Ahmed Swadi – Experience Statement
The position seems to be an exciting and active role and is suitable for me as I have a good background from my past experience and also my education, therefore I can see that I can bring my own skills and experience this role which will make it a success.
I have over 12 years of experience in IT and I have worked in several industries including:
 Corporate IT
 Broadcasting
 Hospitality
 Education sector
 Consultancy
This variety provided me the opportunity to be exposed to many technologies and also to be a part of many projects which also included IT innovation and providing senior management with options and discussing feasibility and functionality. This has allowed me to acquire great skills for solving IT issues and also be an expert in providing innovative ideas for IT solutions to senior management in all my previous positions to ensure we are kept up to date with latest technologies and competitive within or sector to provide a unique service which would impress our customers and keep them loyal.
Below is a description of my achievements and responsibilities in:
 Jumeirah – IT Helpdesk Team Lead
 Discovery Education – Network Administrator
 WS Atkins – Senior IT Support Engineer / IT Team Lead

Jumeirah Experience
Jumeirah was the position whereby I had most responsibility and a large scale for over 2000 employees of tasks whereby I was leading a range of projects, a team and IT customer service.
Projects
One project which I was involved in when I was in my position with Jumeirah was to upgrade TV units throughout the resort.
It was my responsibility to ensure that there is:
 Deployment plan – phases in which project is executed
 Ensure costs meet budget allocated
 Choose the correct technology with the most functionality (organize demos with providers and see which solution impresses the most)
 Setup mock rooms to test technology prior to full deployment to ensure any bugs or issues are handled
Due to the nature of my role as a senior lead with Jumeirah I was personally responsible for the setup of all in room technology for any VIP’s (sheikhs, celebrities, government officials, etc) staying in the resort e.g. TV channels, Wi-Fi, Phones, Games consoles, Fax facilities, and also the I-pad capability of controlling in room tech e.g. lights, blinds, TV and many more. As well as the setup I was personally on hand to provide direct support for any issues that arise and ensure that the guest is reassured and a quick solution is provided to them.

Team Lead Responsibilities
In addition to those responsibilities I was also in charge of leading a team of 7 IT Engineers.
When I first joined I was tasked by the Director of IT whom I was directly reporting to shake up the operation and ensure that the IT team is on track with levels of solution and meeting SLA’s.
When I first joined I was given the following tasks to tackle:
 100 Open Cases on the ticketing system
 SLA breaches (prioritizing and resolution time)
 Raise customer satisfaction
 Gain executive management’s confidence and restore their trust in the IT service
 Boost team morale
 Find knowledge gaps for each team member
 Manage staff cover levels and holidays (ensure that helpdesk is always fully staffed)
 Improve communication to ensure team is collaborating and I am aware of any burning issues or escalations
 Build relationship with senior managers in the resort and always ensure that their requirements are attended to
 Carry out performance reviews and monitor levels against KPI scores
 Motivate staff and ensure that achievements are rewarded and recognized
My Approach
I took on these tasks with enthusiasm and motivation as I felt that these are challenges which I can thrive on and make a success out of.
The responsibility and the trust I received from the Director prompted me to make an immediate impact and I managed to spread the aura of this positive approach onto the rest of the team which made my tenure at Jumeirah a great success.
I managed to effectively make the team collaborate and work as one unit as I know the success of any team is built on trust and communication and honesty. This prompted into us delivering the following results:
- Managed to reduce the open cases from 100 to 5 open cases
- Tickets for both guest & staff were resolved well within SLA’s (98% resolution – with a target of 95%) in the first month
- Executive management saw the changes happening and they started trusting me and started addressing to me issues with the confidence as they knew that their requests will be actioned
- I started team building events to bring the team closer together
- Had one to ones with each member of the team to find any knowledge gaps and listen to their views on how they feel they can improve individually as well as collectively
- Ensure that any knowledge gaps are not gone unnoticed as I want all members of the team to be on the same level of abilities and the workload is shared fairly amongst them (I did this by giving each member some training time to work shadow members from other teams part of Corporate IT )
Discovery Education Experience (DE)
In this role I was responsible for ensuring the IT Infrastructure for Discovery Education is running smoothly.
The level of support ranges between 1st, 2nd and 3rd line (mostly 2nd/3rd).
I was also the most senior member of the team therefore I have the duty of being an escalation point for any issues and that I provide solutions for any issues.
Projects
I had various projects which I have worked on during my time with Discovery Education, including:
 Perform a full rollout of windows 7 Operating system across the office
 Introduce VMware Virtualization
 Setting SLA’s and ensuring they are met
 Introduce a call logging (ticketing) system (Service Now)
 Setup an asset management system so all DE hardware and software are accounted for
 Exchange upgrade from 2003 to 2010
I also started creating documentation and setting SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) for all IT related tasks.

