Summary
Overview
Work history
Education
Skills
Hobbies and Interests
Timeline
Generic
Joanne Lekarla

Joanne Lekarla

Bilton,Warwickshire

Summary

Accomplished professional with expertise in operations management, business analysis, and financial management.

Results-driven Sales and Service Manager with knack for boosting customer satisfaction and team performance. Led teams to surpass sales targets and improve service quality, enhancing client retention and revenue growth. Skilled in developing strategic sales plans and fostering positive work environment.

Overview

13
13
years of professional experience

Work history

Customer service and sales office administrator

Automotive
07.2024 - 07.2025
  • Managed a busy office environment efficiently, ensuring smooth operations at all times.
  • Solved complex accounting problems, ensuring optimal business performance.
  • Collaborated with accountants for successful year-end closing procedures.
  • Managed all financial records to ensure accuracy and compliance.
  • Increased efficiency with meticulous invoice and payment processing.
  • Monitored competitor activities, responding creatively to maintain relevancy and competitive edge.
  • Utilised various sales techniques to develop relationships with customers and drive sales.

Gastro Restaurant & Bar Manager

Independent
Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
09.2022 - 10.2023
  • Analysed operations to improve restaurant efficiency and service levels.
  • Encouraged feedback from restaurant customers, using insights to implement positive process changes.
  • Maintained safe working and guest environments, reducing injury and incident risks.
  • Protected brand image by ensuring interior restaurant presentation was exceptionally maintained.
  • Delivered in-depth training to customer-facing staff, promotion
  • Organised services and allocated resources for conferences, charitable events and private gatherings.

Business Manager

Automotive
04.2020 - 08.2022
  • Ensuring all aspects of the business runs smoothly on a day to day basis
  • Implemented automation strategies for office operations, correspondence management and recordkeeping.
  • Posted updates to accounts and departmental or employee records with each payroll cycle.
  • Generated employee wage and benefit payments via physical cheque or electronic transfer.
  • Reduced financial discrepancies by improving documentation and reporting accuracy for budget and operational controls, increasing profit by 24%
  • Reviewed sales and expense records to make proactive adjustments to policies and procedures.
  • Continuing to develop trust and building relationships with clients also related individual work load average 12 per day to ensure repeat custom, by overseeing the booking process from initial enquiry to post booking correspondence.

Supervisor

Chesford Grange Hotel
08.2018 - 04.2020
  • Responsible for the day to day operations of The Lounge to ensure excellent quality and service.
  • Taking care of up to 500 delegates in any given day.
  • Balanced and reconciled transactions to produce accurate financial records.
  • Managed opening and closing, taking key holder responsibilities seriously to uphold robust security.
  • Daily opening and closing down of departments including cashing up and till balancing.
  • Daily maintenance checks and reporting any problems to the maintenance department.
  • Resolving any customer complaints, in an effective way, ensuring customer satisfaction is still the primary focus.
  • Led by example to maintain team motivation, ensuring daily tasks were performed accurately and efficiently.
  • Offered instruction, coaching and motivation for enhanced team morale.

Business Development Manager

Premier Dental
Warwickshire, Leamington Spa
08.2017 - 08.2018
  • Identified and closed new business opportunities through strategic networking, enhancing valuable client bases.
  • Oversaw full sales lifecycle from prospecting clients to closing deals.
  • Created new client pipeline to meet monthly targets.
  • Adopted consultative sales approach to selling professional services.
  • Attended prominent industry trade shows, exhibitions and events across UK.

Delicatessen — Managing Director

Owner
04.2012 - 06.2017
  • Taking over a small troubled bakery business successfully increasing financial turnover by 200% within the first year of operations
  • Prepared accounts and complied with HMRC reporting requirements.
  • Carrying out all payroll duties via RTI also keeping accounts up to date and maintaining all book-keeping for my 5 staff members.
  • Maintained smooth operations through careful management of office workflow and administrative processes.
  • Monitoring business trends and reviewing and increasing profits margins where required to ensure financial success.
  • Staff training to adhere to high standards of hygiene and food safety to ensure compliance within the sector and to support team engagement.
  • Proactively built, nourished and converted local opportunity pipelines.
  • Expanded to larger premises within 2 years, altered the blueprint of the business successfully.
  • Successfully built up a repour and reputation to be able to increase customer footfall, to over 100 per day, situated in a small village.

Education

GCSEs -

Secondary School
07.1994

Skills

  • Operations management
  • Business analysis
  • Financial management
  • Business administration
  • BACS processing
  • Sage50
  • Maintaining employee records
  • Staff training and development
  • Investigating discrepancies
  • Customer relations
  • Training and mentoring
  • Credit control
  • Business planning
  • Business development

Hobbies and Interests

  • Helping my 10 year old son start a business, from investment letters to working with him every weekend to achieve his goals.
  • Support friends and family in starting up their small businesses i.e. website design, social media adverts, create logos, how to research competitors, what would be their best action for moving the business forward and way to best reach their market, then putting in a plan for them to implement it all.
  • Helping my 10 year old son organise an open air cinema event held for 100 people per night for 3 nights, including AV, historic venue, seating, obtaining temporary event licence.
  • Arranged a few events, from cinema, festival style events to charity ones on a small scale.
  • In my down time I always like to be learning something new and moving forward.
  • In the small time I have left I do find it comforting to be in my work clothes, drill in one hand and ready for the next project, whether that is installing a full decking area in the garden, or refitting whole bathroom.

Timeline

Customer service and sales office administrator

Automotive
07.2024 - 07.2025

Gastro Restaurant & Bar Manager

Independent
09.2022 - 10.2023

Business Manager

Automotive
04.2020 - 08.2022

Supervisor

Chesford Grange Hotel
08.2018 - 04.2020

Business Development Manager

Premier Dental
08.2017 - 08.2018

Delicatessen — Managing Director

Owner
04.2012 - 06.2017

GCSEs -

Secondary School

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Joanne Lekarla