Curriculum Vitae 

October 1996 - June 1997

Heartlands Hospital School  

September 1992 - October 1996

The City Technology College, Kingshurst 

Microsoft Certified Professional                     Pass                             February 2001

(Windows 2000 MCSE Track - Exam 70-210) 

Information Technology GCSE                      A*                                 June 1997 

Mathematics GCSE                                     B                                  June 1997 

English GCSE                                             C                                  June 1997          

Science AEB                                              Pass with Merit              May 1997 

Life Skills AEB                                            85%                              May 1997 

Health, Hygiene and Safety AEB                   Pass with Merit              May 1997 

World of Work AEB (Business Studies)         Pass with Merit              May 1995 

July 2005 Supporting NPfIT Commpunity PAS – Sandwell PCTs, NHS

A course to gear up ICT staff to support the NHS’s Community PAS application, part of the National Programme for IT. 

January 2003 Achieving Excellent Customer Relations – [snip]

Course focusing on achieving required results from both internal and external customers. 

December 2001 Introductory Leadership Training – The Scout Association

Training for all warranted Leaders of The Scout Association, working with 6 to 20 year olds. 

February 2001 Installing, Upgrading & Supporting Watchguard Firewalls – Watchguard

Covering Watchguard firewalls for both SOHO and corporate environments. Included installation, support and upgrades of current range of products, and installation and support of VPNs using firewall devices. 

January 2001 Wam!Net Installation & Support Training – Wam!Net

Installation & support training for Wam!Net & ADS (Art Delivery System) software/hardware on the Apple Macintosh platform.
 

January 2001 VentureTech Network Product Training  – VentureTech (Ingram Micros)

Training concentrating on partnership with 3Com, Compaq, HP, Cable & Wireless and Psion in relation to their current and future product ranges. 

October 1999 Team Building – Hilsdon Lodge Outdoor Education Centre

Outdoor skills course for supervisory/management staff to learn how to maximise team building and leading skills. 

March 1999 SPS Administration – Saratoga Systems

Creation and administration of this Sales Productivity package. 

February 1999 Seagate Crystal Reports Professional – Seagate

Using Crystal Reports to create advanced reports using data from external sources. 

August 1998 MS Windows NT Server Administration (Advanced) – [snip]

Windows NT administration. 

April 1998 Novell Netware 3.12/4.11 Administration – [snip]

Basic administration of Novell Netware 3.12/4.11 

July 2004 to Date  [snip] – ICT Senior Tech Consultant

A 2 month contract extended on several occasions before becoming a permanent position. I am the senior technical lead within the [snip] team. Roles include:

·  Second and third (final) line technical support and consultation for three Primary Care Trusts across several main sites plus GPs surgeries throughout Sandwell.

·  Second and third (final) line support and consultation for network operations.

·  Installation, administration and support of Windows 98, Windows 2000 and Windows XP desktops and laptops.

·  Installation, administration and support of Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 servers.

·  Installation, administration and support of SQL Server 2000, Exchange Server 5.5, Exchange Server 2003 and Citrix Metaframe XP servers.

·  Management of image creation and standardisation for desktops (Windows XP) and servers (Windows 2000/2003). Utilisation of Ghost and unattended install for deployment.

·  Infrastructure and systems design and management.

·  Technical guidance of other staff across all ability levels (users, helpdesk analysts, management, board and members of other internal departments).

·  Technical support and consultation to c. 1500 users using a wide variety of desktop software, including both off-the-shelf and bespoke products (MS Office, Sun, etc) across the three Primary Care Trusts and approximately 120 sites.

·  Technical consultation with [snip] suppliers (both services and hardware).

·  Project management of the implementation of a technical support service desk, both from a technical/software perspective and a business perspective. The service desk is used by 1500 users and over 30 [snip] staff (1^st – 3^rd line support and management).

·  Technical project management of migration project from a Windows NT 4 backend infrastructure to a Windows 2003 backend infrastructure.

·  Implementation and management of security-related infrastructures including anti-virus, remote access and backups. 

