Customer Support Manager at Phocas Software with many years experience in Customer Support, Professional Serivces, Solution Design, Product Management, Software Development and line management of multiple teams.
I’m highly experienced in developing custom reporting and data integrations, having worked with many organisations on delivering technical solutions to real business challenges and goals.
I enjoy mentoring, problem solving and motivating myself, which I feel plays a key part in learning programming languages and creating bespoke solutions.
Phocas Software, Coventry, United Kingdom
March 2022 - Present
As the Customer Support Manager I manage and coach the customer support team in the UK. As a team, we deliver an awesome customer experience to our customers.
Gainsight, London, United Kingdom
July 2021 - March 2022 (9 months)
As a Solutions Architect at Gainsight, I worked with new and existing clients to align Gainsight features & functionality to best support their CS strategy, driving towards achievement of desired outcomes.
As a Technical Account Manager, clients consulted me on best practices for Gainsight and I helped them to define architectural and data structure to support those requirements. Aside from consulting, I also acted as a Gainsight Administrator for some clients.
Upland Software, Coventry, United Kingdom
May 2020 - July 2021 (1 year 3 months)
Moving into a global role, I was the line manager of the training team for the Global Services department and responsible for the maintenance and overall quality of all training programmes, including LMS and Webinars.
I also continued to support the Operations Director with Services reporting, processes, forecasting and revenue recognition. I also continued to develop and design a number of Service offerings and go to market strategies for the CXM division of Upland Software.
Upland Software, Coventry, United Kingdom
March 2019 – May 2020 (1 year 3 months)
Utilising my experience with Adestra and Rant & Rave, I ran the Services team for Upland Software in EMEA. When Upland Software acquired Adestra and Rant & Rave, I was involved in the employee consultations, so I have first hand experience with detailing out organisational changes in a sensitive manner.
I managed a department with 5 teams; Technical Services, Project Management, Training, Digital Design and Insights with key objectives and responsibilities being:
Rant & Rave, Coventry, United Kingdom
September 2018 – March 2019 (7 months)
As the Technical Lead within the Professional Services team, I was hired to become the subject matter expert and drive the growth of technical knowledge.
The role required me to provide a high level of communication and use my leadership skills to drive excellent customer advocacy and the growth of the team.
I also supported the wider business by talking directly to clients either at their offices or via conference calls - helping them understand our solutions and their implementation.
Main tools and technologies used:
Adestra Ltd, Oxford, United Kingdom
April 2017 – September 2018 (1 year 6 months)
Covering for maternity leave - I was responsible for the line management of the Product Management team at Adestra.
I supported the team in the coordination of developments to MessageFocus, including user story design and product backlog management.
I communicated releases of the product to Adestra’s internal teams with monthly presentations that showcase the latest developments. I also provided advice, knowledge and support in relation to the product.
Main tools and technologies used:
Adestra Ltd, Oxford, United Kingdom
August 2016 – September 2018 (2 years 2 months)
As a Manager, I was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Technical Solutions team at Adestra. I was involved in pre-sales meetings and requirements scoping - finding out what clients need by communicating directly with them and our Account Managers and Project Managers.
My team was responsible for providing 3rd Line Technical Support to Adestra’s clients and internal technical training for our 1st/2nd Line Technical Support teams, training them on Unix command line tools so they’re able to view and navigate around web/mail logs.
A typical day for me involved several calls with clients to catch up on their projects, mentoring the developers and ensuring they were working to a high level and helping them resolve any issues that are preventing them from closing a project.
I also got involved in the development of writing bespoke reports for our clients.
Main tools and technologies used:
Thames Valley Police, Oxford, United Kingdom
February 2012 – February 2014 (2 years 1 month)
I wanted to do something extra for my local community so I applied to become a Special Constable for Thames Valley Police. After passing their fitness test, medical and academic tests, I started working for them in February 2012. I had to keep up-to-date with new processes and training programmes which were all done outside of my normal work as a software developer.
My Police duties involved me working closely with the local communities and organisations to maintain law and order. I was also responsible for responding to emergency calls from members of the public, such as domestic disputes and interviewing witnesses/suspects and controlling the traffic after a road accident.
