Hi, I’m Phil, the founder of Leave Dates, a UK-based HR tech company known for its user-friendly and straightforward approach.

We help you manage and track employee leave, giving you complete visibility of staff time off while reducing admin.

Managing employee holidays is a crucial HR issue for many small and medium-sized businesses. By focusing on this specific problem, our solution is incredibly easy to set up and use.

What’s more, you won’t have to pay for an expensive HR platform that includes features you don’t need or understand.

In 2024, we were recognised with the Capterra Shortlist and named GetApp Category Leader, based on over 250 customer reviews and an average rating of 4.8 out of 5.

If you’re looking to elevate your HR function, let’s connect! 🌐

Phil Norton

UK Research and Innovation

Vanessa Gardner is UK Research and Innovation’s Web Delivery Lead. She ensures the team has the right environment to build and drive continuous improvement across the user-centred UKRI corporate website. 

A passionate advocate of planning and project management techniques Vanessa is an Agile APMG practitioner and APMG Change management practitioner. 

Collaborating with the web team and the wider organisation she builds and adapts processes, workflows and frameworks that help teams work effectively whilst delivering to organisational objectives. 

She has worked in the public sector for the last 10 years firstly at Innovate UK and more recently at UKRI. 

Her career has included working in a commercial environment as a retail buyer and running two publishing businesses.

Web Delivery Lead | Asana Delivery Lead - External affairs and communications team

Delivery manager responsible for planning, prioritisation and management of the publishing team:
* publishing web content across our 10 legacy websites
* leading on planning and Triage
* team development and training
* Transition of publishing for the new single UKRI website
* leading on Publishing workflows for the new single site

Project manager for content transition for the new single unified UKRI website to be launched during 2020:
* leading on Sprint planning
* roadmaps and estimating
* resource and prioritisation 
* Co-ordination with content transition lead
* leading on the development of workflows and process for the new site and content design service

Senior Web Delivery Manager | Interim Delivery Lead web project

Innovate UK

Innovate UK’s brand guardian leading on brand development, ensuring consistent and high-quality implementation of its visual identity through effective management of the brand agency. Responsible for planning, scheduling,  procurement and production of all Innovate UK content. Supporting content and the wider team with financial planning, best practice and implementation of the project management system. Working across communications managing multiple stakeholders on delivery of media to 
support objectives.

-	planning and scheduling of project tasks, milestones and deliverables for a team working on 700 + jobs a year whilst managing in-house resource and external agencies briefing and budgets
-	led the creative development of a new visual identity, managing sign off across multiple stakeholders, implementing use of essential templates and new assets within a defined budget
-	led the development of and implemented a new asset library and sharing system, retiring assets and maintaining 7000+ live assets – replacing the old system with a zero-cost solution
-	managed procurement process for 8 new contracts and onboarded suppliers
-	comms lead for use of Flowzone as a project management tool across the communications team – 
delivering grids for media, content and campaign planning and development of functionality
-	overseeing and reporting on financial planning for content – utilising Flowzone as a reporting tool 
-	development of standard guidance and process documents for colleagues and suppliers
-	advice, guidance and development of brand positioning for Innovate UK and Industrial strategy 
challenge fund working with the Innovate UK family specifically KTN to embed brand positioning

Content & Brand Co-ordinator

Supporting the content manager and content developer with the production of 500 + jobs per year. Developed standard scheduling, asset management, agency briefing templates and standard production KPI’s. Identified processes that needed review, implemented new workflow processes with suppliers for competitions content to be produced by an external agency. Developed the proposal for a project management system, produced a project plan for implementation which included multiple workshops and training sessions. Worked with the supplier to brief complex requirements and implemented them in an agile way over a 6-month period.  Successfully managed the procurement processes for corporate communications tenders.

Content Coordinator

Owner of the IPD Catalogue - Rights & Licenses available

Joint owner of the Instinctive Product Development list. A catalogue of books and gift products in excess of 100 titles and 150 formats available for licensing.

UK Rights, licenses and enquiries 

Vanessa Gardner
e: vanessa.gardner1@me.com

Instinctive Product Development Ltd

Creation of company business plan and strategy -  including budget setting, forecasting and analysis. Driving client acquisition, targeting projects and business development. Led pitches to blue-chip and international clients including WHSmith, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Universal Music, and Indigo. Concept, commissioning and development of 150 products for clients worldwide. Briefing suppliers to commission products as per clients brand and style guide. Sourcing, negotiating and managing Far East and European suppliers to ensure on-time delivery whilst achieving margins. 

