Leading the place marketing and inward investment team at an incredibly exciting time for the town, providing a holistic approach to place marketing, managing our overarching approach to inward investment and promoting Cheltenham to multiple target markets.We develop and deliver destination marketing campaigns and effective place promotion strategies through the Visit Cheltenham, We’re Moving to Cheltenham, and Meet in Cheltenham brands. We work closely with key partners within the cultural sector to promote, support, and deliver events and cultural activities for residents and visitors. Our work develops and supports the visitor economy, as part of Cheltenham’s wider strategy to attract new talent and business investment to the town. We will evolve the Cheltenham brand creating a clear link with the outcomes of the Golden Valley development and the cyber sector, in the wider context of Cheltenham’s other key sectors and Gloucestershire as a whole.

Visit Cheltenham is the official tourism website for the town providing information on attractions, dining, events, shopping, accommodation and touring.

I volunteer as Governor for St Barnabas CE Primary School in Worcester, part of an active and committed team strategically leading and supporting the work of the school.The Board works alongside the head teacher and senior leaders to ensure that the school is running effectively. It is accountable to parents, the local community, and the local authority.The Board is responsible for:• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction • Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff • Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent

Working with stakeholders to develop an innovative place management partnership. I was part of the team which successfully bid for The Arches Cultural Development Fund project and the Future High Streets Fund project, securing over £20m of public funding and regeneration opportunities for the city. In addition, I was responsible for:- Providing strategic leadership for city tourism, welcoming visitors via the TIC and delivering the objectives of the Worcester City Tourism Strategy- Strategic partnership engagement - City centre management including business and community engagement, comms, policy development and more- Supporting and enhancing the Worcester offer by working with existing and new tourist attractions- Promoting Worcester to residents and visitors via regional, national and international campaigns- Event management of large events, including the Worcester Victorian Christmas Fayre, Christmas in Worcester, the Worcester City Run and the Tour of Britain- Coordinating a programme of support for event organisers in the city, facilitating c.100 outdoor events each year

• Event management of large events, including the Worcester Victorian Christmas Fayre (four days, 150,000 visitors, 200 stalls, 250 coaches), the Christmas lights switch on and national partnership events including the Worcester stages of the 2017 Tour of Britain and 2018 Women’s Tour• Responsible for the delivery of tourism for Worcester City with the following priorities:- raising the profile of the city with engagement in international projects- providing strategic leadership for tourism - supporting and enhancing the local tourist offer by working with existing and new attractions• Working in partnership with event organisers and colleagues to plan and deliver a programme of high-quality events across the city to attract tourists and encourage residents into the city – boosting the economy and raising the profile of arts and cultural activities• Promoting Worcester using a variety of mediums, including broadcast / print media, partner engagement and in particular, social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) • • Co-managed the project to create a new tourism website and brand for the city: Visit Worcester is a partnership with Worcester BID to encourage residents and tourists to visit the city: www.visitworcester.co.uk• City centre management activities, including a review of city centre policies on busking, street amenities and street trading• Working in close partnership with stakeholders including Worcester BID, County Council, University of Worcester, WM Police and HW Fire• Leading the stakeholder group made up of local business people and authorities who have an interest in the effective delivery of tourism in the city• Member of various external groups, including Worcestershire Arts Partnership, The Ring Art project, Worcester Heritage Partnership, amongst others.

One of a team of volunteers who deliver Worcester Music Festival, a three-day event supporting emerging artists and engaging with new audiences for our fantastic local music scene. The festival hosts performances from over 250 artists in 25 venues over the weekend and has raised significant funds for local charities. It is a free event with an audience of several thousand. My particular responsibilities for this annual event included:• Strategic development of the festival• Volunteer recruitment and engagement to ensure that activities are completed and the festival is being delivered on schedule• Writing policies and ensuring the professionalism of the festival• Fundraising - writing bids and negotiating with commercial sponsors• Marketing of the festival through print, social media, content generation, press and PRThis was a voluntary role alongside my existing commitments which I was pleased to work on because I am passionate about supporting grassroots, independent music and providing opportunities for musicians and venues to work together.