Adestra Ltd, Oxford, United Kingdom
January 2008 – August 2016 (8 years 8 months)
As a software developer, I was responsible for writing bespoke reports and data integrations into our platform. I also helped write application code in Perl, using Catalyst.
On a typical day, I would write complex queries in PostgreSQL, process the results and output it into a format suitable for the clients needs. I learned a lot about the unix command line and became very familiar with phpPgAdmin/psql command line tools.
Main tools and technologies used:
Adestra Ltd, Oxford, United Kingdom
January 2007 – January 2008 (1 year 1 month)
In 2007, Adestra split their client services team into two groups, one to help with general support queries and one to help with HTML email design, known as Production. I was asked to become a Production Executive after proving I had the ability to design email templates. Clients would provide us with old HTML templates which we would convert into ‘clean’ HTML, or a PDF file which would be worked on in Adobe Photoshop.
Main tools and technologies used:
Adestra Ltd, Oxford, United Kingdom
July 2006 – January 2007 (7 months)
I worked on the support desk as a Client Services Executive where I answered questions on email marketing best practices, data management and HTML email design. I also provided 1st Line Technical Support for their email marketing platform, MessageFocus.
Main tools and technologies used:
Ultima Business Solutions, Reading, United Kingdom
February 2006 – July 2006 (6 months)
This was my first full-time IT job where I worked in the configuration centre for Ultima Business Solutions. I was heavily involved in configuring, repairing and building various customer systems such as desktop computers, laptops and servers. This also involved lots of travel around the UK to customer sites.
Thames Valley Police, Oxford, United Kingdom
January 2006 – February 2006 (1 month)
Working in the Training department, where I was responsible for enrolling police officers on courses. The database I worked with was PeopleSoft version 8. I also answered questions over the phone, helping officers with their questions on the courses that Thames Valley Police offer.
The Morning Star, Cholsey, United Kingdom
July 2004 – February 2006 (1 year, 8 months)
Served food/drink, stock control and cash handling, cleaning and working in the cellar.
Flint House Police Rehabilitation Centre, Goring-on-Thames, United Kingdom
November 2003 – June 2004 (7 months)
Assisted people when using the gymnasium equipment, responsible for inductions, setting programs, general health and well being.
Mannerings Sound & Vision, Harrow, United Kingdom
January 2001 – October 2003 (2 years, 9 months)
Assisted in the delivery and installation of consumer electronics and domestic appliance equipment. In store customer service & general enquiries, order handling, receipt and dispatch.
Henley College, Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom
2003 - 2005
Grade Achieved: Distinction
This course had a bias towards software design, but there were sufficient hardware and electronics units. The course consisted of the following 6 modules:
Other topics covered:
Issued August 2021
The Gainsight Associate Admin Certificate is for new Admins who are just starting their Gainsight Administration journey. Topics covered in the exam:
Issued August 2021
An industry certification for customer sucess professionals. This course covered on the following topics:
Issued May 2017
The Product Focus certification covered the full range of product management and product marketing disciplines. It focused on how to apply best practice tools and approaches in real-world situations.
Issued April 2014
This course provided basic life saving first aid skills and knowledge of workplace health and safety regulations, covering:
Issued June 2013
Course modules:
Adestra Ltd, Employee of the year, May 2018
Having continued to receive positive feedback from Adestra’s Leadership Team and being seen as a reference point by other senior managers and colleagues across the organisation, I was voted (runner up) Adestra’s employee of the year for the 5th time.
Adestra Ltd, Employee of the year, May 2017
I was voted Adestra’s employee of the year by my fellow Adestra employees. This was a joint award which my colleague Joe Matthews also won!
Adestra Ltd, Employee of the year, April 2015
I was voted (runner up) Adestra’s employee of the year by my fellow Adestra employees.
Adestra Ltd, Employee of the year, April 2014
For the second time, I was voted Adestra’s employee of the year by my fellow Adestra employees.
Adestra Ltd, Employee of the year, December 2007
I was voted Adestra’s employee of the year by my fellow Adestra employees.