- Project management of over 150 books, magazines and gift products working with the client to develop products as per their brief and style guide from initial concepts, through to delivery of content material. Products included titles on Entertainment and Music, Transport, Military, History, Nostalgia, Fashion, Sport, Art and Natural History. 

- Leading the briefing process of designers, picture research and management of authors and editors. Development and monitoring of the schedule process, best practice and spreadsheets ensuring that all team members were aware of project schedules and delivered on time and as briefed. Holding regular production meetings.

- Sourcing, negotiating, raising purchase orders and managing Far East print suppliers ensuring timely deliveries and placement of orders whilst achieving targeted margins.

- Development of internal company style guide in tandem with freelance editorial resource to ensure that authors provided content in the corporate style required.

- Responsible for sign-off of editorial content which included final proof-reading, copy editing, liaising with authors and on occasion when required structural editing, whilst working with the company’s freelance editor who was the gatekeeper for the editorial process.

Publishing Director

Green Umbrella Publishing

Led the strategic direction and business plan to create a publishing arm that worked independently of a DVD label, utilising its brand momentum to create a publishing programme of 250 titles. Led a team of eight staff to achieve growth from zero to an annual turnover of £1.5M – trading profitably. Serviced customers including Waterstones, WHSmith, Boots, The Works and Halfords. Managed complex stakeholder relationships within the group. Successfully crisis managed the business through the collapse of its group owner, and its subsequent independence. All during a time of retail and economic turmoil. Negotiation and influencing skills were developed during this period. Commissioned many Sports autobiographies including Ian Holloway, John Gorman, Mel Sterland and Martin Bicknell. Conceived new formats and developed the million copy selling Little book of series.

Managing Director

Self-employed

Operated on a freelance basis working with clients to achieve and identify new opportunities to increase sales and profit by marketing existing and new products more effectively. Advised on new product launches, development of existing products, market research and business strategy.

Set up and created a publishing division of a DVD business wishing to diversify its operations into other areas. Was responsible for growing that business from a £200k p/a turnover to a million pound business. Towards the end of this period it was separated into its own division and I was appointed Managing Director.

Consultant

WHSmith

Worked with Category Buyers on the strategic development of plans for own brand and exclusive products for core categories. Negotiation with suppliers, managing product P+Ls, content & creative, contracts and time plans for a business worth £4m. Development of product briefs, managing brand approvals and style guides.

NPD Manager

Responsible for the Category Management of Special Interest Video and DVD in Entertainment. Led the area to sales of c£13m and market leader with key products achieving shares in excess of 40% of the market. Developed and launched an own label range of documentaries achieving sales of £1.2m and significant profits. Negotiated an increase in base terms of Special Interest suppliers and achieved an increase of 5% points resulting in increased profitability as a result of focused buying and range management. Negotiated with key suppliers of Football end of season reviews to release their products on the same date resulting in an increase of 40% of sales revenue as a result.

Senior Buyer, Entertainment

Promoted from a Junior Buyer role to become responsible for high profile non-fiction book categories including Health, Reference, Cookery and Gardening at a crucial time in the business. Developed a new range structure and range management plans for Health Books which saw an increase in sales of 45% year-on-year. Developed a new seasonal range-buying plan for non-fiction, which focused on one-in one-out model, with markdown funding from suppliers to maximize sales and space on shelf. Worked with Publishers on developing exclusive products for the company, successfully negotiating many bind-ups and high margin titles.

Senior Buyer, Books

Store management roles

A pragmatic delivery-focussed project manager and business planner, skilled in communications, operations and brand management. Qualified APMG Agile practitioner and Change Practitioner. Adept at running projects from inception to delivery, through complex project milestones, engaging effectively multiple stakeholders. Managing internal and external resource, to drive projects and teams to successful outcomes on time and within budget. Creative, solution-focussed and imaginative problem solver. 

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES

-     Project, operations & product management
-     APMG Agile practitioner 
-     APMG foundation in change management
-     Expert user of Asana, Miro and Freshdesk 
-     Service planning and helpdesk management
-     Complex planning and schedule management
-     Procurement and buying (Retail and B2B)
-     Brand management, guardianship & implementation
-     Creative concept development
-     Print & digital asset management 
-     Problem solving and unblocking of complex issues
-     Stakeholder engagement and relationship management
-     Budget management and full P+L development
-     Editorial commissioning & quality control
-     Process & workflow development
-     Coaching, mentoring and development
-     Resource management and planning

taplio

The Battle

Phil Norton

Vanessa Gardner

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