Young Parking Professional: Annie Oliver

British Parking Awards 2021

Annie Oliver began her career at Parking Control Management (UK) at a young age, completing work experience within the company’s permit management team. As she got older, she worked every school holiday and some weekends as an appeals and complaints officer, before beginning her full-time position as acting legal manager in December 2016. From this point, she has developed the internal compliance facet of the organisation and her current job role as the parking operator’s legal and compliance manager.

Her workload includes managing PCM’s administration team, conducting annual appraisals, day-to-day management, assisting in personal development of staff, overseeing and delegating workload. She oversees all administration relating to litigation action, including the preparation of evidence for County Court, approving Witness Statements, and preparing monthly referrals to PCM’s instructed solicitors. Oliver also investigates and responds to complaints and correspondence from Members of Parliament.

Being PCM’s data protection officer, as registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), she responds to data protection queries, requests and complaints, fulfilling Subject Access Requests, writing and maintenance of data protection policies and privacy notices. As the designated compliance officer, as required by the International Parking Community (IPC) code of practice, she liaises with the association on compliance issues.

Oliver is involved in policy formulation, writing and maintaining of company policy to ensure compliance with legal obligations and industry regulations, a task that involves extensive research.She wrote and implemented all current internal policies to ensure compliance with statutory and regulatory obligations, and has developed a full internal compliance team. She oversaw the annual inspection from the DVLA in 2020 and obtained the first immediate ‘green’ audit in the history of the company.

Oliver trains new members of staff and created training resources for back office staff and parking attendants. She also assists in the creation of marketing material and internal staffing campaigns, initiating a company-wide ‘Positive Mental Health in the Workplace’ campaign, including the appointment of Mental Health Champions and a Mental Health First Aider. Her commitment to quality and compliance has seen her write articles on LinkedIn to bring greater awareness of the private parking sector.

Ian Cordingley, PCM managing director. “Annie is without a shadow of doubt one of our most helpful, knowledgeable, and reliable members of staff. Annie possesses the ultimate ‘can do’ attitude while taking on all tasks with a positive energy and a smile. All our staff know that if they give Annie a problem, a solution is on its way. She is a fantastic team player, optimistic, engaging and easy to get along with.”

Robert Gilder, PCM head of UK sales, says: “Annie is a hardworking, conscientious and knowledgeable member of the PCM family. By taking on a wide range of jobs around her day-to-day legal and compliance responsibilities, Annie is the ‘can do’ person that every company would wish for.”

Andrew Bennett, PCM appeals and compliance officer, says: “Annie Oliver’s sheer breadth of knowledge of the industry, coupled with her infectious passion for her work, only goes a small way into demonstrating why she is such a revered member of this company. She encourages every single member of the team to understand their potential, always actively searching to find out our individual instinctive talents and partner these with new responsibilities to showcase them.”

Malisa-Kim Grant, PM legal assistant, adds: “Annie has been an exemplary manager, providing training, giving constructive feedback, to recognising positive achievements. She assists across the different teams and is extremely reliable and approachable. Her deep knowledge and understanding of the parking industry is invaluable to us all. No question is deemed to be ‘too silly’ to be asked. Annie goes above and beyond in her role and is highly respected by us all.”