - 10.2015
  • I was a Uniformed Officer for majority of my career prior joining CID in 2013 in the Major Investigation Team as part of the Holmes team, where I used Microsoft packages daily to input the teams complex and detailed findings on to the database, where the cross-referencing of data was paramount
  • Precision and diligence was vital for this role as was the ability to scan text on large amounts of information swiftly
  • I was the Disclosure Officer for the Holmes team
  • I often had to give briefings in person to the whole inquiry team and SIO or via video conference
  • As a uniformed officer, I dealt with a very varied and diverse culture
  • I was a response officer where I attended various ongoing incidents from shoplifters to housebreakings, from road traffic collisions to executing drug warrants, I also conducted interviews of suspects
  • I was a Sexual Offences Liaison Officer and a Domestic Abuse Liaison Officer whereby I'd be the first point of contact for rape and sexual abuse victims, these were often historical cases spanning decades
  • I'd note all their statements which often took a considerable amount of time and patience, as they were often vulnerable and/or reluctant to come forward, were often embarrassed and blamed themselves
  • The information often had to be gently coaxed from the victim without putting further pressure on them and allow them to speak in their own time without jeopardising the case
  • I usually had to be present when medical samples were taken if required by the Force Doctors
  • I remained their single point of contact until such times as it went to court etc
  • I was the first trained officer to secure a conviction in court under the new legislation
  • As alluded to, I was also a Domestic Abuse Liaison Officer, whereby I was also, the first point of contact for victim for domestic abuse victims after a court conviction
  • This was often very harrowing experience, trying to do my upmost best for best possible long-term solutions
  • Often these didn’t go how we had expected
  • I often had to submit complex and detailed reports, applications and forms to courts, banks, health professionals and various other partner agencies for their perusal
  • These had to be complied quickly and professionally
  • They were often lengthy and were very time consuming to compile and had to be submitted as a priority and within tight timescales
  • I was a specially trained surveillance officer, part of this remit was the surveillance logs had to be written out as the incident was happening and always had to be precise and to the point
  • I was a ‘Neighbourhood' officer where I'd attend community council meetings regularly, write monthly articles for the magazines, deal with a variety of issues which involved partner agencies including social work, health care professionals and housing agencies
  • I often had to give talks and crime prevention seminars
  • I was also Joint Interview of children trained and quite regularly had to interview children in the presence of Social Work or submit complex cases to them which were usually of a sensitive and confidential nature
  • I had a role within the custody suite whereby I was a custody officer booking in members of the public who had been taken into custody
  • On many occasions my communications skills had to be used to quell a disagreement and to get the custody to comply with my requests whilst being booked in
  • Many of these custodies had mental health issues along with drug and or alcohol issues
  • These issues were dealt with in a non judgemental manner
  • Whilst in my time with the CID/Major Inquiry Team, I assisted on numerous murder enquiries, including several Domestic Abuse Homicide inquiries, often spending a considerable amount of time with grieving relatives, noting statements from witnesses and interviewing suspects
  • I'd note various complex and detailed statements from witnesses which had to be concise and thorough
  • I'm very aware and mindful for the requirement of confidentiality and consider myself to be compassionate, aware and considerate of other people’s feelings and concerns
  • I'm trustworthy and have high level of integrity
  • I have excellent communication skills, both written and spoken
  • I can maintain a good working relationship whether it be face to face or on the other end of a telephone or computer
  • I'm professional and take pride in my work
  • I’m a highly motivated individual with a remarkable attention to detail

Audit Assistant

Gardner & Partners
Insch
05.1997 - 08.2000
  • My duties included checking that financial reports and records were accurate and reliable
  • Collated, checked and analysed spreadsheet data
  • Examined company accounts and financial control systems
  • Demonstrated keen financial understanding, aiding insightful client and wider project support
  • Provided accurate, reliable administrative support, keeping and filing precise, detailed audit records
  • Gathered audit evidence to support analysis and findings across wider assignment work
  • Crosschecked audit files with associated documentation to ensure appropriate levels of supporting evidence
  • Collaborated effectively with clients to understand and offer solutions to challenges and needs
  • Used exceptional interpersonal skills to build positive, professional relationships with clients and staff
  • Presented financial information in comprehensible reports with numerical and graphical data
  • Followed written instructions to carry out tasks to exact specifications
  • Adhered to data protection laws and other legal regulations
  • Maintained working understanding of business processes and financial services

Education

O Level - Accounting, Arithmetic, English, French, Secretarial Studies

04.2023

Skills

  • Professional
  • Compassionate
  • Pragmatic
  • Organisational
  • Supportive
  • Conscientious
  • Excellent
  • Communication
  • Trustworthy
  • Respectful
  • Client representation
  • Health and safety assessment
  • Data collection
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Problem solving
  • Attention to detail
  • Time management
  • Document review
  • Legal research
  • Client representation and advisement

References

Available on request

Timeline

Independent Carers Advocate

Advocacy North East
04.2023 - Current

Customer Service Adviser

AXA
09.2021 - 04.2023

Police Officer

Grampian Police/Police Scotland
08.2000 - 10.2015

Audit Assistant

Gardner & Partners
05.1997 - 08.2000

O Level - Accounting, Arithmetic, English, French, Secretarial Studies

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