- ORGANISATION & KEY SUCCESSES -The Institute of Directors (IoD) in Ireland is the leading membership body for directors and business leaders. • MEDIA – Proactive and reactive media relations. I secured exceptional positive media coverage for the organisation, raising its brand presence and profile considerably, both nationally and regionally in print, broadcast and online channels. I built key direct relationships with members of the media.• MONTHLY EZINE – I wrote, collated, edited and published 51 editions of the IoD’s monthly Members’ Update ezine for nearly 3,000 members and amended versions for 1,600 non-members (via the Constant Contact email marketing platform). The Average Open Rate of the monthly Members’ Update ezine grew from 46% in 2018 to 54% in 2023.• EVENTS – I was regularly engaged in event support, member engagement and public relations at morning, lunchtime and evening events.• RESEARCH REPORTS – I drafted and finalised the IoD’s quarterly Director Sentiment Monitor surveys, disseminated to nearly 3,000 members - of which there were 16 during my time in the IoD - and their publication and promotion to members and the media. I drafted and collated other research reports, e.g. Diversity in the Boardroom 2019, which continues to be referenced by diversity advocates and media commentators. I also liaised in a research partnership with the Diligent Institute that saw the publication of the reports 'ESG Strategy, Leadership, and Integration in Irish Companies' and 'The State of ESG Strategy in Irish Boardrooms'. • ONLINE CONTENT SUPPORT – I proofed and reviewed diverse content for other teams in the IoD prior to publication. I uploaded content updates to the IoD website (via the ExpressionEngine CMS) and drafted posts for social media channels, such as LinkedIn and Twitter.• POLICY AND LOBBYING – I reviewed policy submissions and ensured lobbying filings were filed on time, as required by legislation.

- ORGANISATION & ROLE -Inland Fisheries Ireland promotes, supports, facilitates and advises the Government of Ireland on the conservation, protection, management, development and improvement of inland fisheries, including sea angling. It also develops policy and national strategies relating to inland fisheries and sea angling, and advises the Government on same. It has key staff in every county in Ireland.I was responsible for communicating key messages to target audiences, external and internal, through both traditional and digital channels. Contract position to July 2018.

- ORGANISATION & ROLE - Concern Worldwide is the largest non-governmental organisation in Ireland and a leading international humanitarian organisation. It is involved in long-term development and frontline emergency humanitarian response to disasters. Marking its 50th year in 2018, it has over 3,500 staff based in 30 countries. The delivery of effective communications to its target audiences is vital to successful brand leadership in its sector. Leading a team of five, my role and responsibility was to lead and give direction to Concern’s communications in Ireland and to work closely with Concern’s other main offices in the US and UK to synergise wider international communications. My success in the role was built on the delivery of clear messaging & timely compelling content with an intuitive and instinctive sense of timing. I left the position because, after over eight years with the International aid and development agency, I wished to seek new challenges. - KEY SUCCESSES -• I developed the Communications Strategy (RoI) 2011-2015, aligned with the organisation’s overall Strategic Plan for the same period & to be seen through the lens of its values.• I have delivered - & maintained - historic levels of media coverage for the organisation, ensuring its leadership in the Irish market.• I strategically delivered the first in-house AV capacity for web/digital roll-out. • Crisis Management. I was hugely successful in leading the agency's communications through one of the most challenging periods in Ireland's economic history & through a series of crises involving the Irish charity sector, with the integrity of the brand not just maintained but enhanced.• Emergency Communications. I led emergency communications through natural disasters struck as the Haiti earthquake 2010 and the Nepal earthquake 2015, plus conflict-induced refugee crises such as Syria and South Sudan.

- ORGANISATION & ROLE -For information on the organisation, please see above.My role involved supporting the activities of all departments through the development of appropriate and creative media support and PR outreach. Within 16 months of taking this position, I was promoted to the position of Head of Communications.

Comhlámh is the Irish Association of Development and Humanitarian Workers, an NGO actively campaigning for international social and trade justice. As Communications & Membership Officer, I was highly successful in the position, creating new marketing initiatives for the organisation, generating unprecedented media coverage, project-managed the delivery of the new website, established its first presence on social media, launched and edited its new fortnightly e-newsletter, and instilled marketing and communications awareness amongst staff and members as a means of increasing profile and giving impetus and value to the brand.

Amidas d.o.o. is the leading translation agency in Slovenia. I was charged with dealing almost exclusively with a key client, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, for whom I completed a substantial body of work in the context of the country’s accession to the EU on May 1st, 2004. This included editing, proofreading and re-writing press releases, speeches, and other key documents, including those for the President and Prime Minister.

Givigest Fiduciaria SA was a financial services group engaged primarily in investment banking. My outputs included: writing corporate and marketing booklets, brochures and annual reports; drafting, editing and dissemination of press releases; media relations; assisting in the content and design of clients' websites; relevant internet research (knowledge-base building); editing of business correspondence.From March to December 1999, I was seconded to a Barcelona-based multimedia company in which Givigest had a stake. From January 2000 to January 2001, I was based in Switzerland before returning to Ireland to operate in a consultancy role for Givigest. It ceased trading in the mid-2000s when its joint-partnership ended.

Sometimes likened to Ireland's version of Rolling Stone magazine, Hot Press is a youth-orientated publication employing 15 staff and achieving sales of 21,000 per fortnight. It has nationwide distribution in Ireland, is circulated internationally through its online subscription platform and boasts a consistent growth in audited sales figures since its inception over 40 years ago. Progressing from my previous part-time position with the magazine (while I was in university in Cork), I gained huge experience of writing and disseminating press releases to promote upcoming stories in the magazine, writing articles, organising special events targeted at advertisers and clients, and seminars aimed at the publication's readers and the general public alike

For information on the organisation, please see above.A part-time role while in university. I proactively approached the Dublin-based national magazine suggesting they had no representation in the country's second city.The position afforded me an invaluable opportunity to gain practical work experience across a wide range of areas within the publishing industry, including: contributing articles, selling advertising, generating and overseeing local promotions, and liaising with local distributors to ensure optimal retail shelf presence for the targeted readership.

I contributed to over 20 international publications, including Television Week, New Musical Express (NME), Music Week, Newsagent magazine, and Pro Sound News. This required: knowing how to spot opportunities ‘ahead of the pack’; pitching individual story ideas to editors - getting commissioned - and doing so consistently over many years; and, delivering quality copy on time and to the style and standard required of diverse publications, often with very different readership profiles.

B+I Line was a passenger and roll-on/roll-off shipping line, primarily between Ireland and the UK. I worked on the Cork (Ireland) to Pembroke (Wales) and the Cork-Pembroke-Rosslare (Ireland) routes. Working summers on a week-on/week-off rota during college, this not only helped finance my third-level education but was a vital grounding in learning about face-to-face customer service and (maritime) line management/chains of command.