As Senior Marketing Executive, I worked in the marketing team for this 200 employee company. i was responsible for managing the marketing campaigns for several different departments across the firm, with both strategic and operational responsibility. My role included:• Delivering the full range of marketing services to offices and departments across the company, including coordinating marketing campaigns and liaising with the media • Building relationships and working with partners to identify opportunities and raise the profile of the business• Identifying opportunities to deliver improvements and efficiencies for the business as a whole• Commissioning and ordering the design of marketing material• Delivering events aimed at promotion and lead generationI continually exceeded targets and built a reputation for delivering effective campaigns which generated business for the firm.

As one of the senior management team, I led the Chamber of Commerce Events team delivering a wide range of commercial business events including large business exhibitions, breakfast / lunch networking events, sector-specific forums, conferences and many others. I oversaw the strategic direction of the department, ensuring that the events met corporate objectives. I managed a team responsible for almost 150 events annually, marketing the events, recruiting event attendees, overseeing sponsorship arrangements and delivering a substantial financial contribution to the company. In the three years I managed the department, I continually reviewed and innovated the events, creating more professional and desirable events and substantially increasing the net profit delivered. The business exhibitions now run twice annually with in excess of 120 exhibitors, 800 attendees and a 250-person breakfast event and are highly rated by the business community.In 2013 and 2014, I delivered events on behalf of Worcester City Council as part of the tourism contract. This included the Christmas Lights switch on with an audience of several thousand and the Worcester Victorian Christmas Fayre which took place over four days with 150 stall holders and more than 125,000 people attending. I developed and delivered these events for the term of the contract, responsible for all aspects of the events from concept to delivery, including the Event Management Plan and all H&S requirements.In order to deliver these events successfully, it was essential that I was able to quickly build strong relationships with key stakeholders, including the emergency services, suppliers and stakeholders including senior managers in local government offices. I implemented a number of innovations and improvements and received excellent feedback from all partners.

In this role I was responsible for membership retention and key account management, as well as the Chamber of Commerce commercial training department. The department delivered c.45 networking events per year as well as c.70 public training courses which served as member benefits whilst also achieving commercial income targets. I continually reviewed existing member services, developing and coordinating a series of membership benefits to add value to members. I was part of the project team responsible for the development and implementation of a new CRM system (Microsoft Dynamics). I was a key member of the team, ensuring that user requirements were translated to technical specifications. During this time, I also designed and implemented the company Social Media Strategy, researching and writing policies and creating the strategy to drive engagement and build followers. I led individual campaigns for large scale events, increasing attendance and ‘buzz’ and in addition I created the staff policy for both personal and corporate social media usage.Finally, as an internal auditor for the ISO:9001 certification, I worked with all departments within the company to identify and recommend improvements to their processes.

I was responsible for the overall retention rate of members of the Chamber, leading three members of the client account management team. This was a strong customer-focussed role, targeted through customer satisfaction rates and take-up of member benefits. I developed and implemented an effective communication strategy, including member-wide newsletters and regular telephone conversations. One of my specific objectives was the key account management of Patron and Strategic members – an enhanced level of membership afforded to the highest value clients and sponsors. This required me to demonstrate credibility and excellent interpersonal skills as I was dealing with Chief Executives and business owners of some of the two counties’ largest businesses.

Business Link was a government funded support services for businesses, designed to be a 'one stop shop' for all businesses looking for advice or funding. I dealt with incoming enquiries from new clients on a wide range of topics as well as proactively managing existing relationships with service users.The role involved me speaking to business owners to assess their requirements and conducting an analysis or diagnostic of their business to direct them to the appropriate service for them (using a range of internal and external service providers). I also made proactive outbound calls to recruit new businesses to use the Business Link service. Targets were high but consistently achieved by both myself and my team.