Gareth Lawrence

Driven by an ambition to establish my own business, I most recently own and operate a successful online retail venture specialising in the design and manufacture of bespoke products for the consumer pet market. I developed and refined a diverse skill set encompassing product development, design, and production, along with online marketing strategy and customer service excellence. These skills are highly transferable and would be of significant value in any commercial role. A summary of my key achievements follows:

• Established and successfully managed a profitable business, demonstrating exceptional entrepreneurial skills and business acumen.
• Identified new business opportunities to drive revenue growth.
• Cultivated strong client relationships, leading to repeat business and referrals.
• Managed daily operations to ensure seamless business functioning.
• Utilized social media platforms to enhance brand promotion and customer engagement.
• Innovated product offerings based on customer feedback and market analysis.
• Resolved complex business challenges through effective analytical skills.
• Oversaw budget management to achieve financial targets.
• Applied customer feedback to inform business strategy and foster sustained loyalty.
• Streamlined business processes to improve operational efficiency.

As the primary point of contact within the IT Service Centre, I managed end-user requests, incidents, and escalations. I was responsible for supporting the company's IT systems, including desktop provision, network infrastructure, and telephony systems, to ensure staff could maximize IT utilization and meet business requirements. I provided both work-around and permanent solutions for a wide range of issues within the IS environment, adhering to agreed SLAs. Key responsibilities included:

• Developing a comprehensive understanding of the PHS Infrastructure portfolio.
• Receiving and responding to requests and incidents logged within the Service Centre call logging system.
• Initiating external callouts with third-party providers when necessary, and liaising with service providers to monitor callout/incident progress through to resolution.
• Ensuring all activity and investigations are accurately documented within the Service Centre call logging system.
• Resolving incidents/requests at the first point of contact or escalating them to the appropriate team for resolution.
• Taking ownership of all incidents, providing users/customers with timely updates, and communicating with 2nd line support teams/3rd parties for information and resolution timelines, while adhering to agreed SLAs.
• Contributing to the development of a standardized knowledge base for end-user and IT support purposes.
• Providing telephone helpline support to all company computer users during critical incidents.
• Delivering timely communication to the IT Service Centre Manager and Assistant Manager regarding incident status and progress."

Customer focused delivery of hardware, software, and network support within a predominantly Microsoft domain environment to a user base of approximately 3,000 staff across multiple sites.

Following the April 2006 merger of Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies (including ACCAC) with the National Assembly for Wales, my role as detailed above, transitioned to Siemens IT Solutions & Services as the appointed support contractor.

Administrative telecoms responsibility in an expanding 500 seat directory enquiries call centre.

Pivotal role in not only the business start-up but also the ongoing everyday running of the call centre.

Development and monitoring of telephony systems in two business critical agent call-centres and a number of ancillary departments.

Assistance with the initial implementation and ongoing technical administration of a 300-agent call centre using bespoke IBM OS/2 based systems, as part of the Woolwich Plc CSS system.

Support for an additional 300-user Microsoft Windows network with additional support for a field-based team of brokers

Provision of frontline telephone technical support for residential and commercial internet users in an Aspect based call-centre.

Day to day management and training of a team of support staff.

Regular duties as Call Centre Operations Director, in the supervision of 200 staff members and close contact with network management in effectively monitoring and managing emerging and ongoing problems.