Do you have a lot of information / data and just want some quick answers? Do you want to summarise in a visually appealing form what the information is saying? Maybe you have some...Read moreDo you have a lot of information / data and just want some quick answers? Do you want to summarise in a visually appealing form what the information is saying? Maybe you have some theories about what it is saying or maybe you are not sure what will be revealed when the "numbers are crunched"? If so or if you have a similar problem or you would like coaching / mentoring in any of my skillsets then read on...
I have the ability to look at a set of data, analyse and then explain what that data is saying: The story behind the information. True data analysis with insights.
Career contractor who is also available for one off pieces of work. AAT Qualified in 2005. 15 years+ experience in data / financial analysis working for a large number of instantly recognisable blue chip organisations together with extensive experience in the healthcare and public sectors.
We can have an initial chat about what you would like to get from my services and what particular questions you are trying to answer – it’s ok if you don’t know the answers or are not sure, I can help figure this out with you!
****Polite Note! - I do not respond to requests to send a proposal for a piece of work. If you'd like me to do a piece of work for you then please contact me directly with a brief summary of what needs doing and by when and I'll quickly respond with yes or no, and if yes will also provide a quote based on my £30 ph standard rate. I believe my rate represents excellent value when compared to consultancies rates, but where quality is not compromised. All work will take place within the PPH framework****
The more detailed bits about me:
***SOME OF MY ACHIEVEMENTS:***
- Concept, design and delivery of reporting suites from a set of disparate ideas to a finished product which is then used as part of management meetings and which provides clear business insight and is used as a tool to make decisions.
- Refresh and review of existing report suite content / layout to ensure that current business needs are being met and relevant questions are being answered, saving huge amounts of time in preparing information that is no longer needed and immediately addressing current MI requirement to enable managers to pinpoint issues.
- Being able to convince senior management of a need for particular projects in terms of value added to the organisation and then being able to manage that project from concept to delivery and also being able to demonstrate in a quantitative and qualitative manner the value of the project.
- Liaison and communication with various areas within an organisation and being able to pull together different and sometimes conflicting ideas / goals around a piece of work. Ability to bring compromise and get everybody on side with overall project vision by inspirational way of thinking and clear communication of outcomes. Being able to drive pieces of work / projects forward through clearly defined goals / expectations / timescales.
- Value adding to countless MI Reports / MS Excel spreadsheets / Access databases through lateral thinking, automation, and streamlining of data flows and formulae.
*****SOME OF MY KEY "SOFT SKILLS":*****
***Data Analysis and Technical***
- Being able to look at a set of data, analyse and then explain what that data is saying, i.e. the story behind the information: true data analysis with insights as opposed to simply reciting numbers and putting information into a table.
- Question everything and take nothing for granted. For example, where does this data come from and why? How do we know it’s accurate? Why do we do x process this way? What if we / I did this…? Explicitly understand the customer requirement by discussing it with them, whether it is an analyses, report, or project. Assume nothing.
- Think in a lateral and logical way, when for example presented with a spreadsheet, database, or analysis problem. Solving that problem in a smart and not always obvious manner.
***Commercial Awareness***
- Experience within a large number of public and private sector organisations, able to identify and quickly provide insight and benchmarking about “best practice” within each organisation.
- Knowledge of organisational direction and “focus” eg what we should be doing and how we will achieve that.
- Reduce a complex and conflicting set of requirements to an overall plan that is realistic and achievable.
- Strong economic and analytic focused mindset. Instinctive knowledge when something doesn’t feel right or there is some kind of problem.
***People***
- Engage and get “buy in” from people at all levels within a business: ability to persuade and influence people in their decision making and day to day processes. Recognition of importance of this process in success of projects.
- Communication with individuals who are not from a financial / technical background and ability to explain and put across complex ideas in a way that is easy to understand – simplification of concepts without losing the key points.
- Key team player who is able to look at an issue from a new perspective and offer insight or an alternative way to solve a problem.
*****MY MAIN TECHNICAL SKILLS*****
- MS Excel to advanced level. Pivot Tables, macros including the use of VBA to create and amend, bespoke formula creation, all complex standard functions, eg vlookup, index, match, iserror, indirect, sumproduct, sumif, etc, array formulas, graphing including graphs on multiple axis and dynamic graphs, complex custom graphs, import of non excel formatted data and conversion, range and linking. Interaction with MS Access / Outlook.
- MS Power BI including advanced DAX and custom visualisations / dashboard creation.
- MS Access to advanced level. Queries: Creation and maintenance of Select, Append, Delete, Make Table, Update, Parameter, Aggregate. Creation and maintenance of front end user forms including multiple level and one to many relationship forms. Tables including import of external data.
- MS Powerpoint to advanced level.
- Knowledge and understanding of SAP BW and BI Reporting tools including BEX Analyser
- Advanced SQL skills / SSIS / SSMS
- KNIME
- Data360
- Tableau
