IT recruitment, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Profiles

I joined in September 2007 and, following comprehensive initial business and technical training, I moved to a Business and Process Analyst role in the "Lean Team" identifying ways in which BA could improve its Customer Relations process. The most challenging aspect of the role was applying the principles of the Lean philosophy and suggesting recommendations.

After six months I moved into an application development role. This involved writing specifications and Java programming. It was a big jump from the programming I had done at University but luckily I had a great team around me who were very supportive and helpful.

My final placement has been in an Applications Support team which has several people working offshore in India. I am part of a team that supports applications related to Fuel, Airport Charges and Cargo Claims. This has involved a lot of testing in preparation for a database consolidation, as well as coding changes to applications in Visual Basic.

Finally I would say BA is a great place to work, mainly due to the friendly and helpful people I have encountered wherever my work has taken me. Throughout the ITP programme, I have been given challenges and opportunities but also support in the form of a mentor and training that has been appropriate to my role. Although I still have a lot to learn, I feel the ITP programme has been an excellent foundation for my future career.

Profiles

As a Business and Process Analyst I am responsible for analysing and defining solutions to business problems within a specific business area. This involves working with the process owners from the initial shaping phases of the project through to the eventual delivery of the finished system or change in business process, ensuring simplification throughout.

I work closely with the Technical Design Leads to design solutions and produce key supporting documentation. This includes the use of UML and other structured methods. I am a local champion for the LEAN methodology, and promote its use within all projects at Newcastle.

I have a strong relationship with the customers within my area and use this to identify new opportunities for business change and increased functionality. In order to foster this relationship I travel to London regularly to spend time in their business areas. I have also had to travel globally to places such as New York, Tokyo, Sydney and Dallas.

Profiles

As a Business Architect it is my role to identify opportunities for IT and process improvements within my specialist line area which is the BA global contact centres. I also ensure contact centre driven initiatives conform to the principles and directives of the BA IT strategy whilst also ensuring other initiatives confirm to the IT and business strategy of the contact centres. Principally I am in the shaping and definition of projects during their initial stages of the project life cycle however I provide consultancy throughout. My portfolio is varied and covers projects of just a few days to those spanning several years.

To fulfil my role I need to demonstrate an excellent business knowledge of my line area together with communication, influencing and presentation skills to interact with all levels both on the business and IT sides. I also need to demonstrate an excellent knowledge of the current and potential future technologies within my specialist line area but also knowledge of the overall contact centre marketplace and potential future opportunities.

Energy and enthusiasm are a must to ensure we remain focused on the ever changing needs of the airline industry and for me the evolving role of the contact centre in the face on the on-line revolution. I believe this is a very vibrant and exciting role, working with great people in a very exciting but extremely challenging industry.

Profiles

As a Design Authority I am responsible for maintaining the integrity of business process and technical design across a key functional area. This involves working closely with the senior managers of a number of different departments to shape the strategic direction for my area. Strong influencing, facilitation and creative skills are needed as there are regularly differing drivers and objectives, all of which need to be met.

When the strategic direction is established I am responsible for ensuring that a solution is designed that supports the vision. This could be either solely business change or IT enabled business change. The key challenge of the design process is to balance the needs of the immediate project with the more strategic objectives of simplifying the architecture and IT infrastructure, and adhering to technical standards.

I am responsible for the Business Architects and Technical Architects working on each project within my portfolio. I have overall responsibility for the design content produced by Business Analysts and Technical Design Leads. I take an active role in coaching and mentoring design staff, continually improving the capabilities of the team.

Outside of my role, I enjoy taking advantage of the many benefits offered by BA. As well as an excellent working environment with a real community spirit, BA also offers fantastic opportunities to travel at a discounted rate. In the last year I have been lucky enough to go to Arizona, Australia and California, and I am currently planning a trip to New Zealand.

Profiles

As a Technical Design Lead I'm responsible for the design of the project throughout its entire life cycle. This means that I work closely with the users to determine their requirements and agree a solution with them, while ensuring with the Design Authority that that solution is the best for the purpose and is in line with BA's standards. I'm responsible for producing much of the project documentation and for communicating the design to the rest of the delivery team, and I'm constantly involved in monitoring the solution right through to post-implementation to ensure that it meets the business need.

Design Lead is a very hands-on role that gives you the satisfaction of seeing a project through from start to finish. It involves balancing the project's requirement to be implemented on time and to budget with the need to produce a quality design that complies with BA's long-term IT strategies. It requires strong teamwork and communication skills and is a stimulating and rewarding role with an ever-changing set of challenges.

Profiles

As a Project Manager, I am responsible for a portfolio of projects. I currently manage all IT-related delivery projects for the Flight Operations area of British Airways. I am currently managing 9 projects of varying sizes, through a team of IT professionals with a total value of £1.2m.

My role requires strong project management and planning skills, managing deliveries to budget, time and quality. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are required in order to engage teams and individuals from within the business, external contractors and specialist teams across IM. As most projects involve a wide array of people, the ability to manage and motivate a team is essential. My role frequently requires me to work with third-party suppliers, so good supplier management skills are also essential. Customer liaison and influencing skills play an important part of the role, as everyone looks to the Project Manager to set expectations for the project.

Although the ability to work under pressure is a prerequisite for my role, I find the scope of the projects I’m managing and my personal contribution to one of BA’s key business areas is extremely rewarding.

Profiles

As a Project Stream Leader, I am responsible for a large portfolio of work on ba.com. At any one moment in time, this could be managing up to 40 to 50 deliverables of varying size. I am also responsible for up to 15 internal staff, as well as managing two third party suppliers.

The role therefore requires strong project management and planning skills, an ability to work to strict budgets, whilst at the same time trying to meet an ever increasing demand. It is essential to have very strong interpersonal and communication skills as you have people management responsibility and you are working across different business areas and applications. For example, Executive Club, UK Regional marketing, Online check in and Terminal 5 all have their own different priorities. In the projects I am responsible for we are delivering to all areas, therefore it is a very challenging, demanding but enjoyable role with very visible results. The website is very much at the heart of this airline’s business.

Profiles

As a Technical Architect I am responsible for ensuring all design deliveries within my area are in line with BA's technical architecture. I cover many projects simultaneously and my involvement on each can vary greatly. It can range from providing technical advice to the project design staff, through to long-term consultancy assignments, taking on the design delivery myself or even influencing change in the technical architecture itself, when necessary. This calls for a good all round understanding of IT architecture as well as in-depth knowledge in my specialist area of Data Warehousing. It also means that I need to be able to communicate complex concepts effectively to a wide range of people. So I need to be able to talk through coding problems with a developer or technical strategy with a Senior Manager equally well.

It is a wide-ranging role that requires a diverse set of skills and experience, as well as an aptitude for innovation tempered with practicality and objectivity. Ultimately it is about influencing and helping others to deliver quality design and that is always rewarding.

Profiles

As a Developer / Designer I am responsible for the detailed specification and delivery of IT solutions in line with the Corporate architecture and standards, as well as adhering to the Business area architecture and design. This involves the design, build, test and implementation of new and amended programs along with the production of all associated documentation.

I work closely with the Design Leads and Area Architect within the business area to ensure the delivered solution is, where possible, reusable and will not have an adverse effect of other projects. Within my current project team I am involved in many projects simultaneously, which gives me a good all-round overview of the area which is essential when considering the impact of individual project solutions on the project area as a whole.

The Developer / Designer role gives the opportunity to continue in a hands-on technical role along with a greater involvement in the development team. The role has also involved mentoring developers new to the project area and being a source of technical / application consultancy both inside and outside of the project team.