Communications Specialist
Finsbury Associates
مجموع سنوات الخبرة :11 years, 8 أشهر
I am currently the Communications Specialist for Finsbury Associates covering both their Dubai and South African office. Finsbury Associates is a holistic Financial Services company offering financial advice to expats in the areas of wills, guardianship, insurance, education planning, retirement planning and investments.
Financial services companies in the Middle East don’t have the best reputation and it’s my job to change that perception. One of the ways I manage our reputation is through our social, corporate responsibility campaign The Kids Initiative. The Kids Initiative holds free first aid and family safeguarding workshops for parents in both schools and companies all over Dubai and Abu Dhabi. In these workshop we offer free guardianship documentation for any parents that attend, the concept of this is that if we do a good deed for someone then if they ever did need anything else they would come back to us. It also allows us to meet people an indirect way which from our research is how people want to be contacted.
My day to day role also includes managing social media, website management, events, sourcing opportunities, company marketing and PR. I have been published on numerous occasion in media outlets such as Time Out Kids and Mother, Baby & Child Magazine in their 'Ask the Expert' section. I am also currently undertaking my financial exams as I believe to be the best I can be at something I need to have firsthand knowledge and experience.
After discovering I was looking for new opportunities, Brooklands Property were quick to approach me after a previously successful contract. The focus of my roll was maintaining and updating digital media, which included content management, copywriting and photography. Alongside this roll I took on administrative responsibilities taking a logical approach to improve their everyday activities.
After securing two weeks work experience with Sowden & Sowden and impressing with my abstract, outside the box thinking and marketing skills I was offered a full time roll as Marketing Assistant. The main focus of my role was managing social media and digital platforms both internally and for external clients including shopping centers, schools and festivals. Due to my creative writing skills I was also tasked with writing copy for a broad range of media including press releases, websites, university prospectuses and billboard adverts. Particularly specialising in tag lines, I secured my first Billboard early into the role. Due to my excellent communication and organization skills I was the first point of contact both in the office and via telephone. This meant I was the link between clients and internal departments giving me a broad view of every aspect of the agency.
As part of my role I became familiar with accounts software Synergist, it was also my job to create purchase orders, open jobs and creating WIP lists, keeping all accounts up to date and current. I arrived at work an hour early every day to open up, allowing me to organise the office and myself ready for the day ahead. One of the most rewarding tasks at Sowdens was having the opportunity to be able to teach a marketing lecture to four classes of GCSE students for two educational clients. I loved the challenge of working with young people and inspiring future generations of creative thinkers.
Initially this was primarily an admin role, my tasks included administration, use of Microsoft Office, data input and telephone duties. After reviewing Brooklands files I also created and implemented a new filing system making sure all documents and legal documents were up to date and easy to find both physically and digitally. I then turned my attention to brand awareness, this highlighted my communications skills and my digital skill set, that lead to myself being given the task of managing and updating the Brooklands website, writing news stories and how to increase their reach as a company.