Chartered Assessor case study

Currently Head of Technical Architecture at AKQA (a global digital agency), Christopher is responsible for leading a team of around 12 technical architects and collaborating with Head of Web Development and Head of Technology to define technical strategy and ensure it is delivered.

Christopher also provides thought leadership both within AKQA and with clients, collaborates with other disciplines on new business pitches, manages a number of knowledge sharing and technical quality initiatives, and speaks at conferences and community events.

The reasons for becoming an assessor are many and varied. Christopher explains his motivation, ‘I wanted to become an assessor because I felt that it would help me further my career. It’s an extension of my CITP status, and demonstrates my commitment to improving the IT industry and my personal skills’.

Christopher continues, ‘There are two areas in which I greatly benefit from my assessor role. The first is my skill in interviewing people. The Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) provides much more structure than I have been used to in a work environment, so I'm finding that I can gain a lot of benefit from considering this framework when I'm interviewing candidates at work. The second is in the breadth of IT projects that I am now exposed to. My work is very much focused on producing software in an Agile manner, so through the interviews I conduct for BCS it is extremely useful to hear about other types of projects delivered in different ways’.

Christopher explains how he balances his role as a BCS assessor with his work life, ‘it is not practical for me to commit to assessments during the work day, as agency life is extremely fast paced. There is often contention for my time - so I need to prioritise as I go. I also have a young family, so my commitment to them means that I try to limit my evening activities. As a result, I find that early morning interviews suit me best’.