Meet Chris

Chris has seen his team double in size since starting at Lifetime. Having progressed from a Business Analyst to managing his own team Chris has also experienced an evolution in the work that his does, from smaller changes to working on larger projects.

If you want to work in a vibrant, fast moving business, Lifetime is for you

Two main reasons: Initially it was the chance to join an expanding, ambitious company, with exciting projects in the pipeline. But most importantly was the chance to work for a company with a positive end product, which is a young person who has achieved an apprenticeship.

Change and challenges. The company is fast moving and as an IT team we need to adapt and change (sometimes on a daily basis). Whilst this can be difficult, it also means that each day is different!

Typically we’ll start the day with a short team catch up, then my day is generally made up of a few core activities: Discovery; Looking ahead to the next changes and projects. Talking to our stakeholders to find out what they need and discussing the options with our development teams. Current development; Working with our teams on new features currently in development.  Releasing new features to the business; working with the teams to get new functionality released to our users.

When I started two years ago, the IT department had 15 people and I was the only Business Analyst on the team. We’ve since grown and I now manage a team of Business Analysts. My role has evolved from working on smaller changes to working on larger projects and programmes of work, along with a small team.

IT supports the whole business so it’s important we make any changes we understand who requires it, what they need it to do and why they need it. Once we know this, we can better work with our teams to design and build a solution to any problem presented to us. So in summary, we try to make sure we build systems which can support and improve the business.

Being positive, approachable, good at communicating and being able to adapt and deal with change.

Delivery of the recent apprenticeship reforms within the company. It was the largest development the company has ever undertaken and involved changing all of our systems to manage the changes to deliver the new apprenticeship standards and support the levy changes to funding.

Everyone (colleagues, managers) supports you on a daily basis, by being available for questions and to bounce ideas off.  We are also encouraged to identify opportunities and spend time researching new ideas and technologies for our personal growth.

Even though we have grown, it still retains a small company atmosphere. There’s a vibrant social community and regular company events (summer fete, rounders, pub quiz) for staff to get to know each other. There’s also a key focus on work/life balance. You work hard during the day and unlike some other companies, you aren’t expected to put in extra hours on a regular basis.

If you want to work in a vibrant, fast moving business, Lifetime is for you. If you’re looking for slow steady job, where every day is the same, we might not be the best place for you!