Graham Bates

Experience

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  Fathom IT

  Nov 2005 - Sept 2006

  Computer Repair Technician

  • First job at age 16 was to assist in sales and repairs for computer systems.

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  Innovation

  Sept 2006 - Jul 2009

  Team Leader

  • Initially required me to repair and sell phones and laptops, providing feedback on the reliability and turnover of products.• Eventually led to me becoming the primary purchaser for retail stock. During the first year of business growth I selected and trained 3 employees from a pool of around 80 applicants

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  SMG Europe

  Mar 2007 - Jun 2008

  VIP Suite Attendant

  • Whilst studying for my A levels I worked part-time at the MEN Arena (a 23,000 seat arena) as a suite attendant looking after groups of visitors.

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  Perfection Technology

  Nov 2008 - Jan 2010

  Director

  • Company I started after leaving school with the aim of providing same day diagnose and fix IT support to homes and small businesses. I resolved issues when they occurred, providing a high of level of service to organisations who couldn't justify employing dedicated staff. • Owning a business taught me a great deal about management, financing and corporate legality, as well as developing my personal skills with a variety of customers. After being awarded a place at University I decided to dissolve the business in January 2010. Show less

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  Dataspire Solutions

  Jul 2009 - Jul 2010

  1st & 2nd Line Technical Support
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  Tri Computers

  Nov 2010 - Aug 2014

  • Support multiple schools and businesses, some of which have up to 2,000 users, using a central helpdesk system from the office as well as spending around 50% of time on-site with clients• In this role I have performed several complete network setups, configuring a brand new domain with exchange, migrating data from old workstations and installing complete hardware infrastructure (including custom built workstations, cabling, switches, server cabinet, UPS) • Worked part time at Tri Computers whilst at University in the retail side of the business• Spent 2 days a week doing PC and laptop repairs, as well as on-site support for home and small business users

  • Senior Engineer

    Mar 2013 - Aug 2014

  • Hardware Engineer

    Nov 2010 - Mar 2013
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  MotionBlurr

  Jun 2012 - Aug 2013

  Director

  One of three founding directors, specialising in photography. Resigned in 2013 to pursue other ventures.

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  AppSense

  Dec 2014 - Jan 2017

  -Facilitating agile development practices through Scrum-Organising sprint planning, retrospectives, improving performance within the team-Testing software in a Windows domain environment-Writing test plans using TFS

  • Scrum Master & Test Engineer

    Oct 2016 - Jan 2017

  • Software Test Engineer

    Dec 2014 - Jan 2017
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  Avecto

  Jan 2017 - Jun 2018

  •Managed the delivery of 8 scrum teams across 5 products using a mix of variable and fixed scope delivery techniques.•Implemented data driven analytics to replace the previous waterfall system by writing custom tooling to predict best and likely completion dates.•Achieved Product Owner certification; subsequently acted as Agile Coach for the product teams.•Tracked progress on quarterly and annual business objectives including owners, milestones and deliverables.•Conducted retrospectives for each release.•Created weekly Executive highlight reports summarising project status for C-level management.•Improved siloed team structures by opening up critical communications with stakeholders in all functions•Identified the critical path to delivery, associated dependencies and worked to decouple items wherever possible.•Managed several projects to improve the Department such as DevOps implementation, Communities of Practice, formalised processes for change management. Show less

  • Agile Program Manager

    Jan 2017 - Jun 2018

  • Senior QA Engineer

    Jan 2017 - Mar 2017
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  BeyondTrust

  Jun 2018 - May 2021

  Agile Transformation Consultant

  • Led an Agile transformation for the UK Engineering Department, including running training and working with key stakeholders to ensure the adoption was a success.• Recruited, trained and line managed a team of Scrum Masters, Delivery Managers and DevOps Engineers.• Designed and implemented Agile processes to break down product silos so that 14 different products across 3 countries can now coordinate, plan and deliver together as a single solution.• Evaluated, selected and implemented Agile Portfolio Management tooling that integrated multiple development offices using different work management platforms around the world.• Created and delivered bespoke training and coaching programmes to international teams and managers in Canada.• Trained and certified 50 Scrum Masters in the UK and Canada offices.• Implemented Communities of Practice for Scrum Masters, DevOps and Architects.• Implemented initiatives to track team and program level agility metrics. These included Agile maturity assessments, DevOps health measures and program predictability measures.• Product Owner for DevOps, managed the DevOps team during the ongoing rollout of new CI/CD pipelines and automation tooling.• Collate, distribute and monitor team objectives to the rest of the business for clear visibility of ongoing progress.• Implemented and standardised release management processes across all product teams.• Extensive experience delivering events such as Big Room planning, Scrum of Scrums and Inspect and Adapt workshops. Show less

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  Agilicist

  Jul 2021 - Sept 2022

  Lead Consultant and Trainer

  -Led and supported multiple Agile transformations across a variety sectors including Financial Services, Gaming and Betting, Retail and the public sector.-Used a variety of methodologies such as Scrum and Scrum@Scale, with a particular emphasis on SAFe-Led multiple SAFe training courses both inside business and for the public, as well as co-training accredited Scrum Inc courses-Operated at multiple levels across the business, coaching individuals teams, setting up large programs and working with senior and executive leadership.-Established/transformed Product Management and Lean Portfolio Management functions, training coaching existing employees and supporting them as they transitioned to new Ways of Working. Show less

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  Slalom

  Sept 2022 - May 2024

  Principal Consultant

  -Led a SAFe transformation at a major financial services organisation including executive training and workshops-Acted as the leader for Agile Capability in the Manchester Business Advisory Services team-Delivered Agile education and training to sales team, go to market team, leaders and consultants-Led multiple client engagements, primarily coaching senior leaders in Agile Transformation, Product Management and Lean Portfolio Managemen

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  Cprime, Inc

  Nov 2023 - now

  Senior Consultant

  -Solution Lead for a Business Agility transformation at a leading UK financial institution responsible for Critical National Infrastructure, creating tailored rollout plans to meet the needs of a heavily regulated landscape.-Implemented new ways of working in one domain of the business, leading a team of coaches and consultants, delivering training, workshops and one-on-one coaching.This led to a 25% increase in delivery and a 96% reduction in churn and reprioritisation of the backlog, saving around 2500 hours of time annually for the program directors.-Shaped a comprehensive set of metrics to measure the success of the transformation and business. These assessed various aspects of flow, product outcomes, quality and skills competency. The insights from these informed what coaching was required to continue the agility journey with a systems thinking lens.-Coached backlog creation and refinement at multiple levels of the organisation, including the portfolio, using principles of collaboration and economic prioritisation to create a backlog that satisfied multiple stakeholders and was aligned to the organisational OKRs.-Coached senior leaders and executives in the organisation to achieve change through influence.-Established a LACE (Lean Agile Centre of Excellence) to develop an internal capability with the people and skills to sustain lasting change in the organisation, as well asCommunities of Practice with other areas of the business to propagate the Agile mindset.-Oversaw multiple supporting workstreams including People, Tooling and Finance, providing thought leadership and advice to enable Business Agility.-Worked with the internal Finance teams to develop a PoC for Lean Budgeting, moving away from project based accounting and individual timesheets.-Supported the creation of a revised Target Operating Model based around structuring as a product-led organisation Show less