Thomas Hodgson

This project focused on the implementation, development and subsequent stewardship of fraud monitoring software into a bank. This required proficiency in translating user requirements into technical solutions, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and ensuring seamless application functionality. Skilled in troubleshooting, testing, and providing exemplary technical support. Committed to driving innovation and delivering high-quality software solutions. This project required in depth knowledge and growth in utilising agile methodologies.

• Assisted in identifying gaps between business requirements and application capabilities and recommend action steps.
• Supported daily operations and system maintenance procedures.
• Documented clients' issues and processes of resolution.
• Collaborated with business owners, vendors and other team members to evaluate and recommend solutions to complex problems and requests.
• Provided training to clients in use of systems and applications.
• Performed troubleshooting, maintenance and optimization of applications.
• Troubleshot incidents reported by end-users to schedule system changes and identify permanent solutions.
• Collaborated with upper management to drive strategy and implement new processes.
• Enhanced project management skills by defining and presenting system solutions and timelines for business needs or technical problems.
• Developed diagrams to describe and lay out logical operational steps.
• Oversaw document development across project workstreams to create internal control statements per compliance and regulatory standards.
• Analysed business requirements to understand business needs.
• Conducted interviews with key business users to collect information on business processes and user requirements.
• Improved business direction by prioritizing customers and implementing changes based on collected feedback.

As a Business Analyst, I was responsible for the business analytic tasks relating to various projects and remediation programs. The key to being successful in this role was communication and understanding, having these strengths allowed me to take complex issues, simplify them, and present them to stakeholders. This position required strong leadership qualities and the ability to project manage when required:

• Driving the achievement of Westpac’s strategy by working with stakeholders to elicit, analyse, communicate, validate and manage requirements for changes to systems, business processes, policies, information and data.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication – build and maintain networks and relationships.
• Display strong presentation and time management skills.
• Excel at working in a collaborative manner with others to achieve a shared goal and bean example to others.
• Display consistently good skills to influence and negotiate with others to gain agreements and sign-offs on required outcomes.
• Leading workgroup's to reach objectives and deliver good customer outcomes.
• Managing requirements through the delivery lifecycle to meet business needs.
• Providing recommendations for process redesign and improvements and business solutions, enabling changes to processes, policy and/or information.
• Follow the Project Execution Framework methodology (PEFm) and Requirements Development Framework (RDF) in both Waterfall & Agile delivery.
• Input into Risk and Control Matrix management.
• Assist and provide input to decisions made impacting customers, in relation to communications and customer experience.
• Conducted interviews with key business users to collect information on business processes and user requirements.
• Analyzed key aspects of business to evaluate factors driving results and summarised into presentations.
• Applied honed problem-solving skills to analyze and resolve issues impacting business operations and goal achievement.

Chat Well Allied Health was started in April 2020, with the company taking on clients in July 2020. The company focuses on the development of children’s language and speech requirements. My role was to establish the business which required me to utilise and develop management skills, client relations, business expansion, technical skills, creative abilities, and the expertise to quickly implement specific and timely service requirements. This opportunity has given me the ability to obtain new skills which allow me to grow and advance my career:

• Key administrator in the development of business plans, forecasts, and budgets as well as short and long-term growth strategies.
• Creating policies and procedures relating to complaints management, HR management and incident management.
• Development of risk management processes relating to privacy and information, community safety and employee safety.
• The handling of all finance and employee administration including accounts payable/accounts receivable, payroll and adhering to government requirements.
• Communicating with clients and other third parties to answer questions and explain information.
• The implementation and design of workplace procedures and working with physicians to develop business strategies and patient services.
• Overseeing daily practice operations, including appointment scheduling, billing procedures, debt collection and occupational health and safety.
• Development of the business website and implementation of IT systems to include the foresight of expansion.
• Reviewing productivity standards and making adjustments where required.
• Implementing quality systems to ensure smooth and efficient functioning of the business and retention of accreditation.
• Researched and identified opportunities for account growth, account penetration and market expansion.
• Reached out to potential customers via telephone, email and in-person inquiries.
• Negotiated and closed long-term agreements with new clients in assigned territory.
• Negotiated, prepared and signed contracts with clients.
• Performed research to uncover potential target areas, markets and industries.
• Represented company and promoted products at conferences and trade association meetings.
• Coordinated innovative strategies to accomplish marketing objectives and boost long-term profitability.
• Generated new business with marketing initiatives and strategic plans.

