Simon Holywell

Contact Details

Brighton, East Sussex

Email Me

British and Australian Citizenship

Summary

Multimedia professional with industry and freelance experience seeking a development position with an accomplished team in a progressive and creative company where my technical skills will see me progress.

Skills

In addition to the skills above I have extensive experience training other staff and clients, attending and participating in client meetings and pitches, managing time and budget constraints, system and user documentation and general client assistance.

Achievements

• Zend Certified PHP Engineer
• Developed successful websites and applications for the web and desktop
• Established Quality Assurance policy resulting in cost and error reduction.
• Supervision of staff during Quality Assurance and launching of projects.
• Provided training to clients and staff enhancing their skills and experiences with the company.
• Produced both developer and end user documentation for company systems.

Employment History

Lead Web Developer, Mosaic (Brighton, UK)

January 2009 to Current

More detail to come…

PHP Web Developer, Wickedweb Ltd (London, UK)

July 2007 to July 2008

Creating custom solutions in a fast paced agency environment focusing on quality and maintainability. The projects I was involved with varied greatly from a large asset management application to ecommerce websites and charity work.

Achievements

• Successfully trained staff in accessibility and CSS based web design methods
• Initiated, created and implemented coding style guides
• Completed web development on high load websites to an excellent standard
• Participated in client training and meetings providing technical back up and innovative ideas

Responsibilities

• Plan, create, launch, monitor and update client websites
• Aquire customer requirements
• Write project briefs and specifications
• Maintain web and email servers

Clients I worked with include VW, SEAT, Merlin Entertainments Group (Thorpe Park, Alton Park, London Eye and Madame Tussauds), National Schools Partnership, James Millard Estate Agents, Celsur Plastics and the NSPCC.

Senior PHP Web Developer, Underwired∗ (London, UK)

May 2007 to July 2007

Completed development in C# and Ruby on Rails for web projects and worked on email marketing campaigns whilst training two junior developers in PHP. Underwired∗ moved into solely producing email marketing so I left to pursue my PHP oriented career.

Achievements

• Consulted on the launch of a radio streaming website improving its response time

Responsibilities

• Complete web project development to a high standard
• Participate in client meetings and pitches
• Maintain customer web servers
• Build email marketing templates

I was involved with some big name clients such as JP Morgan, Nickelodeon and Virgin Holidays.

Contract PHP Web Developer, JellyFish Search Engine Marketing (Reigate, UK)

March 2007 to May 2007

Search engine marketing for publication subscriptions via targeted campaigns. I was responsible for improving and combining internal reporting tools into an intranet.

PHP Web Developer and Quality Assurance Officer, Go4 Multimedia Pty Ltd (Melbourne, Australia)

June 2005 to March 2007

Go4 produce websites and multimedia products for small to large businesses including a media analysis package in use across Australia and beyond. Project work was diverse from brochure sites ecommerce and large web applications.

Achievements

• Employee of the Year 2006 for the introduction of Quality Assurance policies and excellence in their execution.
• Zend Certified PHP Engineer 2006
• After introduction the Quality Assurance measures eliminated errors from production, which lead to far greater client satisfaction and a high quality end result

Responsibilities

• Produce PHP web sites of a high standard
• Ensure quality assurance standards are maintained and met
• Form teams and liase with project managers and staff to complete project testing
• Maintain, update and optimise client and company servers
• Train staff and clients and produce both developer and user documentation

Some examples of clients I worked with include Rex Hunt Fishing Adventures, Teac Australia, Melbourne Osaka Cup, Salton, AIMEX, Sandringham Yacht Club, Aus Golf, St. Kilda Boat Sales and many more.

Freelance PHP Developer, Holywell Design, Hobart & Melbourne, Australia

March 2002 to July 2005

Completed contracts working with PHP for a medical debt company, an online shop for a GPS navigation company and many more.

Practical Skills

Software & Hardware

Proficient in the use of many applications and programming languages with a strong ability to learn and use new development techniques and practices in a fast paced environment. Server and desktop build and setup experience for personal and work related projects.

Business and Client Relationships

Through the building of a successful freelance business I have continued to develop interpersonal skills with clients, which has secured new and return business, together with a good understanding of the value effective IT solutions can contribute to a business.

Neat Things I Have Worked On

• ADOdb Database Abstraction Library for PHP contributor
• Google Maps to track an open ocean yacht race
• Dynamic image changing which can be used for CSS backgrounds
• Conversion scripts from MySQL to MS SQL via ODBC [ 1, 2 ]

Professional Association Memberships

• Australian Computer Society
• British Computer Society
• Auckland PHP Users Group
• London PHP Users Group
• Melbourne PHP Users Group

Hobbies and Interests

• Web Development
• Biking
• Snowboarding
• Skateboarding
• Travelling

References

UK and Australian references will be supplied on request.