Welcome to our second week of the Schools Plus Interview series – Who do you think we are?
In this weekly interview series members of the Schools Plus team will be asked a series of questions about them and their job here at Schools Plus. We thought this would be a great way to find out more about Schools Plus staff. There is a huge array of jobs and people here at Schools Plus so every interview will be totally different. You will get an insight into their day to day life, their time before Schools Plus and a bit more about the team.
Who are you?
Andrew Halliwell
What is your role at Schools Plus?
I am the Finance Director and am responsible for all things number related in the business.
As Schools Plus is all over the country where are you based?
I work from my home in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. I can be found in London every now and again.
How long have you worked for Schools Plus?
I joined Schools Plus in September 2015 so nearly 2 years. Initially I was Finance Manager but having proved I could add up adequately, I was made Finance Director in April 2016
What did you do before you worked at Schools Plus?
I worked in the debt collection industry for over 10 years after graduating from university. I started out as an Assistant Accountant in January 2005, working my way up to Finance Director and completing my accounting exams along the way.
What is your favourite part about working for Schools Plus?
I take pride in saying I work for Schools Plus in a way I didn’t quite have when I worked in debt collection. Whilst we are not a charity, we really help schools to supplement their budgets and enable them to have access to more resources to enhance the education of their children.
Can you describe a typical working day for you?
Working from home gives you great flexibility about when and how you work so “typical” doesn’t necessarily fit in. I’m usually up early (as you are when you have kids Isla, aged 8 and Noah, 4) so I try and get on with work ASAP. The commute down the stairs is not normally too bad! Depending on the day, I might have to give the kids breakfast and take them to school. After completing that joyous task, I crack into it. My team is based in New Dehli, India and the rest of the business are based around the country so I spend a lot of time on email and Skype in a normal day. We have been making a lot of improvements to the finance processes of the business and that is the main focus outside of day-to-day number crunching.
What do you think the future holds for Schools Plus?
There are exciting plans at Schools Plus as we look to continuously improve our services for both our client schools and customers. We want to be easier to do business with and, as a result, we are launching a contact centre. In addition, we are working to upgrade and revolutionise our booking software.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I play Flag American Football with the Sheffield Giants. Despite my limited talent, the team is actually really good! We have a number of players who play for Great Britain and will be challenging for the national title during August.
You are a crayon in the box what colour would you be and why?
I would be Sheffield Giants blue
Finally, what is your favourite song and why?
Very difficult questions because there are so many possibilities but I would go with Someday by The Strokes. It came out during my first year of university and always reminds me of those days.
Come back next week to see our next interview of the series.