Within the recently established Risk and Fraud Operations department, my role was to drive, implement and manage risk management, monitor obligations In Risk and Fraud operations, support consistent implementation and embedding of risk management frameworks, policies and controls. This role required a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail with extensive understanding of sanctions and KYC, AML and CTF regulatory requirements. As a result of exceeding performance and quality targets, I was one of two selected to complete further training on a project to automate the risk identification process using robotics and to undertake staff development on this automation process:

• Comprehensive analysis and strategic insights in the understanding of sanctions and KYC, AML and CTF regulatory requirements.
• Detailed analysis into risk of client profiles and detecting potential risk and fraud threats.
• Undertaking staff development and training of new employees on processes/procedures and managing their output to meet expectations of the business.
• As a result of exceeding performance and quality targets, I was selected to complete further training on a project to automate the risk identification process using robotics and to undertake staff development on this automation process.
• This requires a high degree of efficient communication with various business sectors within Westpac and high level of accuracy and detail.
• Undertaking quality assurance checks of employees and the automated robotics processes to ensure adherence to the strict requirements of the business and regulatory requirements.
• Achieving and exceeding the strict quality and productivity requirements and demonstrating investment of time and priority into completing the necessary tasks including working extra hours if required.
• Demonstrating a high degree of self-initiative, innovation and problem solving within the workplace and collaborating with other teams to improve processes and efficiency.
• Demonstrating the ability to successfully work independently and remotely while still achieving and exceeding performance and quality targets.
• Demonstrating initiative by identifying inefficiencies and implementing ideas that have streamlined processes within the business processes and procedures and contributed to increasing sales opportunities.
• Keeping up to date with changing industry regulations and trends relating to security, financial crimes and other emerging issues.
• Efficient team player by assisting with queries, understanding procedures and assisting with complex matters within the team.
• Demonstrating the ability to hold meetings and convey complex procedural issues with management and key stakeholders with clear, concise and efficient communication.
• Analysed portfolios and identified risk factors, facilitating reduction of delinquencies on new volumes.
• Promoted enterprise-level risk management practices and helped instill strong culture focused on protective policies and procedures.

Shawbrook is a specialist UK lending and savings bank to serve the needs of SMEs and individuals in the UK with a range of lending and savings products. This was a new and high profile remediation project regarding complaints related to loans to finance solar panels installations, and required extensive skill in problem solving and analysis. This role came about after an opportunity arose from direct contact from a recruiter:

• Providing support to management by producing accurate documentation, ensuring the quality and accuracy of data input and ensuring all standard conditions are satisfied as detailed in the company's procedures manual.
• Process and procedure documentation writing to ensure that it can be easily understood by new starters and following the current guidelines.
• Completing quality checks to assess that each stage in the process has been followed to ensure everything is in line with the Financial Ombudsman Service’s expectations.
• Demonstration of in-depth understanding of the processes to allow for to efficient assessment of cases and identifying errors.
• Tailoring verbal and written communications to liaise with business, consumer and insurers, ensuring it is communicated clear, concise and efficient manner.
• Ensuring a good working relationship with the management team to share best practices.
• Achieving and adhering to strict targets and time constraints to meet the requirements of the Financial Ombudsman Service.
• Having a strong understanding of the principles of Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) and being able to assess customer outcomes within this.
• Being flexible with responsibilities and maintaining a positive attitude towards changes within the operation and objectives.
• Collaborating with other teams to improve processes and efficiency based on recent outcomes.
• Ensuring all tasks are completed in a timely manner and prioritising/escalating when required.
• Proven history of achieving greater than expected at the highest quality as reported by management.
• Quickly learned new skills and applied them to daily tasks, improving efficiency and productivity.

The Financial Ombudsman Service is an independent body that acts as a mediator in settling complaints brought by consumers against their financial service providers. My role as as an adjudicator included dealing with the mis-selling of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) for personal and business loans, credit cards and mortgages. I worked in a fast paced environment to achieve client expectations and targets. As a result of exceptional performance, I was provided with further training to specialise in lending decisions:

• Liaising with large banks such HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays and NatWest to gain information on the policy that may have been mis-sold.
• Liaising with claims management companies and direct consumers to establish enough information to be able to resolve the complaint and determine whether or not their PPI policy was mis-sold.
• Managing on average active caseloads of 150 complaints, while maintaining strict deadlines.
• Assessing and resolving complex consumer complaints across different products efficiently ensuring fair resolutions and settlements, in accordance with FVA guidelines and FOS values.
• Tailoring verbal and written communications to liaise with business, consumer and insurers, ensuring it is communicated clear, concise and efficient manner.
• Developing procedure guides that aligned with the organisation and client’s goals and focuses
• Utilising my detailed knowledge of regulatory rules, legislation on processes relating to banking services including ensuring the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Alternative Disputer Resolution (ADR) directives and Financial Ombudsman Service rules and regulations are adhered to.
• Providing technical support and training to inexperienced adjudicators.
• Detailed analysis of quality assurance checks, highlighting any identified issues, trends, potential gaps in guidance and any potential training requirements.
• Liaising with adjudicators, team managers and senior management in relation to quality assurance checks and implementing a plan to address any identified issues.
• Applying detail-orientated skills to closely analyse the relevant evidence and information fo each individual case.
• Exceeding production expectations while maintaining the highest level of quality.
• Utilised detailed investigation techniques to uncover important information.

