Roy Brierwood
Birmingham,West Midlands
Summary
Experienced IT professional with expertise in network infrastructure, voice and data communications, and business continuity planning. With a primary focus on client service, demonstrates proficiency in system troubleshooting, continual improvement to processes, complemented by strong stakeholder management and team leadership skills.
Adept at evaluating performance metrics, managing IT service ticketing systems, and delivering exceptional technical support through remote tools and excellent communication skills. Experienced in cost control, financial reporting, and data analysis, whilst maintaining a service-minded approach throughout. Focuses on leveraging technical expertise in applying innovative IT solutions to enhance organisational efficiency.
Overview
35
35
years of professional experience
10
10
years of post-secondary education
Work history
IT Service Delivery Manager
Dignity Funerals Limited
Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands
02.2018 - 06.2025
- Head of the service delivery technical team ensuring best possible end-user IT experience for the company workforce.
- Designed and streamlined service delivery processes to increase productivity and reduce costs.
- Executed strategic plans for positive business growth.
- Reviewed customer feedback to enhance service delivery methods, primarily via improvements to service desk function.
- Coordinated with various departments, improved inter-department collaboration.
- Fostered strong relationships with technical vendors.
- Ensured seamless operations by anticipating potential IT issues with a strong focus on disaster recover and business continuity processes.
- Responded promptly to service outage issues, minimising downtime and disruption.
- Implemented innovative solutions - notably for voice communication - for enhanced operational efficiency.
- Updated process documentation regularly for accuracy and compliance.
- Monitored performance metrics and identified areas for improvement.
- Established and troubleshot network and data communications systems.
- Used Freshservice to track and manage support tickets and document actions.
Client Computing and Telephony Manager
Dignity plc
Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands
06.2014 - 02.2018
- Responsible for managing the corporate IT service desk. My small team (fewer than 10 agents) supported a user-base of approximately 2,000 staff.
- Responsible for procuring, deploying and maintaining end-user computing devices.
- Responsible for ordering, coordinating installation of, and maintaining data connections to corporate branches nationwide: more than 800 funeral branches, 46 crematoria, regional administration and manufacturing sites, and remote workers.
- Responsible for designing and maintaining unified corporate telephony system, ensuring client calls are delivered intelligently inside and outside of trading hours.
- Led performance reviews with staff, identifying areas for improvement.
- Liaised with suppliers to ensure timely deliveries.
- Coordinated hiring, recruitment and training strategies to build successful IT team.
- Translated senior management directives into actionable front-line policies and implemented changes with staff.
Network and Communication Analyst
Dignity plc
Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands
01.2001 - 06.2014
- First role in IT, acting initially as service desk agent to support (limited) pool of end-users companywide.
- Responsible for maintaining and improving corporate data backup system: IBM Tivoli Storage Manager.
- Assisted IT Development team in designing bespoke CRM system based on Visual Basic and MS SQL Server. First exposure to object-oriented programming.
- Assisted IT Service Delivery Manager in migrating voice communications away from standard PSTN voice lines onto BT Featureline technology. First exposure to intelligent voice routing. Ended up owning this process completely.
- Assisted with migration of corporate contact centre voice platform away from simple SDX product to Nortel/Avaya CC6 contact centre system. First exposure to contact centre scripting.
- Rolled out same Avaya base product to head office functions, with sole responsibility for 'moves, adds and changes'.
- Created (from scratch) MS Windows application to enable heads-up viewing of key information regarding computing devices, data connections and voice billing costs, all in one application. This product - written using VB.net (self-taught) and SQL - remains in use today.
Regional Management Accountant
Associated Funeral Directors Limited
Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands
08.1996 - 01.2001
- Responsible for preparing management accounts for Scotland and Northern Ireland regions. Overseeing month-end closing activities, ensuring accurate internal reporting.
- Managed team of 3 staff.
- Assisted in budget preparation for better cost control.
- Part of wider finance project team migrating away from IBM AS400 system to Oracle Financials system.
- Developed reporting spreadsheet using MS Excel to process outputs from Oracle system, allowing monthly management accounts to be presented accurately and quickly, saving hours of work monthly for wider management accounts team. Proud that this spreadsheet remains in use today, more than 25 years after creation.
Trainee Accountant
Concentric plc
Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands
09.1990 - 08.1996
- Exposure to fundamentals of sales ledger, purchase ledger, treasury and payroll functions at placements throughout Concentric group.
- Responsible for job costing function at Concentric Pumps Limited, overseeing - for each specific development and production project - capture of material, labour and overhead costs and their reporting at senior leadership meetings.
Education
CIMA Accounting (part-qualified)
Birmingham Polytechnic (later Birmingham City University)
09.1990 - 05.1994
A-Levels - Mathematics, Physics, Accounting, Economics
Josiah Mason Sixth Form College
Erdington, Birmingham 09.1988 - 06.1990
GCSEs - Mathematics, English, English Literature, Physics, Biology, Geography, French, Art.
Stockland Green Secondary School
Erdington, Birmingham 09.1983 - 06.1988
Skills
- Customer Service
- Stakeholder management
- Microsoft Office Suite
- Data analysis
- Time efficiency
- System troubleshooting
- Performance metrics evaluation
- Team Leadership
- Financial reporting
Other Roles
Parent Governor and Chair of Finance
Featherstone Primary School, Erdington, Birmingham.
2009-2011
Affiliations
- Former cricketer (Aston Manor CC)
- Former Australian Rules player and chairman (Birmingham Crows)
- Keen backgammon player (represented Birmingham)
- Passion for cooking
- Interested in learning modern languages
- Love travelling
Languages
Romanian
Upper intermediate
Greek
Intermediate
Polish
Intermediate
Italian
Elementary
Timeline
IT Service Delivery Manager
Dignity Funerals Limited
02.2018 - 06.2025
Client Computing and Telephony Manager
Dignity plc
06.2014 - 02.2018
Network and Communication Analyst
Dignity plc
01.2001 - 06.2014
Regional Management Accountant
Associated Funeral Directors Limited
08.1996 - 01.2001
Trainee Accountant
Concentric plc
09.1990 - 08.1996
CIMA Accounting (part-qualified)
Birmingham Polytechnic (later Birmingham City University)
09.1990 - 05.1994
A-Levels - Mathematics, Physics, Accounting, Economics
Josiah Mason Sixth Form College
09.1988 - 06.1990
GCSEs - Mathematics, English, English Literature, Physics, Biology, Geography, French, Art.
Stockland Green Secondary School
09.1983 - 06.1988
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