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Work Background
Senior Communications Officer
AWESenior Communications Officer
Jan. 2024 - Sep. 2024Greater Reading AreaThis contract role was focused on bringing AWE to the forefront of people’s minds as the company is undergoing major change to be more front facing. Helping with communications for the three major brand campaigns, running their social media channels and assisting with the new website overhaul. Skills: • Develops, creates, maintains, and delivers engaging and timely content using a wide range of techniques and channels to reinforce AWE’s brand and culture, AWE’s mission, purpose, strategy and goals. • Updating the website with WordPress and social channels based on each departmental requirement. • Applies knowledge of stakeholders to draft relevant messages and content that achieve communications, project, and campaign objectives. • Enhances draft written or visual materials ensuring content is targeted and dynamic by seeking out new copy. imagery, audio and video materials to support the narrative or storytelling. • Using Photoshop and Canva to design and develop elements of the new AWE brand for social media. • Monthly reporting with the external agency. • Applies communications skills to convey difficult messages in a simple manner. • Working across the business, providing communications guidance and plans for campaigns and projects. • Developing and implementing a channels and content plan that supports campaigns. • Regularly review the communications channels to ensure they remain relevant and appropriate. Scopes and implements revised/new channels as required. • Proactively seeks out stories and case studies to support the narrative/storytelling and achieve the communications objectives. • Researching, writing, editing and distributing communications materials across all channels to inform and engage. • Applies project management skills to support the successful delivery of campaigns, projects and communications activities. • Makes effective use of measures to evaluate campaigns/projects/communications and contribute to continuous improvement activity.
Senior Social Media Coordinator
Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroSenior Social Media Coordinator
Aug. 2023 - Dec. 2023London, England, United KingdomThis contract role was focused on stakeholder management for various projects and building the DEZNS YouTube Channel by sourcing relevant energy contacts to film and interview on a range of energy topics: wind turbines, solar PV, heat networks, carbon capture (CCUS), tidal stream energy, hydrogen and nuclear. Skills: - Developing and delivering integrated digital communications plans, as well as a content plan for social media. Leading these from concept to delivery. - Working on YouTube channel strategy implementation. - Reaching out to 50 stakeholders to interview/film for 3 YouTube series to grow the channel – Watt’s Up, Women in Energy and Switched On. - Working with celebrities on endorsing clean and safe energy practises. - Working with Comms/Policy colleagues to establish objectives, use insight and evidence to support the development of digital communications. - Creating animated shorts (‘explainer’ content) which take complex content and break it down to easy to understand, bitesized content on wind turbines, heat networks, solar PV and oil & gas. - Liaising with the Policy/Press team to ensure the content we were posting was factually correct and an accurate reflection of the current state of the energy industry in the UK. - Successfully project managing several teams (Content, Digital, Press) and their delivery on real-time Ministerial content. - Managing upwards with Senior Management Team and Ministers when working on content for the public – marrying both what the public resonate with, with what Ministers want. - Planning departmental Away Day for 80 people including food, guest speakers, activities and prizes. Also planned the Away Day for the team (17 people) at the LinkedIn offices. - Working with creative team to brief and develop evergreen and real-time video and graphic design content. - Writing high quality social copy, planning and publishing content strategically across our channels. - Monitoring online conversations through Sprout Social.
Marketing Communications Manager
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)Marketing Communications Manager
Aug. 2022 - Aug. 2023RemoteWorking as the Marketing Communications Manager as a contractor for the DVSA covering all measures of communications and marketing workstreams. We have been working to lower the national waiting times for driving tests using a behavioural change campaign on a number of methods, as well as partnering with other governing bodies and agencies to help change learners’ behaviour around driving tests longer term. • Develop and oversee Standard Operating Procedure for social media for the Recovery Team and the Media Team. • Oversee the Recovery Team’s Hootsuite social media scheduling. • Developing content and briefing animation content to the Creative Designer for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. • Design image content using Photoshop for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. • Managing the content on the ‘Ready to Pass?’ YouTube playlist and exploring other YouTube features and functionality the campaign could make the most of. • Promoting YouTube content on the various social media channels. • Provide HR with ongoing support with Driving Examiner recruitment by issuing social media content and messages to advertise the open roles. • Train Media Team creating engaging content for Instagram. • Act as the day-to-day marketing contact for organisations who are partnering with or supporting the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign. • Offering day-to-day communications support for Driving Test Centre open days. • Sending 6-10 campaign candidate Notify messages on a weekly basis. • Draft monthly recovery updates by authoring articles for trade media. • Writing content for press releases, DVSA Direct, GOV Notify and Despatch blog posts and draft the communications for any supporting video content. • Issuing of DVSA Direct messages, GOV Notify messages, and Despatch blog posts.
