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Mehdi Rifai, Freelance Copywriter and Copyeditor

Mehdi Rifai

Freelance Copywriter and Copyeditor·Various

Qatar

Diploma, Book and Magazine Publishing

Work experience

Total years of experience: 19 years, 5 months

Freelance Copywriter and Copyeditor

September 2007 - Present

Various

Doha, Qatar

September 2007 - Present

- Providing copy, editing, and translation for various types of projects, including scripts, presentations, speeches, official correspondence, as well as branding and marketing materials, for various clients in the technology, science, culture, investment, and government sectors, among others
- Previously the editor and copyeditor for rising novelist Sufian Al Aswad (www.sufianalaswad.com), working directly with the author to create his promotional materials as well as ensure manuscripts free of structural, linguistic and aesthetic issues.
- Worked directly under concept designer for Kempinski’s Middle Eastern food and beverage department, liaising with consultants and industry professionals to create the reports, texts, menus and published materials that resulted in the creation of Shaza Medina’s Food and Beverage department (in charge of catering to a hotel with a capacity of 469 rooms, as well as external visitors to the holy city)
- Wrote and edited copy for websites, catalogs, promotional material and internal use copy, meeting with every level of management to gather relevant information in the industries of finance and banking, electric and electronic production, textile production, restaurants, fashion, and children’s entertainment among others

Company industry:
Publishing
Job role:
Marketing and PR

Senior Copywriter

September 2012 - May 2021

Gulf Warehousing Company

Doha, Qatar

September 2012 - May 2021

- Directly responsible for all the company’s copy, working with the Senior Corporate Communications Manager to create a vision and author annual reports, brochures, press releases, website and social media copy, and working with other departments to draft official correspondences, company presentations, and memoranda, all in both English and Arabic languages
- First contact for all company translation work, either directly translating the requested files or coordinating with third-party service provider and monitoring for quality
- Directly involved with the migration of all content from old website to rebranded website, and trained in the use of CMS to maintain and update copy on current website
- Coordinating between the company’s various departments (including finance and procurement), the department’s directors, and the design and front-end development team to deliver the company's various branding objectives in terms of physical and digital branding.
- Directly involved with the update of the company brand, assisting and coordinating with the update of all branded items, which includes responsibilities as diverse as coordinating purchasing and overviewing the update of design before presentation to top management for review
- Also directly involved in the branding efforts for the company’s various new subsidiaries: LEDD Technologies, GWC Marine, Prime Shipping Services, Qontrac Shipping Services, NedAir Freight, and ION
Key contact for company events, with responsibilities as diverse as arranging business travel, coordinating with event halls, procuring event stands and overseeing construction and erection at event locations, production of branded materials and published content
- Involved in the launching of a social media campaign to distribute company corporate video, after working closely with both the Senior Corporate -Communications Manager and the third-party production team to ensure messaging consistent with the company brand

Company industry:
Distribution, Supply Chain & Logistics
Job role:
Marketing and PR

Copyeditor and Contributor

January 2008 - July 2012

Haykal Media

Damascus, Syria

January 2008 - July 2012

- Authored over 500 articles across 3 publications, and managed 7 columns between them, covering politics, finance, social issues, art and architecture, luxury lifestyle, personal profiles among others
- Among the highest ranked columns were personality profiles for business and political elites, including fashion designer George Chakra and international entrepreneur Tonino Lamborghini, and business profiles for every industry, including Romain Jerome luxury watches and Elegance boutiques, working closely with their leadership and PR departments to best portray their brand and express their message most accurately
- Copyedited nearly 100 issues of FW: and Happynings Magazines as well as 3 one-off publications, ensuring that the structure, language, and tone of the articles met with the magazines’ standards. Liaised with authors to discuss any arising consistent issues
- Coordinated with every level of production, from contacting interviewees and setting appointments, arranging photography and additional materials, performed prior research and fact-checking, copyedited drafts and met with designers for last read

Company industry:
Publishing
Job role:
Design, Creative, and Arts

Customer Service Representative Convergys

January 2006 - July 2006

Cingular Wireless

Canada

January 2006 - July 2006

January - July 2006 Customer Service Representative Convergys
- Logged in over 1000 hours of telephone time with customers as the first line of contact for our clients, Cingular Wireless, providing sales, marketing, technical and billing support
- Developed rapport with clients, understood their needs, provided them with the best support possible, and attempted to resolve all issues while only referring them to other departments as a last resort, and maintaining quality and time goals throughout

