Lesley Withers

Lesley Withers

Project Manager and Senior IT Specialist

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location of Lesley WithersLondon Area, United Kingdom

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  • Timeline

  • About me

    Technical Manager and Infrastructure Engineering Specialist

  • Education

    • The University of Hull

      1999 - 2001
      Master of Business Administration - MBA Business Administration and Management, General Distinction
    • University of Kent

      1986 - 1990
      Bachelor of Arts - BA Economics 2:1
  • Experience

    • IBM

      Nov 1990 - Jul 2002
      Project Manager and Senior IT Specialist
    • Viglen

      Nov 2002 - Aug 2003
      Project Manager
    • The Rent Service

      Aug 2003 - Sept 2004
      Systems Manager
    • NHS Counter Fraud Service

      Sept 2004 - Oct 2005
      Head of Systems
    • Monsoon Accessorize

      Nov 2005 - Apr 2017
      Network and Security Manager

      Managed the Network infrastructure for Head Office, Warehouse, 300+ stores.Product selection, installation and management of firewalls.Oversaw the design, procurement and installation of the Core and edge switch infrastructure for relocation of the Monsoon / Accessorize Head Office. Responsible for the selection and implementation of internal and external penetration tests and vulnerability scanning.Managed projects for networks, new firewalls, wireless infrastructure.Provided 3rd level support to IT Service Desk.Procured, setup and managed multi-factor authentication for remote access users.Systems used: Microsoft Windows 2012/2008 Server, Office 365, AWS, Azure, SQL Server, Cisco routers and switches, IP networks, Meraki, DHCP, DNS, Nessus, Snort, Splunk, Qualys, Ruckus, Microsoft Windows 10, 8 & 7, Group Policy, iBoss, SCCM, Citrix, VMWare, Juniper firewalls, Checkpoint firewalls, Palo Alto Firewalls, Cisco firewalls, Avaya, Bluecoat, EPOS Systems. Show less

    • Affinity Water

      May 2017 - Nov 2017
      Network Team Lead
    • Ministry of Justice UK

      Jan 2018 - Jun 2019
      Network Operations Manager

      The Ministry of Justice Network Operations Manager is responsible for all operational aspects of the MoJ WAN and LAN networks. The MoJ network service covers a large estate of over 70,000 users and more than 900 physical sites, including a number of data centres. ● Service operations of large scale enterprise networks ● Working technical knowledge of WAN technologies (routing, DMVPN, MPLS, etc). ● Working technical knowledge of LAN technologies (switching, routing, VLANS, 802.1x etc) ● Outstanding knowledge and experience with network monitoring tools. ● Management of external network suppliers ● Incident management ● Network capacity management ● Cost and budget management, including forecasting and tracking ● Using recognised methodologies - e.g. ITIL Show less

    • Goldsmiths, University of London

      Sept 2019 - May 2020
      Network and Infrastructure Officer

      This was a hands on role providing 2nd and 3rd line support to the University. Back in the field again after recent management roles. • I managed (set up / maintain/ monitor) a mixture of VMWare and hardware based MS Windows/ Unix/ Linux Servers, firewalls, network switches, appliances and SAN storage to meet or exceed agreed service levels.• I ensured the security of infrastructure through patching and fixing vulnerabilities. • I was responsible for upgrading network equipment, servers and firewalls to the latest versions of operating systems and firmware when appropriate, and for installing appropriate operating system fixes or fixes.• 2nd / 3rd line troubleshooting of faults within the Infrastructure environment and undertaking any consequent liaison with suppliers and service engineers when appropriate.• I implemented performance monitoring, capacity planning and disaster recovery planning.• I ensured that system security was upheld and adequate action taken in relation to security incidents.• I configured high availability/standby software, load balancers, UPS devices or RAID arrays to ensure continued operation of the server infrastructure.• I supported all networked services that run on the servers such as web, email and printing support. Show less

    • Atos

      Jun 2020 - Aug 2020
      Network Engineer

      This was a hands-on network installation role at West Herts NHS Trust.I decommissioned old network equipment and installed new Cisco Core and edge switches across 4 sites and many buildings.This was a contract role via AToS and Allvotec.

    • EBRD

      Sept 2020 - Apr 2023
      Communications and Collaboration Delivery Manager

      I worked with the Bank's IT teams and Core Project Teams to design and deliver Infrastructure and Collaboration solutions across the following towers:-o Networking Infrastructure (Routing and Switching, WAN Optimisation)o Collaboration tools o Video Conferencing o IPT o IM o IT Security I gathered requirements to shape programme deliverables.I formulated and documented technology artefacts to articulate the desired direction of travel:o Design principles and policieso Requirements (Functional and Non-Functional)o Technical standardso Solution briefs and low level designso Contribute to required procurement processes such as vendor selection and workshops.o Oversaw and assured the work of in-house and external design and delivery streams. Show less

    • Royal Museums Greenwich

      Jan 2023 - Oct 2023
      Technical Manager

      I was the Senior Support person for all networks, firewalls, servers, IoT and M365. I managed the installation of a new Wide Area Network (WAN), internet links and firewalls. I set up patch schedules for all systems to comply with the requirements for Cyber Essentials. I provided third line support to the helpdesk on technical issues. I managed the surveying, updating and improvement of the wifi estate. I managed and supported the Microsoft SaaS estate including MS Entra (Azure), Teams, Entra ID (Azure AD), and Exchange. I managed and supported the Hyper-V virtualised server estate and NetApp storage solution I managed and supported Active Directory, including Azure AD connect and Group Policy. I managed and supported Access Control and Security for Microsoft Entra, e.g. conditional access rules, MFA I ran projects to implement new systems as required by various departments in the business, e.g. HR, Finance. Show less

    • MUFG

      Dec 2023 - Jun 2024
      Infrastructure and Application Support Specialist

      This project was to outsource networks, systems and helpdesk to a third party provider.This included the design and implementation of a new SD-WAN and LAN based on Meraki and Fortigate, this included redesigning VLANs and dismantling the MPLS. I planned and managed the move from Checkpoint to Fortigate firewalls. Supporting the Microsoft SaaS estate including MS Entra (Azure), Teams, Entra ID (Azure AD), and Exchange. I supported the VMWare virtualised server estate: installing, maintaining and managing servers. I ensured that none of the business systems were impacted by the transition, this included Bloomberg, SWIFT and IPC Unigy. I provided BAU support on all technical issues. Show less

  • Licenses & Certifications

    • Exam 411: Administering Windows Server 2012

      Microsoft
      View certificate certificate
    • ITIL Foundation in IT Service Management

      BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
    • Exam 412: Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services

      Microsoft
      View certificate certificate
    • Exam 414: Implementing an Advanced Server Infrastructure

      Microsoft
      View certificate certificate
    • Exam 410: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012

      Microsoft
      View certificate certificate
    • MCSA: Windows Server 2012 - Certified 2016

      Microsoft
      View certificate certificate
    • MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure — Certified 2016

      Microsoft
      View certificate certificate
    • PRINCE 2 Foundation and Practitioner

      AXELOS Global Best Practice
    • SSADM v4 (Structured systems analysis and design method)

      OGC
    • Oracle Database 10g Administrator Certified Associate

      Oracle
      View certificate certificate