Paul Waring

Summary

Director of IT, Chief Security Officer and business owner based in Manchester, UK. Experience in public, private and voluntary sectors, including five directorships. Currently available for part-time / fractional non-executive board positions.

Experience

• Blagrove Underwriting Agency Ltd

  Director of IT and Chief Security Officer, November 2025 - Present

  • Devised new priority system for development tasks, allowing developers to focus on delivery.
  • Designed automated bordereaux for capacity providers.
  • Improved operational resilience and disaster recovery through an additional location with a different provider.
  • Negotiated significant discounts on IT services.
  • Reallocated developers to better meet the needs of the business.
  • Skills audit of developers to identify gaps and training requirements.
  • Achieved Cyber Essentials certification for the business.
  • Report to the Board on programming and performance of the IT platform.
  • Hold Financial Conduct Authority approved person status for the duration of this role (PXW01619).

• phpdev.uk

  Freelance PHP Developer and Linux System Administrator, July 2015 - Present

  • Development and maintenance of bespoke websites and customisation of existing software, primarily using PHP, MySQL and MariaDB.
  • PHP upgrades (all versions between 5.1 and 8.4).
  • Migration and consolidation of hosting platforms, diagnosing and fixing of email issues and security improvements.
  • Implementation of best practices, including documentation, version control, automated testing, configuration management, automated deployment, disaster recovery and risk planning.
  • Deliver mentoring on PHP and related skills and training on version control (Git) and configuration management (Ansible).

• Bolton & District Citizens Advice Bureau

  Director & Trustee, December 2015 - November 2018

  • Vice chair of the main board and member of the finance committee.
  • Contributed to support for trustees at the national level via the Trustee Development Group.
  • Represented the organisation at Citizens Advice Greater Manchester.
  • Focused on improving the finances of the organisation, including working closely with the finance officer and other management staff.

• University of Manchester

  Software Support Officer, December 2013 - June 2015

  • Maintained and developed internal infrastructure and software as part of a team.
  • Provided cover for academic staff due to timetable clashes, illness etc.
  • Provided student-facing support and contributed to teaching materials.
  • Produced substantial documentation and migrated projects into version control (Git).

• Direct Fleet Insurance Services Ltd

  Director, October 2010 - November 2013

  • Formulated long term strategy as member of the Board, including budgets and financial forecasting.
  • Reduced server-side IT expenditure by 25% as a result of reviewing hosting costs, switching providers and consolidating services.
  • Attended board meetings of the company’s FCA principal, Blagrove Underwriting Agency Ltd.
  • Held Financial Conduct Authority approved person status for the duration of this role (PXW01619).

• Direct Fleet Insurance Services Ltd

  Technical Manager, March 2009 - November 2013

  • Developed wholesale insurance trading platform, written in PHP with MySQL for data storage.
  • Designed and built automated invoicing system, handling over £30mn of annual premiums.
  • Automated a wide range of repetitive tasks, including production of Excel reports, eliminating re-keying errors and reducing turnaround times.
  • Built new insurance products from scratch, managing the full process from initial meetings with suppliers through to reviewing contracts, implementation, and launch within agreed deadlines.
  • Translated underwriting criteria into an XML web service with a REST API, providing 10,000 quotes per month for a salary sacrifice scheme.
  • Worked with a wide range of external partners, including UK and EU insurers.

• UKUUG Ltd

  Director, September 2008 - January 2013
  Council Member, September 2007 - September 2013

  • Organised annual conferences with other volunteers. Lead organiser and conference chair for 2009, 2010 and 2011.
  • Served as chairman for four years (2008-2012), with responsibility for chairing bi-monthly Council meetings and the AGM.
  • Liaised with a range of corporate sponsors, including Google and Sun Microsystems.
  • Took organisation through rebrand from UKUUG to FLOSS UK.

Other activities

• Committee Member, Manchester Classical Association, April 2016 - July 2021.
• Treasurer, Manchester Friends of the Earth, November 2015 - February 2018.
• Newsletter Editor, FLOSS UK, August 2014 - May 2016.
• Treasurer, Manchester Classical Association, July 2012 - April 2016 & December 2016 - June 2017.
• Director & Trustee, Manchester Environmental Resource Centre Initiative Ltd, December 2008 - December 2010.
• Joint Co-ordinator, Manchester Friends of the Earth, December 2006 - April 2009.
• Chairman, University of Manchester Computer Society, September 2004 - September 2005.

Education

• University of Manchester

  September 2007 - September 2009

  • MPhil Computer Science

• University of Manchester

  September 2006 - August 2007

  • MA Ancient World Studies

• University of Manchester

  September 2003 - June 2006

  • BSc (Hons) Computer Science (2:1)

Last updated: 20th July 2026
Latest version: nonexecutivedirector.uk/cv.html