Senior User Researcher
NHS DigitalSenior User Researcher
Mar. 2022 - May. 2022London, England, United KingdomWorking as the Lead User Researcher for the NHS Digital’s Programme Delivery part of Data Services Directorate, informing change for the Trusted Research Environment (TRE). We have been working on developing the service based on user feedback to provide a flexible and scalable solution that supports all our users’ needs in a safe and secure way. • Qualifying user needs and identifying customer journeys, through user research sessions and engagement. • Development of relevant personas and user profiles to help identify user needs. • Co-ordinating development of benefit profiles/statement to help focus on identifying key areas of value. • Supporting the design of the service, focusing on user needs to deliver the required outcomes. • Stakeholder management and engagement, primarily with end users, but also system developers. • Managing, communicating and engaging with varying senior levels within NHS organisations. • Conducting and leading discovery research as well as research to test hypotheses and prototypes. • Communicating confidently within the scope of the role’s responsibilities by using appropriate tools and language to a varied audience of internal and external stakeholders. • Directing others to undertake specified tasks by clearly determining roles and responsibilities, deliverables and milestones. • Prioritising findings with product team to identify actions and recommendations. • Conducting research with diverse populations. • Using a range of tools and methods in order to make robust recommendations. • Understanding NHS and business issues and uses that understanding to design research that supports the realisation of business objectives. • Leading research within an agile multi-disciplinary team with product owners, content and visual designers. • Conducting usability testing sessions: designing tasks and scenarios, using a range of tools to collect data and providing recommendations supported by evidence such as video, graphs, tables.
Social Media & Communications Manager
UK Health Security AgencySocial Media & Communications Manager
Sep. 2021 - Feb. 2022London, England, United Kingdom• Using email campaign management tools, social media management tools, content management systems and image and video editing tools. • Using excellent written and oral communication skills, translating complex evidence, concepts and requirements into plain English for a range of audiences. • Sound knowledge and understanding of strategic communications planning. • Demonstrable success in designing and implementing high-quality and compelling communications strategies that have been built on audience insight. • Evaluating the effectiveness of activities against objectives, including designing and embedding frameworks to demonstrate value. • Working in a multi-disciplinary team, with highly technical stakeholders, with insight into accessibility requirements, who can balance multiple projects simultaneously - often with competing priorities. • Highly developed interpersonal and influencing skills, with an ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including external Public Health Directors. • Finding sustainable solutions to real-time communications challenges, with an ability to meet tight deadlines within unpredictable and demanding environments, whilst maintaining high quality delivery. • Developing and sending regular communications through to the Workplaces signed up to Daily Contact Testing, through the Notify platform. • Sending secure files through the Egress platform. • Weekly liaising with other communications managers, as well as other prominent stakeholders, across all DCT and Enduring Service departments. • Understanding complex and technical policies and products and translating these for different audiences. • Highly visible and approachable in style with the ability to work collaboratively whilst providing constructive challenge and holding others to account. Ability to set direction and manage upwards. Knowledge of effective NHS and Public Health communications delivery.
Social Media & User Research Specialist
Department of Health and Social CareSocial Media & User Research Specialist
Feb. 2021 - Sep. 2021RemoteWorking in an Agile delivery environment, as a contractor for DHSC in line with the NHS Test & Trace service for digital enquiries, feedback and complaints for coronavirus. As well as case managing and guiding content design decisions, I was also responsible for user research and data analysis; working through problems, building solutions and analysing whether or not it has worked for the The Digital Transactional Service: https://enquiries.test-and-trace.nhs.uk/s/. Skills: • Working with Social Studio to monitor conversations around coronavirus for accessibility groups (blind, deaf, people of African/Asian/East Asian origin etc.). • Researching user needs for the Digital Transactional Service. • Working to research and test out design concepts (alpha and beta). • A/B testing to see what works; using interviews, visits and usability testing to get a deeper understanding (live). • Planning locations, participants, writing briefs. • Creating small workshops, capturing replies, working through observations and capturing data. • Making design decisions to help the content design process. • Sketching, prototyping and user testing. • Understanding qualitative and quantitative research methods. • Present design development to senior stakeholders. • Working closely within a multidisciplinary team, including web developers and programmers. • Ensuring websites comply with the law and equal opportunities policies. • Preparing reports using business analytics reporting tools. • Creating data dashboards, graphs and visualisations in Photoshop. • Mining and analysing large datasets and draw valid inferences. • Working closely with SITEL, the 119 call-centre, and International Arrivals on how to best reply to citizen’s enquiries. • Working with Salesforce to respond to citizen’s enquiries within the dedicated SLA. • Responding to MP enquiries that are sent from various MP offices, and Lord Bethell’s office, on constituent enquiries regarding coronavirus.
