Darran Matthews

Experience

• 

  Barclays

  Sept 2005 - Jul 2011

  Financial Planning Manager

  I enjoyed various roles at Barclays. It was my first real job after university and they taught me some excellent core values.I started as a Cashier and within a year I was promoted to the role of Personal Banker. This was unheard of at the time and I was very proud of this achievement. As a Personal Banker, my role was to identify needs and provide solutions based on these. I conducted fact-finds and helped my customers either save money by reducing the interest they were paying on their debt, or help their money work harder for them by offering saving solutions such as ISAs.As part of my role, there was a limit to how much help I could provide so I would often advise customers speak to our Financial Planners and Mortgage Advisors. This approach helped my customers by opening doors to solutions they wouldn't have necessarily considered. I worked closely with the Financial Planners and Mortgage Advisors to ensure my knowledge was where it needed to be and this ultimately led to my next step up which was to move into a Financial Planner role myself. As a Financial Planner, I provided financial advice, ranging from investments to pensions and life insurance. In order to provide this advice, I would conduct a fact-find which would allow me to determine the needs of my clients. Once the need was established I would arrange a follow-up meeting where I would present my recommendations. Everything was based on a need. I worked as a Financial Planner for Barclays for 18 months before Barclays decided to withdraw their financial offering and as a result, I was made redundant. Show less

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  AXA Financial

  Jul 2011 - Mar 2013

  Financial Planning Manager

  I enjoyed two successful years working with AXA. My role was to provide financial advice, ranging from investments to pensions and life insurance. In order to provide this advice, I would conduct a fact-find which would allow me to determine the needs of my clients. Once the need was established I would arrange a follow-up meeting where I would present my recommendations. Everything was based on a need. My proudest achievement with AXA occurred whilst I was working out of Yorkshire Banks Eston branch. I took over from a previous advisor that felt there was no opportunity to achieve any targets whilst working in this branch. I formed a fantastic relationship with the Branch Manager and the Cashiers in the branch and the leads soon started coming in. I was successfully converting these leads into sales and confidence in the branch exploded. We were soon being highlighted in the region for the fantastic job we were doing. Due to our success, the Branch Manager was offered a promotion to a bigger branch in the area, but would only accept if I was part of the deal- the ultimate compliment! Needless to say, I joined her.I only left AXA because they decided to withdraw their financial offering due to the credit crunch, meaning we were made redundant. Show less

• 

  Visualsoft Ltd

  Sept 2013 - Aug 2024

  Working with our Enterprise tier merchants to help drive their growth.● Team Lead for a department that worked with Visualsoft's Enterprise level clients● I led a team of five Project Managers with a strong commitment to fostering a positive team culture. I actively supported team members by consistently being available to assist them. Our regular one-on-one and team meetings allowed for open communication, resulting in valuable feedback that led to tangible improvements and the development of a cohesive team spirit.● Reviewed processes and made improvements to streamline our workflow● Worked continually with other HoDs to determine the best way to maximise efficiency and ensure project delivery● Improved client relationships, this was reflected in client feedback● Introduced monthly reporting which gave our clients an overview of how their development time was being used● Oversaw our migration to Jira and confluence, training the team on best practices and evaluating how to get the best out of the functionality within our department● Utilised agile methodologies to manage and deliver projects● Worked with Clients, advising them on third parties that could help them scale Show less As Partnership Manager for Visualsoft, my role is to maintain and build relationships that enhance our platform. Working at a strategic level, I work closely with partners that we deem to be the best in our field, providing us with specialist solutions, knowledge, and insight to enhance our offering. This approach ultimately makes working with Visualsoft an even better experience and helps our clients grow. Examples of these are payment gateways, EPOS solutions, personalisation, review platforms and a whole lot more.Achievements● Identified new strategic partnership opportunities, managing negotiations from the initial discussion, through to the signing of commercial agreements and the relationship beyond● Reinvigorated our relationships with existing partners● Strategically reviewed which partners brought value to our platform, removing ones that provided no value● Led commercial discussions on build costs and commission for third-party integrations● Provided revenue forecasting for the board - quarterly income projections andaccrual rates from project builds and revenue share● Attended numerous conferences for networking● Agreed our highest revenue deal with a third party which included a new build, revenue share and marketing funds● Won Trustpilots ‘Partner of the year’ award in 2019● Collaborated on the VS partner hub● Collaborated in partner events such as VSFest and the Belfry● Hosted ‘Lunch & Learn’ events, inviting partners to attend our HQ and educate our staff on their product● Attended Partner ‘Lunch & Learn’ events, educating partners on what Visualsoft can offer● Worked with our partner's marketing teams to give our brand more exposure.● Worked in tandem with our Brand Team to ensure partners had all assets and copy needed to keep their website up-to-date and visible Show less I have enjoyed a successful career within Visualsoft as an Account Manager. As a company that promotes from within and encourages progression, I have enjoyed various promotions, starting as an Account Manager before moving into a Senior role, then becoming a Team Leader and finally working as an Enterprise Account Manager. In my time I have worked with the complete spectrum of our portfolio, ranging from start-ups to our biggest and most successful clients. I have taken great satisfaction in helping these clients grow their presence online, becoming an extension of their own business to better understand their strengths, weaknesses and uncover any opportunities to grow their revenue/presence even further.The foundation of my success has always been in establishing great relationships both internally and externally. Below is a summary of various responsibilities I have undertaken and excelled at in this role;● Establish productive, professional relationships with assigned client accounts.● Coordinate the involvement and communication of company personnel to meetaccount performance objectives and client expectations.● Implement digital strategy, ensuring all marketing teams are on track whilst alsousing analytics to spot any additional opportunities or issues.● Proactively assess client needs and suggest improvements on an ongoing basis.● Act as an escalation point for Account Managers, offering help and guidance andstepping in when required.● Ensure team KPIs are achieved.● Confidently handle escalations and implement procedures to avoid similar issuesarising.● Complete monthly 1 to 1’s, 6 monthly and annual reviews with team members, givingfeedback and setting goals.● Work closely with HOD to ensure the smooth running of the department● Communicate with seniors in other departments to prevent/resolve recurring issues● Work Alongside HOD to recruit for the department.● Attend any disciplinaries with HOD for team members. Show less

  • Technical Partnerships Manager

    Nov 2022 - Aug 2024

  • Project Management - Enterprise Team Lead

    Oct 2020 - Jan 2023

  • Partnership Manager

    Apr 2018 - Oct 2020

  • Account Manager

    Sept 2013 - Apr 2018
• 

  Salesfire

  Sept 2024 - now

  Partnerships Manager