Joanna Sharp

GENE Commerce Ltd is an e-commerce agency based in Brighton.

My role as Office & Finance Manager means that I am an integral part of the Business Operations Team, covering HR, Finance, Marketing, Facilities & IT.
I assist the Finance Director, the Head of IT & Facilities and the Head of Marketing with the delivery of their objectives across the organisation. I am responsible for ensuring that the business operates in an efficient and compliant manner, whilst demonstrating resourcefulness, initiative, and paying close attention to detail.

Role & Responsibilities

• Credit control, liaising with clients regarding payment dates, allocating receipts from the bank against invoices raised. Purchase Ledger duties, handling incoming supplier invoices, raising payments
• Overseeing company credit card accounts, allocation of expenses in Xero with supporting invoices and receipts, handling any issues with company cards
• Supporting the Finance Director with tracking new quotes agreed in Xero, keeping the Forecasting & Invoicing sheet up to date
• Managing company insurance matters, renewals and any claims
• Point of contact for the managing agents & staff & suppliers at the Brighton, Bristol & Liverpool offices
• Management of provision of work areas, meeting rooms as and when needed
• Management of any maintenance or redecoration required at the Brighton office
• Maintenance and accurate listing/audit of all computer equipment
• Management of all software tool subscriptions and other IT spend
• Maintenance of all employee data on BreatheHR system
• Liaising with managers to ensure Management of personal development programmes for all staff are booked and followed through with any appropriate action
• Management of the onboarding of new employees from start to finish, including booking onboarding meetings, issuing contracts, distribution of equipment and new starter packs
• Planning and execution of quarterly town hall meetings, summer 2 day event and Christmas party
• Co-ordination of any visa requirements and liaison with solicitors for prospective new employees
• Ensuring all company policies & procedures are up to date on the internal intranet system
• Wellbeing champion, Mental Health First Aider, point of contact for pensions, health cover and sickness/absence reporting
• Assisting the Head of Marketing and other members of the Senior Leadership Team with co-ordination of events booking of accommodation or venues
• Administration support for marketing tasks as and when required

JRP is a small, but very successful domestic plumbing firm with an excellent reputation. My role here was particularly diverse and included many aspects of running a small business.

Role & Responsibilities

• Strategic planning/scheduling of small plumbing and heating jobs as well as bigger ongoing projects such as kitchen & bathroom refurbishments
• Invoicing - processing customer invoices, paying supplier invoices & credit control using Xero
• Implementation of Health & Safety policy
• Implementation of new software for booking customer appointments
• Co-ordination of sub-contractors
• Renewal of trade memberships
• Marketing - producing adverts for local press publications
• Implementation of new VOIP system
• Renewal of business & motor fleet insurance
• Daily customer liaison, managing supply chain, resolving invoice queries
• Dealing with all aspects of staff management from recruiting staff, issuing contracts, monitoring of holiday/sickness, training and general day to day communications

Nsure Insurance Ltd is a Chartered Insurance Broker providing all aspects of business insurance for SMEs. During my time at Nsure, I established an excellent working relationship with the Director of Insurance and provided a crucial level of support for him.

Role & Responsibilities

• Assisting with prioritisation of work and matters requiring attention
• Organisation of meetings, including confirmation of meeting details to attendees
• Management of daily diary as required
• Maintenance of expenses, staff training & qualifications
• Organising of local & national exhibitions
• Bespoke report generation as required, ensuring accuracy at all times
• Liaising with all departmental managers to improve on interdepartmental communication
• Deal with CII (Chartered Institute of Insurance) matters, such as group meetings and President's evenings
• Assist with upkeep of CPD records and any relevant training
• I also introduced and launched the concept of business seminars for our clients'. This included research of content through to implementation

Merchandising Sales Force Ltd - A field sales marketing company providing multi-disciplinary sales support services throughout the UK. During my time at MSF, I worked as Trainee Account Manager, Account Manager Senior Account Manager and then Director of the Tactical Sales department.

Role & Responsibilities

• Liaison with clients to establish campaign requirements
• Implementation of strategies to launch sales/merchandising campaigns, including organisation of national field staff briefing meetings, coordination of sales drives, audits, merchandising & product demonstrations
• Collation, analysis and presentation of data to clients at the end of campaigns/sales promotions
• Major clients included Red Bull, Sainsbury's, Sony UK, Nestle and Procter & Gamble

IMC was a direct marketing agency based in Brighton. Whilst working at IMC I gained top line experience within a multitude of areas including marketing consultancy, creative production services as well as database development & telemarketing.

Role & Responsibilities

• To assist the Production Manager with chasing the progress of jobs through the production department
• Supplier & client liaison, obtaining supplier quotes
• Assisting the Business Development Manager with the development and maintenance of the in-house database system