March 2004 to July 2004  [snip] – On-Site Consultant

A 4 week contract that was extended several times. This position involved supporting the Social Care and Health Directorate of [snip] with c.7,500 users c.250 sites. Roles included:

·  Installation, administration and support of sites with varying types of infrastructure from stand-alone sites to LAN sites to sites with LANs connected to the Directorate’s city-wide WAN.

·  Managing own work as assigned from either the helpdesk (for support issues) or purchasing (for new installs).

·  Being final line resolution for all support issues.

·  Installation, administration and support of Windows 95, NT4, Windows 2000 and Windows XP desktops and laptops.

·  Administration and support of Netware 6.x servers for file and printing and Lotus Notes for database and mail.

·  Hardware based image creation of a common desktop platform for Windows 2000/Windows XP operating systems. Utilisation of Ghost for deployment.

·  Technical guidance of other staff across all ability levels (users, helpdesk analysts, other on-site consultants, management and members of other internal departments).

·  Technical support to users using a wide variety of desktop software, including both off-the-shelf and bespoke products (MS Office, Lotus Notes, CareFirst, etc).

·  Technical and operational integration and consultation between the Directorate’s social services and health areas in hospitals and other NHS sites. 

January 2004 to February 2004 – Spent hiking around the UK. 

July 2001 to December 2003  [snip]  - Tier 3 Consultant (later & Team Leader)

A 10 week contract that was extended several times before becoming a permanent position. I took up the additional responsibilities of a Team Leader role in addition to normal duties during the early part of 2003. I was a consultant for [snip] on their customer site, [snip]. This was at third/final line support level within the Server and Platform team, and this position has involved:

·  Usage of LANDesk Suite to manage c. 2000 workstations and 100 servers.

·  Creation of a customised Windows NT4 Workstation client to meet the customer’s requirements, and implementation project for 2,000+ users across the company.

·  Detailed registry and installation routine editing of applications (both commercial and bespoke) using LANDesk to create packages for the customised NT4 client.

·  Use of Ghost to create images and Ghost Multicast servers for deployment teams/2^nd line support to rebuild PCs “in the field.”

·  Migration from a legacy NT4 backend infrastructure to a new environment based on a Windows 2000 (and later 2003) backend infrastructure (including Active Directory forests, Exchange 2000, SQL 2000, SANs and clustered servers).

·  Project-based work not covered by existing facilities maintenance contracts (eg implementation of new servers and software). This included leading project-based work and being a team member in project-based work.

·  Implementation and roll-out of new software across the business. This involves:

o Gaining familiarity with software.

o Liaison with the business, with users and with third party suppliers and developers.

o Structuring a roll-out plan to clients and servers throughout the business.

o Implementing roll-out plan in development and live environments.

o Implementation of update routines for software.

o Familiarising 1^st and 2^nd line support teams with common issues of the software.

·  Separation of [snip] and [snip] systems, servers, clients, networks and platforms following the split of [snip] from the group.

·  Final line support for all issues relating to server and platform infrastructure including previously mentioned 2,000 workstations, 100 servers and 2,000+ users.

·  Technical guidance of 1^st and 2^nd line support staff.

·  Liaison with, and professional consultation to, [snip] team members and management as well as [snip] users and management.

·  Use of Remedy business management software for call/job/log/change/support action and monitoring.

·  Involvement in the implementation of HP Service Desk business management software for service call/work order/event action and monitoring.

·  Team Leader responsibilities of the Desktop Management Team and other members of staff. 

July 2000 to July 2001  [snip] – Snr Tech Consultant

As a senior member (both field & office based) of the technical team for this total solutions provider I supported a wide range of products for clients from many different market sectors including private sector, public sector, NHS and educational organisations. Duties included:

·  Day-to-day support of clients to different levels – some require total network & desktop management, others required support for their IT departments when issues are of a more complex nature and client’s in-house staff lacked the knowledge to resolve such issues.

·  Support of a range of server platforms – based around Microsoft Windows NT4/2000, Citrix Metaframe and Novell Netware solutions & infrastructures.