Social Sage - Social Media Consultant
Social SageSocial Sage - Social Media Consultant
May. 2020 - Apr. 2023London, England, United KingdomSocial Sage here to help with all your social, content and digital marketing needs. My career has taken me on an eye-opening journey to learn exceptional skills. Working with a multitude of brands on their stories in an ever changing industry has taught me to be open-minded and accepting of new ideas. It’s ensured that I’ve developed more of a bespoke choice for brand and content strategy as opposed to a one-size-fits-all approach. As a seasoned professional in social media marketing, content creation and digital services, I can help you succeed.
Senior Social Media Creative Content Manager
UK Home OfficeSenior Social Media Creative Content Manager
Jul. 2019 - Apr. 2020London, United KingdomTo develop, deliver and evaluate creative digital content strategies and products, focusing on a wide range of serious and political topics. Skills: • Produce creative content for the following policy areas: counter-terrorism, extremism, violence against women and girls, forced marriage, child sexual exploitation, Border Force, Brexit, knife crime, hate crime, HM Passport Office, Modern slavery, Police and Fire, Serious and Organised Crime and missing people strategy. • Work with the Head of Creative Content and Social Media and the Press Team senior management team to develop departmental social media strategies and guidance. • Visit No.10 and other government departments to create integrated social marketing campaigns. • Act as an advisor on digital communications and engagement best practice to Home Secretary, Special Advisors and senior colleagues across the department. • Work closely with press office and strat comms to plan and deliver key political announcements by the Prime Minister and Home Secretary. • Develop the Home Office’s approach to increasing social media activity, reach and engagement. • Produce high-quality content, including motion graphics, video, infographics, images and copy to support campaigns. • Work closely with the GOV.UK digital content team to ensure co-ordination between GOV.UK and other channels. • Represent the social media team when the Head of Social Media is unavailable. • Evaluation of digital communications and feed key insights into future planning. • Be part of the out-of-hours rota for emergency updates to social media posting on weeknights and weekends. • Planning and delivering digital communications in a large complex organisation. • Ability to work flexibly on multiple tasks, planning ahead, and prioritising a large workload. • Strong negotiating and influencing skills – especially with senior colleagues.
Head of Social Media
ICAEWHead of Social Media
Aug. 2018 - Apr. 2019MoorgateResponsible for the strategic direction of the global social media offering, for members, students and prospective Chartered Accountants. Promotion of the ACA qualification, ICAEW’s role as a regulator as well as student advice, hints and exam study help. Key responsibilities included: • Line management of four full-time staff and one freelancer. • Managing the strategy for approximately 100 social channels and groups across all networks worldwide, including UK, South East Asia, Middle East and a handful of regions in Africa. • Driving growth and user engagement across relevant platforms. • Increasing member and student acquisition across all platforms. • Monthly social reporting and regular optimisation based on results. • Implementing a secure governance framework across the business with Executive Committee buy-in. • Implementing an Influencer Strategy across the business for the CEO, Execs and senior managers. • Managing and implementing the strategy for the the online community platform ION (Telligent), and the 70,000 active monthly users - 800,000 users overall. • Producing and running new tactical social media campaigns for each department. • Managing the entire paid media offering across the business, including worldwide. • Managing writing and production of the video advertisements for social media. • Workshops for internal and external volunteers, and members, to teach them social media best practises. • Live-tweeting the Autumn Budget, Spring Statement and other relevant government presentations. • Managing relationships with external media agencies and publication agencies. • Implementing Falcon.io as the social media marketing suite across the business, including internationally.
Social Strategy Director
ThirtyThreeSocial Strategy Director
Jul. 2016 - Aug. 2018London, United KingdomI was responsible for leading one of Thirty Three’s most exciting and challenging social accounts - The Army. Working closely with the client, analytics, paid media and creative teams, I headed up the development and delivery of a content marketing plan and social strategy. My key responsibilities included; • Managing and growing the Army account and team’s social channels on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. • Producing and running new tactical campaigns each month that layer on top of the “always-on” channel activities. • Identifying and connecting with third parties to help deliver novel solutions. • Managing several external agencies, their outputs for the Army as well as their relationships with Army stakeholders. • Managing the paid activity on the Army account on all channels. • Taking responsibility for implementing tracking and reporting on the commercial value of managed projects; allocating time, agency resources and costing proposals appropriately. • Overseeing and managing the (often) real-time evaluation and monthly reporting on activity associated with Army campaigns. • Delivering a passion and knowledge that is infectious; engaging and exciting internal and external stakeholders in the opportunities social can provide. • Playing a role in winning new business for the agency (and writing the occasional case study). • Providing regular insights on social media developments for client teams, new business, marketing and our global network partners. • Maximising the commercial aspect of ThirtyThree’s social offering by integrating the full range of development, creative, paid and other ThirtyThree agency functions into daily plans and activities. • Supporting the Head of Social in growing the agency team. • Proactively seeking client feedback and taking steps to ensure service improvement where required. • Informal mentoring for the broader client service and creative teams. • Supporting other social team members when over-capacity.
