HANNAH MCGOWAN

• Support the Waitrose Commercial and Trading Director by providing proactive business support, managing their priorities, and advising on effective ways of working.
• Efficiently manage day-to-day operations, balancing internal and external commitments to ensure timely completion of tasks.
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to support business objectives. Act as liaison between the directors and stakeholders, effectively navigating competing priorities.
• Assist in project management and co-ordinate meeting and event preparation, including logistics and content development. Manage calendars, co-ordinate extensive domestic and international travel arrangements, and filter communications to ensure efficient and effective prioritisation.
• Prepare and edit presentations, speeches, and correspondence on their behalf, representing them with professionalism and discretion.
• Maintain utmost confidentiality in handling sensitive information, exercising sound judgement.
• Work collaboratively across teams and with Executive Assistants to enhance overall departmental and organisational effectiveness.

• Supported five senior leaders within the Waitrose Commercial leadership team. Supporting their day to day work by completing diary management, travel bookings, Workday administration, recruitment and Oracle expenses.
• Planned and prioritised, both shorter and longer term commitments and ensuring the internal and external commitments of my leaders are met. Including managing and organising successful events.
• Represented leaders in communication and correspondence. This included inbox management, preparing and editing presentations, replies to gazette letters, creation of external supplier newsletters, and drawing up key notes to help leaders prepare for key internal and external meetings and events.
• Worked alongside other Personal Assistants and Partners to manage budgets and expenses for the overall directorate ensuring a consistent approach is applied to manage ongoing budget constraints.
• Used strong administrative and organisational skills and built and maintained strong working relationships with partners across the organisation and other stakeholders both internally and externally.
• Worked collaboratively as part of the wider team identifying efficiencies and best practices and sharing these amongst the community and leaders wider teams.

• Responsible for delivering projects within time frames assessing, identifying opportunities to improve processes and streamline processes where appropriate.
• Proactively managed ongoing and historical redundancy and TUPE projects, on a large scale or alternatively individual projects or change management programmes.
• Responsible for processing documentation, effective quality monitoring, performance measures and controls.
• Completion of all redundancy project calculations and settlement agreements for TUPE projects, including all elements of calculations and ensuring all trackers in relation to each project was maintained with up to date information for all change projects.
• Provided clear concise HR advice relating to Redundancy or TUPE queries in addition providing advice in relation to pensions, benefits and any related activity involved with a change project.
• Developed and maintained relationships with Organisational Change Managers, Personnel Policy and Advice Case Managers, TUPE Out/In stakeholders and other key business leads.

Various Waitrose Branches (Various Areas)

• Provided the environment, platform and opportunity for Partners to maximise their productivity and performance and achieve personal progression.
• Led effective Personnel compliance and process assurance across the branch including disciplinary & grievance case management, deliverance of meetings and note taking where necessary.
• Contributed to the safe, legal and profitable operation of the branch, whilst promoting a culture of co-ownership and continuous improvement.
• Met evolving branch and business priorities, working fluidly and with agility.
• Recruited Partners who were supported by Partnership Values and had the capability, aspiration and desire to deliver an outstanding Customer Experience.
• Worked alongside other People Managers to identify future talent and business critical roles using talent review tools and calibration, maintaining an accurate manpower and succession plan.
• Supported the Branch Manager to create and deliver a branch absence strategy through regular analysis and reviewing of absence data.
• Led Partners to deliver an outstanding customer experience.
• Ensured the highest standards of operational compliance, maintaining all legal and due diligence documentation as required.
• Engaged and empowered Partners to become brand ambassadors through their knowledge of products, the wider business and the Waitrose Way.
• Built relationships with key stakeholders and business leads challenging openly and offering feedback on key priorities and projects.
• Challenging upwards where appropriate.

• Responsible for line managing 90 Partners, influencing Partners to meet increasing customer demands and also maximising their own full potential.
• Developed Partners to ensure they were equipped with the correct skills and tools to deliver their role and ensure we were offering an outstanding service for Customers.
• Managed costs and KPI for Wastage, Unexplained Wastage, Pay Budgets.
  
• Drove high standards of shop keeping, ensuring focus on availability, stock control and cleanliness.
• Worked closely with the branch management team and contributed towards the safe, legal operation of the branch, implementing changes when required.
• Role-modelled excellent Service, proactively supported Partners to become brand ambassadors, demonstrated knowledge of products.
• Supported the organisation of Partner resources, balancing the needs of the customer and branch profitability.