WS Atkins
As part of my role with WS Atkins I was the team lead for a group of 4 engineers. I was reporting to the regional manager for Qatar, Bahrain & Kuwait Offices.
When I first joined the team I was tasked with ensuring that any issues that arise for our region are closed within SLA and for customer satisfaction levels to increase as there were many cases that were open with no follow up. I managed to successfully motivate the team and work with them to reduce numbers and attain goals above our targeted goals which were set by the management. I managed to make a quick impression and establish key relationships within the regional senior management within the business and this is what helped my tenure with Atkins become a success.
I was working closely with the manager and brought many improvements, listed below:
 Documenting any new procedures and ensure knowledge is shared with local and regional team
 Build relationships with our suppliers and ensuring that there is a strategic scope for business going forward (reducing costs and agreeing SLA’s to ensure the effect on business is minimal at all times)
 Managed to convey that communication is essential for the success of the team and this spread across to all members and created a transparent environment whereby everyone is involved on daily activities
 Proved to Senior management (Directors, regional managers, department head/managers) that all the issues will be looked into and solutions provided and this increased our customer satisfaction and restored confidence for our IT department within the business
 Followed ITIL processes coherently to ensure effective results and that everything is recorded so that all work can be tracked and referred back to if needed
 Ensure that the business understand IS strategic requirements and explain how we can provide further services beyond support and actually assist with technology which can be utilized by our clients
 Fill in for the manager in his absence, handling escalations and attending Senior Management meetings as well as completing any projects outstanding and undertaking business critical decisions under the guidance of the Head of IT
 Led on projects involving our site offices to improve IS services (data backup solutions, working with contractors to improve Internet speeds, Mobilizing & de-mobilizing site offices ensuring all IS aspects are met)
 Contributed to Global IS asset management project in regional offices to ensure that we adhere to standards and have accurate records for all hardware & software licensing
 Managed a big project to cut costs for monthly phone bills for all users in Qatar, Bahrain & Kuwait. I was working closely with our telecoms supplier to ensure any disconnected lines have been removed from our billing account and also to agree new monthly plans which would give more value for money (e.g. more minutes, extra Internet bundle)
 Travel to regional offices to provide support and assist with server upgrades, changes, decommissioning and general support for users there
 Led on an Integration project from an IT perspective with a company that was acquired by Atkins in East Africa (Kenya & Tanzania) – outlining plans for Infrastructure & Auditing Hardware/Software status, etc.
 Office 365 rollout across the region
This position put me on a platform whereby I was able to lead and take initiative in projects within the company on a regional scale and be part of a wide team and work in collaboration with them. I have also managed to excel and prove that I can be an inspirational leader for my colleagues by working closely with them and I have managed to make a positive impression with all the business stakeholder (VIP’s, directors, managers and staff) within Atkins.

Conclusion
I hope that based on the details on my CV and this statement I have been able to persuade you of my potential to perform well and that I can be an effective member of your team and make a real contribution.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.