Head of Digital Marketing
Zamir Telecom Ltd.Head of Digital Marketing
Aug. 2015 - Mar. 2016CrossharbourThe focus of this job was the launch of a new product, Right Call. Managing the marketing activities, online and offline, for a large telecoms company whose primary customers are in the UK, USA, Asia and South America. Line management of digital and creative teams, as well as mentoring a team of 5 (including product manager and design lead). Key responsibilities included: • Project-managed and created full content for new website, with design team, on front-end and worked with developers on UX and UI on back-end. • Budgeted/planned for 12-month campaigns for TV, bus, tube, taxis and newspapers. • Created content and marketing plan for OOH ads for buses, tube and TV for Right Call. • Implemented, marketed and monitored referral and affiliate marketing for Right Call. • Planned digital, content and offline marketing campaigns to drive traffic. • Tracked, reported and improved PPC, SEO, social media, email marketing, offline marketing footprints for Simplecall and Right Call. • Effective use of Sysomos for social listening and social monitoring and monthly reporting. • Planned, implemented and monitored effectiveness of drip marketing with 6-12 month email marketing campaigns for both retention and new acquisition for Simplecall and Right Call. • A/B testing landing pages, payment pages and other key landing and conversion pages.
Lead Social Media Consultant
The Social ElementLead Social Media Consultant
Feb. 2014 - Jul. 2015London, United KingdomWorking on social and digital strategy for many high profile clients; Mondeléz, Pottermore, Tesco, World Animal Protection, Heathrow, Gatwick, Oprah Winfrey Network, Toyota, Speedo, plus more. Set-up of a new department for sales of bespoke services for social media/website audits, social strategy workshops, competitor analyses, social listening reports, content and moderation, outreach and insight, KPIs and metrics and social media crises. Key responsibilities included: • Writing procedure and protocol for the set up and management of the department, as well as the delivery and project management of each service as it’s sold. • Creating new business opportunities, supporting sales by attending pitches/writing proposals. • Coordinating working relationship with regional teams and supporting departments worldwide. • Strategic knowledge of, and experience managing, paid media activity on social platforms. • Client liaison for bespoke workshops on social media and community management strategy for anywhere up to 50 people. • Recruiting and managing own team of consultants for delivery of all departmental projects.
Senior Social Media Strategist
ClaremontSenior Social Media Strategist
Jul. 2013 - Nov. 2013LondonManaging and executing very tight deadlines for the Public Sector - the National Careers Service’s social media campaigns. Aided in initiating and delivering support by the NCS’s careers advisers through the Facebook and Twitter. Delivering record numbers of adviser interactions using digital tools (40% increase). Delivering social media strategy for the summer Careers Roadshow and creating/delivering the newly designed CV O’Clock campaign.
Senior Social Media and Content Strategist
KetchumSenior Social Media and Content Strategist
Feb. 2013 - Mar. 2013LondonWorking with Ketchum on their Phillips account for all their social and content strategy requirements, for their SXSW panels and booths. Creating content and strategy for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Vine and Instagram.
CEO & Lead Writer
ElysiaCEO & Lead Writer
May. 2012 - Nov. 2014London, United KingdomEstablished my own company for development of my original graphic novel series ‘Elysia’, plus work on other comics projects. ‘Elysia’ was funded for the first chapter through my successful Kickstarter, raising £22,000 (+ £3,000 outside of Kickstarter): http://bit.ly/ElysiaKS. Sales are made through the website: http://elysia.me. Key responsibilities included: • Unique business model devised for people to get themselves drawn into the comic. • Raising capital and creating partnerships with book/comic stores to sell the series. • Hiring, managing and delivering goods to sell at comic conventions around the world. • Creating authentic and original merchandise to produce and sell.