Company industry:
Telecommunications
Job role:
Customer Service and Call Center

Education

Centennial College

June 2007

June 2007

Diploma, Book and Magazine Publishing

Canada

Sept. 2006 - June 2007 Centennial College Book and Magazine Publishing Program Honours Certificate Canada

American University of Beirut Honours BA

June 2004

June 2004

Bachelor's degree, English Language

Lebanon

Oct. 1999 - June 2004 American University of Beirut Honours BA in English Language Lebanon

Skills

Fact checking
Expert
Fact checking
Expert
Copy Editing
Expert
Copy Editing
Expert
Copywriting
Expert
Copywriting
Expert
Creative Writing
Expert
Creative Writing
Expert
Presentation Writing
Expert
Presentation Writing
Expert
Fact checking
Expert
Fact checking
Expert
Copy Editing
Expert
Copy Editing
Expert
Copywriting
Expert
Copywriting
Expert
Creative Writing
Expert
Creative Writing
Expert
Presentation Writing
Expert
Presentation Writing
Expert

Languages

Arabic

Expert

English

Expert

French

Intermediate

Recommendations

Stephen Boeshaar

Jul 2012

Jul 2012

NAManager

July 8, 2012 To Whom It May Concern: This is a letter of recommendation written on behalf of Mehdi Rifai, who taught classes in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at the American Language Center (ALC) in Damascus, Syria from 2007 until its closure in late 2012. During that period, I was Director of the ALC and I know Mehdi’s work very well. Mehdi taught courses in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) full time at our center for five years, averaging 20 hours weekly. He was initially trained in our probationary teacher training program, which provides an in-depth exposure to modern EFL methodology at the same time that the new teacher is teaching regular classes. In the last year, he trained novice teachers using the same methods. Mehdi came to us with previous classroom teaching experience; at the same time, he excelled in our EFL classes and quickly became one of our best and most popular staff members. His student always gave him excellent ratings in the regular teacher evaluations for our courses. I also observed his classes on numerous occasions and found them to be lively, focused and well managed. In addition to his outstanding work as a teacher, Mehdi participated fully in professional activities here at the ALC. He worked in level groups with fellow teachers to produce the achievement exams used in our program. Mehdi was a great asset to both the ALC and to AMIDEAST. I recommend him unequivocally for any position he might seek. He has great natural ability plus outstanding work habits. Mehdi has fine people skills and gets along well with students, colleagues and supervisors. Steve Boeshaar Director American Language Center 4670 Portofino Way apt #112 West Palm Beach, FL 33409 Tel: (561) 907-0683 e-mail: stephenboeshaar@gmail.com

Karim Shukr

Jul 2012

Jul 2012

Editor-in-ChiefManager

I am writing to endorse to you Mr. Mehdi Rifai. I was his manager in Happynings Magazine for almost four years. At all times I have found Mr. Rifai to be an enthusiastic employee, dependable and hard-working. He can work well with other people and also individually. But he is really more of a leader than a follower. He can supervise and help other employees as well. He has a reliable working habit that gives you the assurance that you can always count on him. Mr. Rifai has excellent communication skills. In addition, he is extremely organized, reliable and computer literate. He is flexible and willing to work on any project that is assigned to him. Almost every person Mr. Rifai has interviewed for our magazine was astonished by his creativity, passion to his work and intelligence, but the one thing that caught everybody's attention is the phenomenon and very special way he types the guest's answers on his iMac while listing and asking questions –all at the same time! Nearly every guest we had called me to praise his work. Mr. Rifai is also open and willing to learn new things. I assure you that he would be a tremendous asset for your company and has my highest recommendation.

Sufian Al Aswad

Jul 2012

Jul 2012

WriterClient

I write to highly recommend Mehdi Rifai, his enthusiasm and dedication to the project really shone through in his work, and his ability to to critically address the linguistic and aesthetic issues while consistently encouraging my creative input was in turn a contributing factor to its success. Mehdi's approach to work was to engage with the project from both a creative and critical perspective, all while working within and remaining true to my efforts on my personal brand.

Hobbies and interests

Traveling

Extensive trips across four continents, having lived in, worked in, or visited the United States, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, and Australia

Leading and participating in a creative writing club

I have been the main organizer for the Doha Writers Forum for most of the last nine years, and have also acted as a participant in its many projects, including the RaNoWriMo (Ramadan Novel Writing Month, a project I started modeled off of the international NaNoWriMo).

Choir and choral singing

Have sung with choirs across three countries, was the social media manager for one of these choirs (Doha Singers), was part of the choir that performed the Video Games Live international traveling concert in Doha in 2020

Current events
Reading
Personal development