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Welcome to Grace Haynes

Welcome to Grace Haynes

We are thrilled to announce Grace Haynes has joined SmartCo as Operations & Compliance Administrator. Wishing you a warm welcome from the entire SmartCo team. We sat down with Grace to ask her a few questions about her career path, her new role at SmartCo, what attracted her to SmartCo and what she enjoys doing in her spare time. Hi, Grace. So, tell us, what has been your career leading up to SmartCo? I’ve worked in Recruitment Admin for the last 8 years. I started off at an Agency focusing on contractor support, compliance and payroll before moving over to the Consultancy function as a Project Analyst where I onboarded consultants, organised regular project update meetings and managed reporting for Clients. I most recently worked via an RPO onsite at Morgan Stanley focusing on Internal Recruitment Coordination. What is your new role and key responsibilities at SmartCo? My new role is Operations & Compliance Administrator and my key responsibilities include conducting compliance and producing contracts for all contractors and associates, as well as extension and termination paperwork and a wide variety of recruitment admin. What attracted you to SmartCo? The fact it seems like a very refreshing place to be! The people I spoke to prior to joining had nothing but great things to say about the culture and current success of the business. What excites you most about working at SmartCo? The direction the business is going in and being part of a great team that is passionate, innovative and forward thinking. The growth of SmartCo really makes me feel like I’m going to be able to further my career and create my own path for success. How would you describe SmartCo in 3 words? Ambitious, flexible and supportive. How would you describe yourself in 3 words? Positive, caring and outgoing. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? I enjoy socialising with my friends and family, holidaying when I can and spending time with my crazy 3 year old daughter, Olive. I’ve taken her abroad twice now and can’t wait to share more of the world with her and make more special memories as she gets older.

Hannah Granshaw
Welcome to Sandeep Mangat

Welcome to Sandeep Mangat

We are thrilled to announce Sandeep Mangat has joined SmartCo as a Project Resource Manager. Wishing you a warm welcome from the entire SmartCo team. We sat down with Sandeep to ask him a few questions about his career path, his new role at SmartCo, what’s unique about SmartCo and what his interests and hobbies are. Hi, Sandeep. So, tell us, what has been your career leading up to SmartCo? Since the age of 8, my parents have always instilled in me a solid work ethic, while working in their Kew-based newsagents and taking on the paper rounds. Ultimately this led to me graduating with a Maths degree from Nottingham Trent University, however I decided against being a Maths teacher and somehow ended up in Sales, working on a telesales campaigns for MUTV, BT Blackberry and BT Cellnet at the Listening company. I then took some time off to broaden my horizons by travelling around Southeast Asia and living and working in Australia. Returning to the UK, I started discovering an interest in Tech and since then I’ve worked for two innovative Tech recruitment agencies, Connect Group and Digitech Resourcing, managing clients and successfully delivering Perm and Contract placements across a range of industries. Most of these candidates would have either come from a background in software development, Data Engineering, Cloud/Infrastructure, Architecture, ERP/CRM, PMO,  Programme/Project Management and C-Level staff too. Recognised for my consistent billing, while also successfully mentoring and managing multiple resourcing teams, led to my promotion to Associate Director at Digitech Resourcing, before deciding on a new chapter in my career joining SmartCo. What is your new role and key responsibilities at SmartCo? As Project Resource Manager at SmartCo, my role is to further enhance our existing relationships with key clients and associates, across the private sector, as well as forging new relationships. Drawing on 20+ years of experience in tech recruitment and leveraging my skills in networking and fostering of relationships, I will be helping build highly productive teams at SmartCo, who will help deliver complex IT transformation projects and solve end users’ problems. Other areas I’ll be focusing on include helping to expand and improve our database and internal processes within resourcing, associate care and getting involved in internal permanent hires for SmartCo. I am also looking forward to attending and expanding my professional network by participating in the various regular events, sponsored and hosted by SmartCo, with a long-term view of eventually hosting my own events, on behalf of SmartCo, to widen our presence in the IT transformation world. What excites you most about working at SmartCo? I’m excited about the opportunity to work with the team here and grow and develop as a member of the SmartCo family. Everyone has been exceptionally helpful since joining and I’m really impressed by the diverse range of expertise across every division. SmartCo places a significant emphasis on collaboration, mutual support and teamwork while ensuring the well-being of its employees too. As the company continues to expand, I love that it prides itself on its diversity and inclusion. What’s unique about the company? The culture here is fantastic and the opportunity to meet with the different teams and individuals throughout the interview process gave me the confidence to want to join SmartCo. I believe a lot of it is down to trust, honesty, flexibility and transparency. A lot of the company hires have been made through personal networks and previous business relationships. SmartCo is also very family-friendly and understand the importance of being flexible around parents with children and this was also one of the major factors in my joining SmartCo. Every employee is included and there is an open forum when it comes to company updates, sales pipeline, associate care, marketing, financial updates, etc… What are your interests and hobbies? Football is my passion… however, for my sins, I support Oldham Athletic and try my best to get to some local away games when possible. I also enjoy going to gigs regularly and keeping fit by playing tennis (awfully!) and trying to keep up with my 5-year-old son, who, on current form, is destined to become an Olympic sprinter. Tell us a fun fact about yourself… I love listening to music, especially Indie 90’s classics and Britpop, going to gigs and still manage to get involved in the mosh pit now and then! Although, my ultimate musical highlight was spending ten minutes one afternoon in a North London pub chatting with the legendary Liam Gallagher over a pint of Guinness.