Senior Social Media & Community Manager
PokerStars.comSenior Social Media & Community Manager
Apr. 2010 - Apr. 2012London, United KingdomThis job entailed managing all Social Media efforts globally, for all of the 38 regions – managing the Central team and each individual Community and Regional/Country Manager and their community efforts. Key responsibilities included: - Strategic engagement, content planning, marketing and Social Media Management for all the 38 regions that PokerStars operated within - including North America, Latin America, Europe, UK, Asia, Balkans, Baltics, Russia and Australasia. - Travelling to these regions to help with their social/marketing campaigns. - Planning & execution of promotional videos - professionally directed, filmed and produced, to be distributed online. - Weekly/monthly departmental and regional statistic reporting based on acquisition, retention, engagement. - Working very closely with SEO & PPC to deliver targets. - Working very closely with Mobile and Product teams to deliver the successful launch of the mobile app and the launch of the redesign of the poker client. - Execution of a global poker quiz promotion for the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) using survey software via Twitter and Facebook - 50,000 entries. - Project Management and co-ordination of every member and liaising with every department for all promotional activity. - Project planning, co-ordination and execution of a Twitter Wall which was displayed at the European Poker Tour (London). A 15 x 10 foot festival-style screen was situated at one end of the poker room - players', onlookers’ and fans’ (moderated) tweets were displayed. Generated 10,000 tweets. - Organising and running live poker events at UK casinos for our poker pros, staff, our community and clients; most recently as part of the European Poker Tour (London) 2011. - Responsible for the creation of all the Social/Community PokerStars domains on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Vkontakte, Hives, Sonico and more. - Responsible for the budget and planning of the monthly social activities for all our 470 London staff members.
Community Manager
LocalPeopleCommunity Manager
Dec. 2009 - Feb. 2010Working freelance on a temporary basis publishing/editing and managing several communities for LocalPeople, which was owned by Mail Online.
Community Manager
Fresh NetworksCommunity Manager
Jun. 2009 - Sep. 2009Working for several clients - including Vitabiotics, Butlins, L.V. Insurance, T.M. Lewin - overseeing their communities - creating content, moderating, organising events/competitions, writing blogs and generally looking after their online communities.
Freelance writer
ZathFreelance writer
Apr. 2009 - Jul. 2011FreelanceFreelancing for Zath - writing reviews, blogs and whatever else related to technology/gaming/movies/TV that was upcoming and new. All written works can be found here: http://www.zath.co.uk/author/serena-obhrai.
Misfit Madness - Director/Writer/Producer/Actor
FoolhardyMisfit Madness - Director/Writer/Producer/Actor
Jan. 2008 - May. 2008I wrote, directed and co-produced and starred in an original theatrical piece based on social relationships conducted over the internet - forming a silent disco flashmob (which was performed on stage), called 'Misfit Madness'. Foolhardy were also solely responsible for all casting, marketing and costume/prop handling. We performed three shows in London (Cockpit Theatre) during the summer of 2008. The team consisted of two actors - with a production team that consisted of five people, all under my management.
Liink and Zellda: The Misadventure - Director/Writer/Producer/Actor
FoolhardyLiink and Zellda: The Misadventure - Director/Writer/Producer/Actor
Aug. 2007 - Aug. 2008I wrote, directed and co-produced and starred in a theatrical piece based on the infamous Legend of Zelda games, called 'Liink and Zellda: The Misadventure'. Foolhardy were also solely responsible for all casting, marketing and costume/prop handling. We toured for five shows in London (Cockpit Theatre) and then two weeks in Canada (as part of the Edmonton Fringe Festival) during the summer of 2008. The team consisted of eight actors in London and seven in Canada - with a prodcution team that consisted of up to nearly 50 people, all under my management. See the teaser we shot for the show, on YouTube: Part one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNvoUU51qmA Part two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX3xEnDZHH0
Assistant Communities Editor
MailOnlineAssistant Communities Editor
Jan. 2007 - Dec. 2009This employment involved working for The Daily Mail with their Community-based content, whilst also covering content on the London Lite newspaper, as well as moderating on the thisislondon.co.uk and thisismoney.co.uk websites. I covered the reader comments issued to the Daily Mail website, having to oversee the moderation of several thousand comments per day, as well as generating/moderating evocative debate on the forum and the London Lite hardcopy paper. Keeping UGC as fresh and current as possible on a day-to-day basis was imperative to this role.
Moderator
Habbo UKModerator
Jan. 2004 - Dec. 2005This employment involved working for Habbo Hotel – an online chat service for children. This role had the benefit of being able to work with younger users (11+), therefore allowing me to learn so much more about a different age group.
Moderator
Chat ModeratorsModerator
Jan. 2002 - Dec. 2004This employment involved working for Wanadoo and Friends Reunited – online chat facilities for ages 16 and above. This role has exposed me to looking after online users and helping them enjoy their time in chat rooms.

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