Egbe Eguavoen

GI Developer, Pre- and Post-Sales Support

I first used Ordnance Survey data during my Masters degree and, later in my PHD on modelling land use and land cover, I used maps that were surveyed by Ordnance Survey for Nigeria.

I had been at some conferences where Vanessa Lawrence (Ordnance Survey’s Director General and Chief Executive) had talked about the organisation. She gave such a strong and powerful image of the brand and I was keen to work in such a dynamic environment.

I work in the Pre and Post Sales Support Team as a GI Developer. Being part of this team, I have developed an excellent working knowledge of OS products and their data formats. This knowledge has been used in developing numerous proof-of-concept solutions and demonstrators; as well as offering technical support to customers via the Technical Support email account. This support ranges from advising customers [both internal and external] on which product(s) would most suit their needs, to offering technical explanations of the data structure, to replicate the customer issue in order to give them the best advice for a solution.  I also work closely with the Products group and test products to see how customers use them. I also visit customers to show the benefits of the products working with our account managers and consultants to help them get the most out of Geographic Information.

The people here are willing to share their knowledge and experience to help everyone be as effective as they can be. As well as that, I have been on some very interesting and useful courses and have developed so much both personally and professionally. I am now much more confident in presenting my ideas and research to groups of people and persuading them that GI can help solve lots of problems.

April Mawhinney

Customer Service Adviser, Customer Service Centre

I’ve always had a passion for maps and had written my degree dissertation about mapping and cartography. I applied to work for Ordnance Survey because I was interested in the subject and it was a chance to work with a product I really liked.

I work in the Customer Service Centre dealing with all types of customer enquiries. These could be from the general public, from Ordnance Survey’s partners or other commercial customers.

I am responsible for investigating and responding to enquiries, liaising with technical teams, account managers and our online fulfilment centre. I identify trends and implement actions to prevent these issues from re-occurring.

I really enjoy investigating and resolving complex enquiries as it can be very satisfying, although one of the challenges is in explaining very technical issues in a way that makes sense to someone outside the organisation – I often try to re-write information in plain English and delete all our acronyms.

I love the work here as I get a real buzz dealing with customers directly on the phone.

Ordnance Survey is a very friendly and interesting place to work – most of the staff are very friendly and you do get a sense of community which exists here.

Peter Welenc

IT Support Analyst, Information Systems

I moved to England straight after graduating in 2006. I temped at Ordnance Survey for a while helping out in Addressing Infrastructure - progressing to team leader and Production Controller.

When the chance of a permanent job came up here, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands. I was sure that this job was perfect for me, although I also knew that I really wanted to stay at Ordnance Survey as I’d got to know loads of people here and liked the culture. I wanted to be a part of moving the organisation forward and the future vision of a dynamic, flexible and modern Ordnance Survey is very appealing.

I support a range of computer systems vital for Ordnance Survey to function. I fulfil requests and answer queries from internal and external customers as well as monitoring the systems and detecting and resolving issues before they cause problems for the users. The job itself is sometimes like being a detective who analyses all the available pieces of information in order to solve the mystery.

Since I’ve been at Ordnance Survey I have made the most of the training opportunities. I have improved my communication skills and can organise and prioritise my workload better. I’ve had loads of support from my line manager and my team members have been fantastic– passing on as much knowledge as they could. I see plenty of opportunities for me to grow and develop in the future and hope to be part of Ordnance Survey for a long time.

Sue Coleman

Product Manager, Addressing products

There is always something interesting going on and there are plenty of opportunities to develop yourself and your career.  I’ve loved the jobs I’ve had and I’ve had managers who have nurtured my development from a ‘manual’ worker on the print floor to an office manager. They took the raw product and provided me with the confidence and the tools to grow and develop my career over the years.

My role within Product Management is the Addressing Product Manager responsible for the entire addressing portfolio.  I look after all aspects of the product lifecycle including ideas, implementation, maintenance, revenue, 3^rd party liabilities, customer queries and future strategy. I work closely with sales and marketing, the other product team members and external suppliers to make sure that when we make changes to the product, it really fits with customer requirements. 

One of our biggest challenges at the moment is in trying to improve our maintenance systems and future data specification to make a product fit for the demands in the future, alongside changes to pricing and licensing making it easier for customers to utilise our data.

No day is typical – it really is that varied! But taking responsibility and being able to take ownership of projects and queries really gives me a sense of achievement.

Glenda Hooper

Supplier Relationship Manager, Data Collection and Management

I am a Supplier Relationship Manager in Data Collection and Management. This means that I manage the relationship and supply of services from external suppliers. At the moment I look after our addressing and imagery suppliers, so deal with a wide variety of organisations.

I deal with the day-to-day management of my supplier’s activities such as the establishment of their contracts, variations, resolution of issues, achievement of delivery and quality targets and deadlines as well as the financial side.
It’s quite an exciting environment to work in – making sure that our data products continue to be world class and that we operate both professionally and commercially.

It’s a great working environment with many opportunities to extend your knowledge and skills as long as you are flexible and a good team worker. The professionalism and helpfulness of the people at Ordnance Survey make it a unique place to work. It’s rare to find someone unhelpful or unfriendly and there’s a real sense of community spirit.

Andy Howles

Principal Architect, Information Systems

I’ve been at Ordnance Survey for four years and would say that I’m finding it interesting, challenging and exciting.

I studied geography and geographic information science at University and have a real interest in geospatial data management. I wanted to work for Ordnance Survey because it’s an internationally recognised centre of excellence and could give me experience of one of the biggest geospatial databases – we maintain about half a billion active features in our large scale systems.

I find my job rewarding because it is technically very challenging, but gives me an unusual blend of the academic and the pragmatic. Much of the skill in systems architecture is about compromise and it takes skill and discipline to do the job well.

My role is a varied one. Sometimes it involves looking at the big picture, working with colleagues to determine how our technology resources should be used and developed. At other times I write technical documents, define interface specifications to help systems to work together, anticipate technical problems, and work with external suppliers to make sure that specifications are agreed and met.

Right now, I’m part of a team working on a major re-engineering programme which will improve information integrity, currency and consistency for our customers. We also need to make sure that it provides a flexible platform for future developments. It’s been great to be able to influence the shape and direction of the programme and exciting to be making a contribution to such a strategically significant piece of work!