I have worked as a Freelance Arts journalist specializing in film, but also covering visual art, theatre and music. Publications I have worked for include, The Times, Mixmag, Heat and Nova. I am the regular film correspondent for North East England arts and listings magazine, The Crack.

Working as a personal assistant for two senior members of staff in the finance department of the Department of Communities and Local Government, I was the primary point of contact for all enquiries. Duties included dealing with emails and phone calls, managing diaries and arranging and coordinating meetings, liaising with other members of staff, filling out reports, and making travel arrangements and bookings.

As part of the Community Engagement Team, working on behalf of HS2, my duties were primarily keeping the pubic and stakeholders informed of how their homes and businesses may be affected by the HS2 High Speed rail project. This involved liaising with colleagues and contractors to provide the necessary information, mapping stakeholders, holding information events, conducting home visits and walkabouts, and devising and issuing information sheets. Duties also involve drafting colleagues’ work to check for grammar spelling and coherence.

As one of the two staff manning the HS2 in Euston drop-in centre at the National Temperance Hospital in Hampstead Road, I was charged with helping run the day-to-day operations as well as liaising with the managers of the building. Utilising the extensive knowledge garnered from my previous appointment as an Enquiries Handler at HS2, I was able to advise local residents and businesses of how they may be affected by the project. Other duties involved, conducting tours for visitors, including ones for MPs and members of the House of Lords; visiting local businesses to encourage them to sign up for our website, and make them aware of our local presence; and sourcing and booking venues for events. When the previous manager was unexpectedly absent for several weeks, I was tasked with running the centre myself, and bringing other HS2 staff in to cover.

Job involved responding to questions from MPs and the general public, drawing from a range of policy documents, liaising with other departments, and producing accurate and informative answers, quickly and at short notice.

Job involved answering calls and responding to written and emailed enquiries from the general public and stakeholders about HS2, advising them of how HS2 may impact upon them, and of any potential compensation entitlement, utilising online and hardcopy mapping tools.