Innovation Project Manager, Facilitator & Consultant
In 2013 I began my career as a freelancer, working on a broad range of innovation projects, with senior clients from multiple industries.
I thrive on challenge and have tackled innovation projects for leading global clients, ranging from senior leadership events and customer vision projects to mobile network brands and in-store retail trials. Previously a member of the sought-after brand team at Cancer Research UK, I have a great eye for detail and a flair for building engaging brands and creative collateral.
Career Path
I started my career as an administrator at high-end construction company, Eaton Gate Ltd.
I filled various roles including office manager, PA and events/marketing coordinator. This required juggling all manner of tasks on a daily basis.
Whilst there, I lead research for a company re-brand, developed the concept for a project-specific presentation portfolio and single-handedly organised a £10,000 corporate event.
After 2 years I moved on to work at one of the world’s leading innovation companies, ?What If! Innovation.
I quickly became immersed in the world of project management, working for large global brands. I grew particularly confident in organising experiential innovation workshops and ideas labs for multinational ExCo’s.
The role required a varied and exceptional skillset, including managing client relationships, budgets & project schedules, logistics, creative development, market research and building stimulus through insights.
I wanted to apply my skills to a cause which was close to my heart, so moved on from innovation to a brand-focused role at Cancer Research UK.
As one of the UK’s largest and most successful charities, I was given the chance to explore the strategy and execution of brand in more depth and flex my consultancy skills across multiple internal departments.
After a year in the role, I decided take my broad range of skills freelance in order to pursue new projects.
I am focused on expanding my knowledge of branding and innovation, while exploring new ways to improve my creative approach to project management. As a passionate multi-potentialite I believe all my experiences feed into one another, to make a robust and flexible professional.
Timeline
2014-Present
Freelance Project Manager, Creative Facilitator & Consultant, Actor and Play Facilitator
2013-2014
Cancer Research UK: Brand Executive
Supporting and managing the delivery of creative projects to tight deadlines and to budget including:
Brand Champions Launch; Dryathlon; Race For Life; Francis Crick Institute
Building and managing relationships with internal and external stakeholders: providing expert consultancy on brand and creative execution, advising on briefs and agency management, communicating feedback effectively.
Maintain a high level of awareness to ensure brand usage is being optimised and consistently correct across all touchpoints throughout the organisation.
Brand Insights project: using expert knowledge of cross-industry/competitor brands and their activity, ability to analyse and generate these into key insights and opportunity areas for bringing the brand to life through new initiatives.
Facilitating workshops and providing brand training through regular inductions, communicating creative flex as relevant to each stakeholder.
Team responsibilities: general administration (shared), inductions for new starters, building team culture through Yammer activity, inspiration sessions and group insight activities, image library requests and brand inbox management for ad hoc stakeholder queries and sign-off (shared).
Image Library: project manage improvements to image database to create a superior experience for users and build stronger photography assets, research technical capabilities and lead on building new communications infrastructure for sharing and creating photography across the organisation.
Brand Champions: main point of contact, comms and logistics lead, project management of launch and planning annual events calendar, research and input into programme infrastructure.
2011-2013
?What If!: Project Producer
A pivotal role in facilitating the work of creative teams for one of the world’s leading innovation agencies.
The role requires a diverse skillset, managing a range of global projects with budgets up to £200k+ often in extremely demanding and fast-paced environments.
The role is also client-facing, some involving senior ExCo members of global organisations. The ability to source creative stimulus and design exercises or installations to help clients think about their challenge through different perspectives is essential. Projects often require the sourcing of a diverse range of consumers, experts and co-creatives to provide fresh insights, in many cases to demanding briefs or deadlines.
With a special talent for events, I successfully project managed several workshops for senior global clients, often on locations abroad including South Africa and Sweden. The results of these workshops were a long-standing relationship with the client helping them build essential innovations to their internal architecture.
I also took a lead role in managing the successful Seriously Exciting Club: a vital platform created for sharing the brilliant work being done across practices, as well key learnings and fresh insights.
Projects included:
-Global mobile brand development featuring 2 week ideas lab and UK/Brazil consumer recruit; global brand customer insight event in Frankfurt
-Global purpose and values project for executive committee and top 125 senior leaders event featuring large stimulus installation in UK and South Africa
-Customer service strategy project
-NPD project including UK/German consumer and expert recruit
-Top 100 senior leaders event in Stockholm and senior executive team purpose and strategy sessions.
2009-2011
Eaton Gate Ltd: Office Adminstrator
Planned, organised and coordinated single-handedly:
-Christmas party for 30 staff members over 3 venues across London
-£10,000 corporate event for 45 notable guests consisting of 3 activities and dinner with evening entertainment which resulted in successful award of new projects including a refurbishment valued at over £205,000.00
Promoted after 9 months to PA/Office Manager level and received multiple salary increases totalling more than 50% over 2 years.
-Liaised directly with +20 high profile clients (telephone enquiries, written correspondence, arrangement of meetings, coordination of small works including emergency call-outs)
-Managed complex spreadsheet tracking system for architect and designer drawings
-Entrusted with personal duties for Managing Director (passport renewal, purchasing gifts and personal items, international travel arrangements, contract procurement)
-Lead marketing procedures and brand development (research, website, company logo, email marketing, portfolio presentations, maintenance manual design, PR liaison)
-Produced presentations for +£1,000,000.00 refurbishment tender submissions to tight deadlines (balancing totals, adding profit margin, formatting)
-Managed office systems (diary/holiday records, inventory stock, maintenance of equipment and facilities, service contracts, cleaning procedures, fire safety, company vehicles) and coordination of staff training (bookings, renewals, funding)
-Responsible for providing administrative support to +10 staff, including 3 Directors, Senior Estimator and Accounts Department (computer technical support, minute taking/audio-typing/dictation, management of filing systems, presentation of documents (invoices, written correspondence, legal documents, final accounts