Hannah Granshaw
Welcome to Nick Thomas

Welcome to Nick Thomas

We are thrilled to announce Nick Thomas has joined SmartCo as a Senior Project Manager. Wishing you a warm welcome from the entire SmartCo team. We sat down with Nick to ask him a few questions about his career path, his new role at SmartCo, what excites him most about joining SmartCo and what he enjoys doing in her spare time. Hi, Nick. So, tell us, what has been your career leading up to SmartCo? Successful delivery of technology and IT in businesses has been the focus of my career, specialising in cloud and software delivery, primarily within the Healthcare industry. I started my career in technology consultancy, large and then startup scale. I then led cloud delivery for a mature startup. Most recently I’ve worked in technical project management and programme management for a high-growth digital health startup, deploying complex digital health services in the US, UK, Rwanda and South-East Asia. I visited a completed project in person whilst travelling through Rwanda which was a real career highlight. What is your new role and key responsibilities at SmartCo? I’m joining SmartCo as a Senior Project Manager. I’ll be supporting our clients with their project and programme needs, as well as supporting SmartCo on the internal projects and initiatives we need to scale whilst continuing to provide high-quality services and solutions to our clients. What excites you most about working at SmartCo? The opportunity to work with and learn from my SmartCo colleagues on our client’s solutions and challenges. I learn by working with great people on varied opportunities and challenges, and SmartCo provides all of that. Being part of a company that has found that successful touch and is achieving sustained growth is another big positive of course! How would you describe SmartCo in 3 words? Results, Nimble, Teamwork How would you describe yourself in 3 words? Curious, Comedy, Competitive. What are your interests and hobbies? I love to be outside adventuring and exercising. I’ve done plenty of competitive running and I’m trying out triathlons as well. My latest adventure: living in a camper van from Nairobi to Cape Town. When I’m not rushing around, I love to read and to game (both board and video).

Hannah Granshaw
Welcome to Oliver Kane

Welcome to Oliver Kane

We are thrilled to announce Oliver Kane has joined SmartCo as Delivery Director. Wishing you a warm welcome from the entire SmartCo team. We sat down with Oli to ask him a few questions about his career path, his new role at SmartCo, what he’s looking forward to most about joining and what he enjoys doing in her spare time. Hi, Oli. So, tell us, what has been your career leading up to SmartCo? I have 22 years of experience working in Project and Programme Delivery across a number of sectors. My career began in the NHS and after 7 great years, I moved into the private sector. I have led project delivery teams on multiple million-pound projects and programmes, transforming businesses and technology providers. In recent years, I have specialised in delivering enterprise-wide technology solutions including ERP, HCM and CMMS solutions to large, established businesses. What is your new role and what are the key responsibilities? I have been appointed as Delivery Director. My role is to support the growth and maturity of our delivery function, ensuring we have frameworks and processes in place to continue to deliver world class technology solutions for our clients. In addition, I will be leading the operations side of the business, continuing to improve on the great work that has been done to date. What excites you most about joining SmartCo? SmartCo is such a rapidly growing, innovative and exciting business and I’m relishing this new chapter in my career where I can bring all of my delivery experience and make a difference. The role is a fairly new role so I will be working with a broad remit and am looking forward to covering everything from our business processes to how we interact with our clients and partners. What’s unique about the company? SmartCo is a boutique consultancy that really puts people at the heart of all we do. The culture of the business is extraordinary. I have genuinely never worked with such open minded and talented people in one company! I am so excited to be here and help grow the business. What are your interests and hobbies? I love my food and cooking is a great habit that I don’t want to break. My other passion is taking my son to Arsenal games and watching him train on cold mornings in Regents Park. I am still trying to be enthused about taking my 8-year-old daughter to Ballet on Saturdays! My family are big into volunteering and we actively support our local foodbank in East Finchley. I co-run a knife crime prevention business and am a committee member of a conservation trust which keeps me fit as well as muddy every week!

Hannah Granshaw
Official Supplier on the G-Cloud 13 Framework.

Official Supplier on the G-Cloud 13 Framework.

SmartCo Consulting is now an official supplier on the G-Cloud 13 framework via the Crown Commercial Service Supplier. The G-Cloud 13 framework is another commercial route for our public sector clients to procure our services. Some of our many services listed on the digital marketplace include: Support in transitioning and migrating to the cloud Strategy assignments, architecture reviews and assessments EPR programme resource support Innovation sprints Digital transformation programme management services Matt Alcock said ‘It’s great news that the G-Cloud 13 framework is now live. We had a real push this year to ensure our listed services align with our core offerings, enabling us to support our public sector clients at any stage of their cloud journey.’ If you’re interested in finding out more about our services in the wider public sector please contact Matt Alcock and if you are interested in our services within the healthcare sector please contact Lisa Waller.

Hannah Granshaw

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