Line managed about 25% of the UK team. Mostly VUI Designers, plus Speech Science and UX staff.

Worked closely with rest of UK Management team (1 Director, 2 Senior Managers) to:
   >  forecast staffing needs for next business year
   >  maintain overview of UK staffing issues, including recruitment, utilization, and similar
   >  draft/review budget estimates for potential work
   >  own any loose ends around hiring, facilities, team-building, and similar

Input/support to region-wide management initiatives, for example:
   >  I reviewed and amended standard Nuance PS contract templates, especially for systems with a Natural Language component. I also refined performance-based fee options, to make these clearer to clients and Pre-Sales colleagues.
   >  I helped promote an internal Agile project to all EMEA Managers, to extend an internal design tool/process for NLU (Natural Language Understanding), then sat on the Steering Committee to drive this forward.

Line managing my team came with some of the usual challenges, including:
   >  covering for one of my team, who needed 6 weeks hospitalization in the middle of a major project (recovered fully);
   >  planning for phased retirement of a senior designer. Finding an optimal balance between Nuance/project operational needs and my colleague’s wishes;
   >  handling the relocation of a designer to Australia, including negotiation of any needed project changes with relevant Account/Project Managers, in the UK and US.

Managing conflicting resource requests at UK national level, and resource sharing with other EMEA countries.

Developing a working relationship with other (non-UK) Managers covering EMEA, based in Germany, France, USA, and Turkey. Diverse cultural/professional backgrounds.