Work Experience

Took a planned career break following 10 enjoyable years at River Island.

Used this time to focus on personal development, family and hands-on technical learning, including:

• Training for and completing the UK Three Peaks Challenge in 22h 45m
• Designing, building and deploying web and native applications using AI-assisted development tools, including full CI/CD pipelines into production
• Practical home renovation and project work
• Actively supporting my son's first term at school, including daily drop-offs, pick-ups and school activities

Now ready to return to a senior technology leadership or delivery-focused role.

Senior owner of all in-store technology across the River Island estate, responsible for the design, development, testing, deployment and operational support of store platforms at scale.

Responsibilities & Scope

• End-to-end ownership of store technology including infrastructure, POS platforms, mobile devices and self-checkout systems
• Responsibility for technology delivery across store openings, refits and closures
• Line management of two teams (11 total):
• Retail Support (2nd line)
• Store Platform (3rd line / engineering & deployment)
• Vendor and third-party management across hardware, networking, POS and in-store support providers

Major Programmes & Achievements

• Rolled out Extreme Networks switches and access points across the store estate, improving coverage, capacity, visibility and security
• Introduced Entra ID (Azure AD) providing centralised digital identity for 6,000+ store staff
• Deployed Microsoft Teams to stores during COVID, modernising communications and improving operational resilience
• Designed and deployed Samsung X Cover 5 as a unified store mobile device, delivering significant cost savings and operational simplification
• Built and deployed modern POS hardware platforms to support Enactor POS in large and flagship stores, reducing transaction times and improving uptime
• Delivered RFID-enabled self-checkout solutions, increasing customer choice, transaction flow and staff efficiency

Led 2nd and 3rd line support for retail applications and POS platforms across the store estate.

• Supported and enhanced POS applications and hardware across 280 stores
• Played a key role in the rollout of Enactor POS alongside legacy Retail-J during a complex migration period
• Delivered Zebra MC40 Android mobile devices and Zebra EWB radios to all stores, enabling digital store processes for the first time
• Increased team capability and responsibility through improved processes and documentation

Managed a 30-person office relocation, coordinating internal teams and third-party suppliers to deliver on time and without disruption

• Managed user access across enterprise systems
• Created and updated role documentation and operational processes
• Contributed to the implementation of Forefront Identity Manager (FIM)

• 1st / 2nd line support for 800+ users
• Cisco IP telephony, Active Directory, Exchange 2010, VPN and mobile device support

Owned IT operations across head office, data centre and global retail estate

• Led IT Operations and Helpdesk teams
• Delivered major infrastructure and network projects including MPLS rollout to US stores
• Implemented VMware environments, Exchange 2010, AD migrations and backup solutions
• Introduced security improvements including firewalls, AV and two-factor authentication
• Delivered operational and technical changes supporting PCI DSS compliance

• Managed helpdesk team and supported international offices
• Administered Exchange, AD, DNS, DHCP and Cisco networking
• Delivered global AV rollout and wireless upgrades

• 1st / 2nd line support for head office and retail stores
• Windows and Mac OS support, networking and documentation

• 2nd line support within a university technical support team