About Mark

CONSULTANCY AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

December 2010 - Present

Freelance independent management consultant and researcher.

Currently learning Welsh.

1996-2010

Director, management consultant and researcher for Social Information Systems. Clients included social care (adults and children), education, health, youth justice, youth service and early years sectors in England, the Republic of Ireland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

1988-1996

Cheshire County Council’s internal management consultancy department, providing management consultancy support to the chief executive's office/corporate personnel, corporate finance, education, environmental services, highways, culture/leisure, and social services.


QUALIFICATIONS

MBA, Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University

BA, Modern History, University of Oxford




SKILLS


Highly adaptable analytical skills, accustomed to working across a range of business environments. Flexible in approach, able to be creative, pragmatic and innovative solutions in dealing with uncertainty and change.  Determined to provide practical solutions to enhance organisational performance.

Participative in approach: experienced in working in environments where there are multiple needs to be addressed, whether as a result of working with multi-agency clients (statutory and non-statutory), different levels of staff within an organisation (from senior management to front-line practitioners), service users, Government bodies or umbrella organisations.

Application of research and consultancy skills to:

  • Caseload management: developer of a unique approach to caseload management for social work, educational welfare and associated disciplines.
  • Performance management:- reviews and evaluations; development of outcome-focused metrics; review of organisational structures.
  • Plans and strategies: Development/review of plans/strategies and associated business plans; implementation of new legislation/policies/guidance to assist organisations in responding to change.
  • Process design, review and improvement: criteria/thresholds; business process mapping; independent reviewer; early help/CAF/Lead Professional; assessment planning and review.
  • Resources: staffing reviews; reviews; reviews of administrative support and other support services; development of training packages.
  • Research techniques: 
    • Action research; 
    • Qualitative research (interviews, focus groups, survey and questionnaires, content analysis);
    • Quantitative analysis and data interpretation (development of audit tools; database/ spreadsheet design and analysis; statistical analysis);
    • Market analysis (competitor analysis, application of PEST and SWOT analyses, commissioner interviews);
    • Technical skills: experienced with the full MS Office Suite, including Access, Visio and MS Project.  Also used SPSS and Dreamweaver.