Karen Howard

Leading the research and development of roles that did not fit into the DDaT framework was my primary task I created bespoke skills frameworks to cover those skills outside of IT, including Welsh Language Translation. I created career paths to match the roles, both DDaT, SFIA and bespoke, that had been built for colleagues and then created a bespoke Excel/SharePoint App to assist colleagues in identifying their next career step and the skills required to take that step. This included both promotion paths and sideways moves into different professions.

Providing learning & development consultancy, skills gap analysis and training needs analysis. Learning and development consultancy includes production of training materials and artefacts, design and development of online LMS systems. Skills gap analysis includes analysis of job roles, skills of current staff, identifying gaps in skills, creating a pathway of improvement for staff, assisting with identifying the best interventions to fill the gaps. Training needs analysis includes identifying training requirements of staff and making recommendations for training types and locations.

Leading the Capability Development Workstream from inception, I have successfully recommended and implemented RoleModelPlus which will provide the building blocks needed to address the current skills gap and give ownership of development paths back to individuals, creating a common process and purpose. I created the project brief, the proof of concept for a pilot group, a comprehensive project plan, various other project management documents and presentations for the IT Executive. The range of roles within the project covered apprentices (including degree level), graduates, through team leadership and management, up to CIO level, covering a wide range of technical, soft and leadership skills.