·  Support of a range of desktop platforms – including Windows 95/98/Me/2000, Apple MacOS and thin clients.

·  Support of many different network topologies and types of infrastructure.

·  Pre sales consultation and project management also involving the client and sales team to discover the client’s needs and the best solutions to implement given all the influencing factors.

·  Post sales consultation to ensure the solutions implemented are running smoothly, and to constantly re-assess the client’s needs.

·  Solution implementation and installations – including servers (NT4/2000/Metaframe/Netware) and desktop systems (98/Me/2000).

·  Research into, assessment and testing of new systems, technologies, methods and products before using them in client solutions.

·  Support of internal systems which include:

o Citrix Metaframe, Windows 2000 & NT4 and Netware 3.12 & 4.11 servers.

o Windows 95/98/Me/2000 desktops.

o Thin clients attaching to Citrix Metaframe servers.

·  Support of hardware, including servers, desktops, laptops, monitors, printers, other peripherals, routers and hubs from a wide range of manufacturers.

·  Support of various mail servers (MS Exchange, RedRock NetNow!) and office applications (MS Office 97/2000, StarOffice, bespoke software).

·  Support of Network Alchemy range of telephony products & software integration tools.

·  Use of, and lead developer for, bespoke Access application used for customer relationship management, sales and marketing, technical helpdesk, technical support, and logistics. 

January 1999 to July 2000  [snip] – IT Co ordinator/Administrator/Developer/Analyst

In control of all IT aspects on a site with approximately 100 users and reporting to the Finance Manager, I was generally left to run the department as I saw fit. Day to day duties included:

·  Ensuring IT department and IT infrastructure runs smoothly.

·  Management of fluctuating numbers of staff within department.

·  Systems administration and support of multi-platform network including NT4, Netware 3.12, AIX 4, Windows 95/98/3.1x and DOS.

·  Reporting from Glovia ERP system using Seagate Crystal Reports.

·  Support of many software packages used by our end users including (but not limited to) Office 4.3/97/2000, Outlook/Outlook Express, Pro IV, LookOUT.

·  Interaction with users concerning current issues.

·  Help desk management.

·  Management of software licensing.

·  Liaison with suppliers.

·  Support of three other sites encompassing another c. 80 users.

·  Fault finding, diagnosis and resolution of hardware and software problems.

·  Specifying, building, repairing, upgrading and replacing PC and server hardware at component level.

·  Consultation and support to corporate head office and other sites world wide as required. 

I was also responsible for new IT related projects, from the initial conception through “go live” to post-go live reviewing. Projects that I carried out include:

·  Implementation of a NT4 network.

·  Complete systems documentation.

·  ERP improvements (includes many sub-projects)

·  E-mail implementation.

·  Internet connectivity for site.

·  An intranet.

·  VPN with other local sites (to research the feasibility of a global VPN).

·  Conception, creation and running of training courses for end users.

·  Implementation of help desk software to streamline the department and its functions. 

March 1998 to Dec. 1998  [snip]  – Tech Support

[snip] is a total solutions provider accredited by Microsoft, Compaq, HP and Citrix amongst many others. This gave me exposure to supporting a wide range of clients in a wide range of industries in my role as a Technical Support Engineer. Tasks included:

·  Upgrading, configuring, installing, and testing of branded PCs and servers.

·  Configuration, installation and testing of peripherals.

·  Installation, configuration and testing of an extensive range of software.

·  Problem analysis and resolution with PCs, servers, peripherals and software.

·  Helpdesk support of a wide range of hardware and software.

·  Consultation to sales staff and customers on solutions to fit the current needs of the client.

·  In house maintenance of internal systems (NT4, Netware 3.12, Citrix Winframe, Win 95).

·  Beta testing Office 2000 for [snip] and Microsoft. 

July 1997 to October 1997  [snip].- Office Junior (Accounts)

·  All aspects of basic office work, helping other staff as required.

·  Working on purchase/sales ledger.

·  Dealing with all forms of internal and external communications.

·  Conception and implementation of database and spreadsheet solutions.

Available on request.