Linda Stuart-Trainor Email & Phone Number

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Dublin, Leinster, Ireland

Dublin, Ireland

This role included:• Lead on policy development and lobbying on behalf of the 8,500 members of the SFA. Co-ordination of member input, developing policy positions, drafting submissions, member of a number of Government working groups. Policy areas include taxation, education and skills, enterprise development, labour regulations, social welfare.• Advisor to small business owner-managers on a range of issues including access to government supports, access to finance, public procurement, commercial rates.• Project lead for the SFA Better Business magazine: concept development, project planning and negotiation with service providers in advance of launch; idea generation, content co-ordination and managing distribution of physical and digital editions for each issue.• Membership development and revenue generation.• Responsibility for surveys, research and analysis.• Event management including sponsor relations for a range of events including the SFA Annual Conference (300 delegates) and SFA Annual Lunch (500 delegates).• Lead in developing messaging for media (print, broadcast, online) and deputy spokesperson (conferences and media).

In July-August 2016 and May-September 2017 I was Acting Director of the Small Firms Association. In this senior management role, I took over the strategic direction, finances and overall management of the SFA, including managing three staff and the Association's budget. In addition to my continuing responsibilities as Assistant Director, I was chief media spokesperson and chief government liaison (Ministerial/Secretary General level) for SFA on a wide range of issues including the National Minimum Wage, tax, pensions, skills and Brexit.

Dublin, Ireland

My role included a number of different elements, primarily research, project management and event management.- Research and analysis of European affairs and their impact on Ireland, particularly in the fields of the Future of Europe (EU institutional developments, attitudes towards integration etc.), Foreign, Security and Defence Policy, and Values, Narrative and Communication in the EU. In this context I have authored a number IIEA publications and a wide range of IIEA blogs, as well as external papers and articles (e.g. for Swedish think tank SIEPS and TheJournal.ie).- Project management (including budget and staff management) for a number of successful projects:1. The Environment Nexus (http://www.iiea.com/environmentnexus) a policy communication project supported by the European Parliament, presenting EU environment policy in an innovative way. 2. The Stability Treaty (http://www.iiea.com/stabilitytreaty) a visual information campaign to help Irish voters to understand the content and implications of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in advance of a referendum on the Treaty in May 2012. - Event management for approx. 50 events with high-profile speakers including Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Head of NATO; Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund; and George Mitchell, former US Senator and Northern Ireland peace negotiator.I have also played a lead role in a number of successful tenders and applications for funding at Irish and EU level and managed relations with corporate sponsors and institutional donors on behalf of the IIEA.

Brussels, Belgium

At Publicis Consultants I worked with corporate clients in a wide range of sectors, including financial services, retail, healthcare and digital/telecoms, monitoring and analysing EU policy developments with potential impact on their activities. Based on analysis of ongoing and upcoming processes, my role involved designing and implementing advocacy strategies, writing position papers, organising events, and maintaining relations with the European Commission and European Parliament.During this period I completed a training course with the European Training Institute on the comitology process for financial services.

Europe for Ireland was a group of Irish people in Brussels and elsewhere around Europe working for a Yes vote in the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. The aim of Europe for Ireland was to energise Irish people and others around Europe with family and friends in Ireland to make personal contact with those in Ireland to encourage them to vote Yes.The group also carried out fundraising for an advertising campaign in the Irish media in the days leading up to the vote.My role involved research, website content management, social networking, organising events and media relations.

The Ideas Campaign was an independent citizens’ initiative which ran from March to May 2009 collecting citizens’ ideas for Irish economic renewal and recovery.I coordinated the research and analysis of the 5,300 ides received and produced the Ideas Campaign Action Plan, the final report of the campaign. My role also involved coordinating a team of volunteers, liaising with the campaign’s advisory group and political parties and handling media and other enquiries.

Five month ‘stage’ at the European Commission, giving an insight into the working of the EU institutions and the current state of play regarding European public policy.My principle task was to prepare briefing notes for the Commissioner and his cabinet on legislative proposals from all Commissioners’ portfolios. Other tasks included attending meetings of European Parliamentary committees, writing articles, minute-taking and assisting the work of the cabinet.

Research assistant to Frank Barry, Professor of International Business and Development at TCD. I was the sole researcher developing a previous paper of Prof. Barry’s examining the degree of foreign ownership of Irish manufacturing firms in the late 1950s. This consisted of archive and internet-based research. The results of this research are due to be published this year.

Ba, History And Political Science, First Class Honours

Activities and Societies: Tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, journalism (Trinity News), Suas Educational Development, manager of camapign.

Erasmus, History And Sociology

Erasmus year at the Sorbonne. All classes, assignments and examinations through French