Nicola Humphrey
On completing my Bsc Computing degree, I applied for a few companies but was immediately drawn to the technical roles and social atmosphere of Awin. I initially joined as a Support Analyst, a role that would draw on the fundamentals I had learnt at University but also offer exposure to other operational areas of a business. I quickly learnt the ropes of the bespoke system as well as key skills required to maintain the level of support our clients require. Back then, the department was somewhat smaller, consisting of only 8 technical service staff. Thankfully everyone pitched in with helping resolve technical queries on the interface and client accounts, as well as the implementation of our tracking on new clients to the network.
Fast forward to 2016 and we now have two sub teams with 14 people, where the work is a lot more focused between the two and offers you the ability to specialise in particular tasks you may enjoy more.
The majority of the technical work entails validating tracking requests sent to our server over HTTP or debugging a clients on site code implementation in HTML/JavaScript. However the opportunity is also there for you to get involved in writing custom JavaScript or PHP, which is often needed for some of our bigger clients on the network. Over the last year we have worked on encouraging and developing SQL skills within the teams as we have access to query the company databases, which personally I find the most interesting.
We are also lucky to work closely with our Production and Development team, which means we still have that guidance and support for those who are looking to try out new skill areas or are looking to advance more into the programming side.
As the Technical Account Director I currently manage two Team Leaders within the department who both have a team of 8. Within these teams there are roles such as Support Analysts, Senior Support Analysts, Integration Analysts. As well as our Training Specialist who is dedicated to coordinating and devising training material for our department.
Each year we also reach out to local University’s and take on 3 students to do a year in industry placement with us. This is particularly rewarding as at the end of year you see each Intern leave full of confidence and eager to complete their degree, with a new sense of direction and insight gained from their time with us. Some will even come back to join us as permanent members of the team after graduation.
Over the years I have found Awin to be a great place to grow, as you are given ample opportunity to gain experience in a variety of areas that include project and business management, as well as developing recruitment and people management/leadership skills. Areas which have allowed me to progress quickly and skills I may not have had the opportunity to gain in a more restricted other businesses.
