Zara Dooley

I drive operational excellence within Employment Services at The Growth Company. Starting on the Triage Team, I introduced new processes and shaped its future direction, now supporting five Employment Support contracts. I design and implement reporting tools, train teams, and collaborate with Senior Leadership to optimise referral performance.

I lead the PRAP function for IPSPC, working closely with commissioners (GMCA) and prime contractors (DWP) to secure referrals. My role includes risk assessment, compliance oversight, and ensuring borough-level targets are met. I maintain strong stakeholder relationships, run weekly performance reviews, and present the company at community events to boost engagement. I'm passionate about building strong partnerships, improving processes and delivering measurable results.

With a background in data analysis, I create tailored reports and simplify complex data for accessibility. I'm highly organised, adaptable and skilled in Microsoft Office and Power BI, with a proven ability to manage workloads, train new starters, and implement process improvements.

• Overseen centralised Scheduling team to ensure operational resources are fully productive and utilised in the most efficient way.
• Led, coached and motivated 20 direct reports to deliver divisional objectives in relation to quality and performance.
• Updated senior leadership and office management on team's activities and progress at daily, weekly and monthly meetings.
• Created productive collaboration and communication with all levels of senior leadership.
• Presented analysis of strategic opportunities to operational, technical and strategic specialists.
• Set office policies and procedures to keep team members coordinated.
• Resolved team conflicts and assisted with identified problems to maintain sense of teamwork.
• Scheduled staff and delegated assignments to adequately cover operational and project requirements.
• Directed recruitment activities to select and hire talented workforce.
• Delivered new hire training and mentored established staff on processes and procedure maximising compliance and consistency.
• Input current metrics into tracking documents and spreadsheets and prepared reports.
• Partnered collaboratively with other departments to determine optimum schedules for special projects.
• Networked with additional contracts to build rapport and to encourage marketing of products available to buy.
• Conducted individual appraisals, set KPI targets, and devised professional development plans to improve staff performance.
• Aligned departmental goals, processes and resource allocation with organisational strategy.
• Worked with analysts to run scenario planning and strategic forecasting.
• Supported day-to-day operation of relevant projects and initiatives to assist in meeting margin goals.
• Coordinated strategic planning activities based on current data.
• Defined problems and scoped, analysed and prepared strategic solutions.
• Implemented proactive changes to programme operations to best meet goals.
• Monitored and reported on ongoing projects to help achieve departmental targets.
• Managed work on short-term opportunities while organising long-term strategic planning.

• Accurately collate and report on data within the service.
• Ensure sufficient resource is available to meet workload demands whilst maintaining cost effective practice.
• Produce effective resource scheduling to maximise performance and meet KPI/SLA.
• Manage 'off phone' activities and training that has an impact on service performance.
• Ensure correct procedures are followed when updating and recording all communication into the CRM system (Cleric).
• Liaise, interact and influence across the operational management team on all matters resource and planning related.
• Work with WFM (Workforce Management) systems to pull off reports, schedule and manage offline activities.
• Gained excellent keyboard and excel knowledge including Power BI.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Proven experience analysing, interpreting and summarising complex data, ensuring to look at trends and record these accurately.
• Strong understanding of business requirements and call centre operation capabilities.
• Strong planning, time management and organisational skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and written.
• Training and coaching of staff.
• Developing personal growth opportunities.

• Matched needed service of patients to suitably qualified and experienced care workers to provide high-quality service.
• Conducted new business assessments, producing individual support plans and risk assessments to determine scope of service.
• Allocated suitable carer to customers and answered questions or concerns to alleviate stress or confusion.
• Managed and monitored branch rostering requirements of individual care teams.
• Responded efficiently to day-to-day changes in care and support packages.
• Liaised with variety of healthcare professionals, social workers and case managers to deliver highest level of care to service users.
• Adhered to health and safety requirements in all aspects of care.
• Observed and respected patient dignity, privacy and independence to encourage communication.
• Promoted individual wellbeing, verifying service users were safeguarded against abuse and neglect.
• Liaised with families and caregivers to develop balanced rehabilitation programmes.
• Prepared reports for legal action and provided evidence in court.
• Attended regular training and supervision workshops for improved service user support.
• Oversaw multiple social work cases simultaneously, directing assessments, conducting interviews and recommending best courses of action.

• Ensured there was enough staffing throughout the trust to maintain safe staffing levels.
• Reached out to both Agency and bank agents to cover areas within the trust that had low staffing levels.
• Communicated with all staff within the trust via email, phone call, face to face dealing with day to day activities.
• Demonstrated respect, friendliness and willingness to help wherever needed.
• Collated feedback from ward managers on there thoughts on the WFM systems in place and how we could make it easier for them to utilise the systems to the best of their ability.
• Supported team by demonstrating respect and willingness to help.
• Within my time here I was able to be part of a project in moving medical staffing from paper schedules to electronic which included setting up and transferring the teams on to the WFM system, creating their schedules and showing the medical staffing team how to utilise their WFM through training sessions. Additionally to this I was given the opportunity to operate on the back office of the system to allow and ensure the functionality was working correctly and efficiently.