Role: Senior Manager of Production Operations
Company: Allstate NI
Track Record: It can be very satisfying when you delight the client with a clever solution.
“Tenacity and a commitment to resolve a situation helps to get results; we’re only as good as our last set of results,” says Gavin.
What does your job entail?
I manage Allstate NTs Enterprise Command Centre.
A world-class centre purpose built to manage the Allstate technology environment.
The Enterprise Command Centre detects system problems before they impact Allstate customers.
I am part of the Infrastructure Service Division and in Northern Ireland I manage 70 employees who are responsible for critical incident management, service restoration and mainframe operations and messaging support.
More recently, I have taken on a new responsibility managing global delivery of middleware support from Northern Ireland to both the United States and India.
I am constantly growing my team in fact, we are in the middle of a recruitment drive right now —all vacancies are posted on allstateni.com.
Is it 9-5?
My team covers a variety of shifts from 4.45am right through to 1am so my phone is always on.
Sometimes I will get a call in the middle of the night when assistance is required in support of an issue.
However, I work alongside senior managers in the United States and we support each other so down-time is achievable and contrary to popular belief, I do get to spend quality time with my family.
How did you get into this line of work?
When I was younger, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do — I completed A-Levels and then worked in a bar for a while.
After that I had a job in government research and that’s when I really started to think about my career.
I got a load of prospectuses and with some guidance from the other researchers I decided to apply to do an HND in computer studies.
I was accepted as a mature student with a great reference from the professor at the research labs.
My first role was at IDB which is now known as Invest NI.
When I started to look for my first job there was not the wealth of IT opportunities in Belfast we have today but the Celtic Tiger was emerging so I moved to Dublin and worked as an Oracle programmer in the IFSC.
A year later, I moved back home to Belfast to work for CableTel/NTL and then onto Gem where I progressed from systems architect to IT director.
I moved after eight years to Fujitsu where I worked in solution architecture for Scottish Water overseeing transition and transformation projects.
I started my current post with Allstate NI in 2013.
What qualities are required for your lob — personal and professional?
Having attention to detail, being able to analyse and solve problems.
The role is to provide command and control and ensure all aspects of the organisation run as smoothly as possible.
Patience is also essential.
You need to have a sense of ownership — believe this is yours and not let go until the job is done.
Tenacity and a commitment to resolve a situation helps to get results; we’re only as good as our last set of results.
I juggle many roles that require excellent oral and written skills.
As a manager I spend most of my time working with people — US and NI em-ployees, partners, stakeholders, third-party vendors, and more.
I prepare and present a lot of reports and presentations.
Excellent communication skills really are vital. In addition to being a good communicator, you must be able to lead and motivate your team.
You have to identify, propose and recommend changes and you have to be able to justify your recommendations.
You will often need the support of your team (I have a fantastic team!) to deliver change so being able to motivate and energise them helps to get results.
You also need to accept that you do not have all the answers and not be afraid to show some humility as more often than not, you will need others to help you.
Professionally, you need to have a broad and deep understanding of as many aspects of IT services, systems, solutions and concepts as possible.
My old Microsoft MCP knowledge is pretty irrelevant now but has been part of the foundation that I built my career on so you have to continue to improve your-self, constantly learn and continuously ask questions.
What are the biggest challenges and rewards of your work?
Whether you work in IT Operations or Architecture, clearly understanding needs and requirements can be the biggest challenge.
Architects often have to translate a vision into a tangible solution.
In Operations, we have to unravel systems issues, we have to understand the system and what it is supposed to do and how it benefits users and customers.
Only then can we determine the best course of action to re-store it back to health.
The greatest reward is when you get it right — when you delight the customer, either through understanding their vision and delivering a great solution or when you have helped restore a system back to health.
That sense of achievement is a great feeling, some-thing I don’t think I’ll ever lose.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
Music is my passion — listening and watching.
I’ve been dabbling with the guitar for a long time.
I did at one stage consider a career in sound engineering and looked into courses and I still think I’d have made a decent engineer/producer.
Someday I might get the chance to prove myself right.
I love spending time with my family, my wife Colette, and sons Jack and Conor.
We get a buzz from watching them grow and we’re a close bunch.
Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.
The first gig I played was in a bar in Pittsfield, Matachusetts during a summer working in the USA.
Who has inspired you most in your life?
My Dad — he instilled in me the importance of education and the importance of working hard at school.
He knew how to strike a balance though and never pushed too far.
He was an upholsterer by trade but returned to education later in life to study and worked in the Belfast Education and Library Board until he retired.
I think that inspired me and encouraged me to think about my career and to realise that a great education is essential.
He was right when he said to do well in school, get good qualifications and it will open doors and provide me with opportunities.
I’ve been fortunate enough to work with amazing people, I have travelled the world, been on cruise ships, been invited to speak at conferences — all down to my education and the doors it opened.