This role involved managing assigned cases, supporting the resolution of complex regulatory risks and issues in line with FCA objectives. This role required a high degree of attention to detail and extensive understanding of the project’s processes. Due to the noted quality and high standard of my work, I was promoted to also conduct quality assurance checks for this project:

• Researching, gathering and presenting data relevant to the customer complaint, using in-house systems to log and allocate cases for review.
• Ensuring the complaint handling process is complete and sufficient data has been gathered to ensure a full investigation can be completed.
• Understanding the FCA guidelines and ensuring they are followed at all times to get the best outcome for the client and also the bank.
• Due to my ability to maintain a high level of quality, I was provided with the opportunity to complete quality assurance checks.
• Additionally, providing constructive and informative feedback to case handlers.
• Meeting deadlines/timelines and achieving targets, while maintaining quality standards and updating clients throughout the process.
• Communicating with clients through written correspondence advising on outcomes of their particular cases.
• Processing of figures, carrying out analysis and producing reports to then liaise with senior managers to discuss in a more in-depth manner.
• Having a sound understanding of a range of differing products the bank offers and understanding the complaint handling process.
• Identifying and escalating risks within the project that improve the customer experience, outcome and security.
• Working to exceed performance standards and work within the team to contribute to customer outcome within a timescale.
• High organisation skills to manage multiple client complaints, while having the confidence to use many different internal systems.
• Excellent analytical and writing skills with a strong attention to detail.

As a Personal and Business banker, I provided professional advice and solutions to small and medium businesses and consumers. My role was to build relationships with clients and provide financial advice on banking products (mortgages, pensions and insurance) to meet their future financial goals:

• In-depth knowledge of banking products; mortgages, business finance and insurance.
• Developing and managing relationships across Retail and Corporate Banking divisions, being the clients one point of contact and managing their portfolios.
• Developing proposals for clients based on their financial goals and communicating (written and verbally) the proposals in a easy to understand format.
• Being proactive towards clients’ portfolios to ensure that any key product changes are implemented and communicated to the customer within the required timeframes.
• Discussing complaints with clients in a professional manner and providing solutions to meet their needs, always updating clients and stakeholders throughout the process.
• Ensuring detailed reports of client portfolios are kept up to date throughout each appointment and issuing them with the relevant policy documents.
• Adhering to financial regulations to ensure compliant advice is provided to each client, to meet their individual requirements responsibly.
• Training new employees in financial regulations and assisting them to understand/follow internal procedures (including the differing advice pathways they can provide).
• RG146 personal advice compliance, allowing me to provide personal advice to clients around banking products, in order to meet their banking requirements.
• Managing workflow and driving performance of a team of 8 staff and reporting the daily output to seniors, ensuring execution of activities occurred to deliver the expected targets.
• Having an in-depth understanding of other areas within the organisation to identifying and refer potential clients for other in-house banking requirements.
• Complete On-boarding of customers including businesses, trusts and superfunds while adhering to KYC checks.
• Cross-sold wide range of services and products to increase new business and expand existing customer relationships.
• Identified customer desires and goals through needs-based sales tactics.

The role involved being the first point of contact for customers, cash handling, serving customers by effectively and accurately processing banking transactions:

• Helped large volume of customers every day with positive attitude and focus on customer satisfaction.
• Identifying opportunities to cross-sell products and generate leads or referrals for other areas of the bank.
• Ensuring clients’ needs are met by referring their needs to the relevant areas and understanding the workflow process.
• Being the first point of contact for clients and identifying opportunities to deliver tailored solutions that link to clients’ financial goal and requirements.
• Retaining and deepening customer relationships by understanding the requirements and providing professional service and products in a target driven environment.
• Managing complaints and overseeing the progress, and updating clients throughout the process to deliver excellence each time.

This was a new reporting team designed to assist large businesses with their tracking of spending within complex communication setups. As this was a new tool that was being released, it allowed utilise my innovative skill-set to implement new ideas and review before the release to clients:

• Meeting clients’ needs by understanding their internal business reporting requirements and then adapting large communication data sets, into manageable and easily understood information.
• Communicating with stakeholders by providing constant updates on the progress of their case and ensuring the requirements are met.
• Managing workflow ensuring work was prioritised, ensuring the team was meeting program deliverables on time and was operating effectively and efficiently.
• Reviewing and implementing new processes within the tool to improve efficiency and simplifying the process for new team members, this includes the creation of instructions for the end to end process of the reporting tool.
• Formatting raw data into manageable information sets and communicating this to the team to ensure business requirements are met.
• Advising senior managers about proposed changes to the tool to increase efficiency and accuracy of reporting details.
• Managing and overseeing reporting robots to trouble shoot issues and ensure accuracy of information.
• Continuously assessed current reporting techniques and developed improvements to boost accuracy.
• Enhanced data integrity by applying meticulous attention to detail when reviewing and analyzing data maintenance processes.

This role included providing assistance to enterprise clients on a range of differing products and managing complaints:

• Quickly learned new skills and applied them to daily tasks, improving efficiency and productivity.
• Carried out day-day-day duties accurately and efficiently.
• Discussing complaints with clients in a professional manner and providing solutions to meet their needs.
• Reviewing the customer complaint and determining the root cause, to provide feedback to management on potential improvements.
• Understanding communication networks to accurately identify issues and rectify them within a impartial and timely manner.
• In depth understanding of the online platform and directing clients through the process of purchases.