Melanie Leighton (Née Ashworth) Email & Phone Number

London, Gb

London, Gb

London, England, United Kingdom

Handle's heritage is in the entertainment and creative industries.With over 40 years experience, Handle provide leading entertainment companies, social networks, global media brands, sports bodies, retailers, and digital technology providers with a constantly evolving range of talent solutions.We provide leading entertainment companies, social networks, global media brands, sports bodies, retailers, and tech platforms with talent solutions that make a difference.Each of our consultants are focused on a specialism, from Finance, to Sales, Marketing, HR, Legal, Office Support, and Tech but are tied together by the industries we support.

London, United Kingdom

Core Responsibilities• Line management of two Account Executives.• Generate and deliver campaign evaluations, ensuring that clients are fully briefed on successes and failures.• Source and secure new business across a range of sectors. • Manage all aspects of office administration.Achievements• Smartbox: delivered comprehensive reporting on sales figures, staff retention and locations for the Christmas 2019 campaign. The campaign generated sales of 23,311 units in John Lewis, Debenhams and Beales stores across the UK. Delivering the evaluation to the client was a key factor in retaining Smartbox for future campaigns. • Supported the securing of new business by attending industry events, including the London Coffee Festival and Balance Festival (a major wellbeing industry event), meeting prospective clients and generating enquiries. • Carried out monthly audits of office supplies and core equipment and ordered new stock when needed. Managed the office budget and successfully reduced average monthly spend on equipment.

London, United Kingdom

Core responsibilities • Oversight of all live projects for clients, ensuring projects were delivered on budget, with a target of 38% gross profit. • Management of dedicated credit cards used for all campaign expenses, ensuring all costs were accounted for. • Creation and management of payroll for all staff across every live campaign.Achievements• Delivered all projects to a minimum of 34% gross profit by securing the maximum margin on all costs to Highjam, including both staff and running costs. • Tracked, logged and recovered all staff expenses for campaigns lasting up to three weeks, totaling over £1,000. • Retained staff by submitting accurate monthly payroll figures for 100-200 staff.

London

Core Responsibilities• Line management of one direct report. • Ensuring staff compliance through quality of staff, booked reserves, detailed booking email and check offs.Achievements• Was seconded to Co-op head office two days a week, to act as an extension of the team. My hands-on contribution led to a strengthening of the relationship between Mash and Co-op, playing a key role in Co-op becoming a top 5 paying client.• At Co-op I was able to manage first live day activities, replace dropouts to ensure full staff compliance and proactively assess upcoming store locations to ensure staff availability. • Successfully incorporated a thorough recruitment process, which ensured quality and experienced staff. I helped to raise monthly staff compliance to 98%.

Core Responsibilities• Costing all initial briefings and negotiating final budget with the client.• Carrying out post-event cost reconciliations.• Managing Job Closing and final costs ensuring that targets and gross profit were attained. Achievements• Proactively spoke to new and existing clients and effectively generated profitable costs on an average of 29% gross profit.• Executed detailed breakdowns costs to reflect all post activity issues discussed with the client.• Produced accurate final costs which consolidated to Mash’s monthly target.

London, United Kingdom

Core Responsibilities• Booking staff on all live activities.• Building all live jobs on Watu. This was Mash’s staffing portal for all live activities, bookings, pay and expenses.• Briefing staff over the phone and following up with detailed booking emails. Achievements• Booked 200-250 staff per week for a range of campaigns including Natwest Store Launches, Big Feastival and Car Fest North and South.

London

• Supporting the Global manager and PR coordinator on international projects e.g. Milan Press Presentation and Press day• Helping to organise press events and the opening of the new London flagship store• Contributing to and building Lookbooks, Media Folders, Press Kits and Image Library.• Management of Celebrities and VIP orders• Seasonally ordering RTW, Shoes and Accessories Sample Sets for worldwide Bally PR offices and external agencies• Calculate forecast spend to compare against budget

Core Responsibilities.Producing and coordinating press day diary.Arranging for high value samples to be received and logged, used on shoots and then returned to the agencies (using couriers).Dispatch of (High value) goods internationally, Carnet's.Attending press days, call in's for editorial shoots.Credits/credit file

Core Responsibilities.Returns.Call in's.Booking bikes and Taxis.Emails.Microsoft Word.Carnet's.Assisting on Photoshoots.DHL.Pro Formas.Credits

Promotion and MarketingI am heavily involved in the promotional side of Capital FM. This is a very customer facing role; which includes spending time at local businesses and with the co-ordination of entering listeners in to competitions.I worked very closely with Capital FM Manchester ensuring that their official launch party at The Hilton Hotel Manchester on Deansgate was an outstanding success.Managing the guest list, ensuring VIP's attending were happy and liaising with internal and external PR, events and marketing teams.

Diary Management and scheduling of all internal/external meetings, site visits, appointments, travel and accommodation requirements.Deal with all incoming mail ensuring that only significant matters are brought to the relevant Manager's/Director's attention.Receive and screen all telephone callsFirst point of contact for the General PublicFiling, Copying and ScanningUsing Microsoft Outlook, Powerpoint, Word and ExcelCompanies Included: NM Rothschild, Ask Property, WS Atkins, Swinton Insurance, WHR Property Consultants, Cheetham and Mortimer, Thorn Baker

Payroll and TelesalesAs I already had some secretarial experience I was able to efficiently learn the information systems used, and could answer the phone with ease. I was able to learn how to manage the Computerised diaries and organise their schedules for the future.The job meant dealing with all kinds of people, and helped me to further develop my customer care skills. This helped me to become more adept at dealing with difficult customers, and be able to talk to people in all kind of situations.I am already confident using a computer, but this job helped me to widen my knowledge to a variety of different computer programmes.I had to deal with numerous other professionals; I had to be prepared for everyday to be different and more challenging, as I was dealing with all kinds of enquiries on a daily basis.Filing, Photocopying, Scanning

Ba (Hons), Ba Hons In Performing Arts, High 2:1

Modules Included: Theatre Acting Radio Performance and Production Writing for Performance Acting for Camera Physical/Dance Theatres.

Distinction, Btec National Diploma In Acting

9 Gcse'S Grades B-D, English, Maths, Science, Physics