Robert Earl

I have been hired as a Digital Services Development Officer, where my main aim will be to help Watford Council improve their online digital presence, and enable the residents to self-serve.

In November of 2021, we launched a completely new design of https://www.watford.gov.uk which I project managed and released on time. We have received positive feedback on the design, which enables our customers to find the content they are looking for with less clicks and in a timely fashion.

I have help improve the look and feel of the https://my.watford.gov.uk portal, which will continue to grow and develop, helping the residents and businesses of Watford contact the council and keep track of all of their transactions. This has been wireframed, coded and made mobile friendly by myself in-house.

Other responsibilities involve helping my colleague with Firmstep CRM queries, gathering statistics for colleagues, training sub-editors on Jadu/Firmstep and providing a 'helpdesk' like service for the platforms we control.

In this role I looked after our new merger website (www.nhggroup.org.uk) along with our Legacy site (www.nhhg.org.uk).

I also maintained the Intranet for Notting Hill Housing, using an Interact based CMS. For this to work I managed our network of sub-editors to ensure that they are sufficiently trained on how to use the system and assist when needed.

I was responsible for creating statistic reports across all of our channels and have recently set up a new Google Tag Manager account to help identify which of our elements are being used across our different websites. Google Analytics runs alongside this for general traffic data, which I compile into quarterly reports.

Key responsibilities:
Plan and implement the end-to-end delivery of digital projects, including documentation, workshops, stakeholder relations and the coordination of in-house and external resources, on time and to budget. Provide advice and support on the production process for websites and intranets, including research, content, navigation, wireframes, design, development and testing, day-to-day content management and digital optimisation of our websites and intranet content.

Provide advice, training and support to all users of the website and intranet across the organisation, ensuring best digital practice and guidelines are adhered to.

Lead on website search engine optimisation (SEO) and content strategy development in order to increase visibility of our websites and encourage more visits. Analyse and evaluate user interactions, producing regular reports and dashboards and making recommendations for improvements to ensure an optimal online user experience and conversion success.

Establish and maintain support systems, guidelines and documentation for all areas of digital work, including requests logs, training documentation, user and CMS admin guidelines, domain name purchases, website servers, SSL certificates and business continuity plans. Respond to ad-hoc requests and enquiries from internal and external customers in a friendly and professional manner, ensuring all stakeholders are informed on the progress of their requests.

Contribute to the development of the Group’s digital strategies.

Achievements in role:
Created, tested and implemented new mobile view for the website and Project Managed the implementation of the functional work for a new 'google-type search' Customer Services

Responsibilities: Update and maintain all content on Enfield Council’s website and intranet, using Jadu CMS. Provide technical assistance to our users and external users of the website and other sites belonging to Enfield. Design and implement new areas on the Council’s website. Create new designs in Photoshop. Create new e-forms for customers so they can complete transactions online. Provide stats to our colleagues and customers using Google Analytics. Attend meetings with managers, internal customers, third parties and stakeholders, presenting new features to them and how they work. Update and maintain the mobile website.

Project managed the design, testing and implementation of Enfield Council’s intranet portal called the Enfield Eye and designed and implemented the new Enfield Health and Wellbeing microsite. Designed the new mobile website for Enfield Council using Weejot and created a new ‘Report it online’ within this.

Responsibilities: Answer the phone for my team, pass messages on to my manager, developers and officers. Manage the team’s email inbox, ensuring that emails are passed through correctly, or dealt with by myself. Ensure that the People Directory (contact list for all colleagues) was updated regularly and ensure new events passed through our website were made live for the residents to view. Manage room booking for the team’s meetings and take minutes. Provide technical support for all of our customers, both internal and external. Create support tickets when a service was down and provide updates.

Responsibilities: Answer the phone, take messages for both staff and visitors, welcome guests to The Ark building, show guests to meeting/training rooms and take room bookings.

Responsibilities: Scanned customers shopping at the checkout, packed bags for customers, provided product information for customers, showed customers where they can find products, handled money and was responsible for cashing up tills at the end of shifts.

Responsibilities: Answer the telephone to customers, passing on messages to managers and other colleagues, gather product information for customers, arrange home shopping deliveries, speak over the tannoy to welcome customers and call members of staff on the shop floor, greet employees and stakeholders and create name badges for new members of staff.