Personal Assistant to Her Majesty’s Deputy Trade Commissioner
British Embassy Cairo
Total years of experience :16 years, 7 Months
Joined the Embassy from September 2019 till present Personal Assistant to the HM Deputy Trade Commissioner, This is a challenging role for a high performing. It requires a significant degree of multitasking, organizational skills, and customer focus and relationship management.
The Department for International Trade (DIT) Africa is one of nine international regions and is led by Emma Wade-Smith, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner and two Deputy Trade Commissioners. I efficiently manage the Deputy Trade Commissioner’s schedule and activities, as well as carry provide administrative support to the wider DIT Africa Network.
The Department’s role is to increase prosperity in the UK and overseas through increasing trade and investment. The Trade Commissioner’s role is to lead the pan-African trade and investment team to increase the value of the commercial relationship between Africa and the UK.
The Africa Region is exciting and energising and UK firms have a strong presence here, making the UK the second largest foreign investor on the continent. With some of the fastest growing economies in the world and booming population growth there are numerous more opportunities for UK firms; from tech start-ups in the West to infrastructure in the East and everything in between. The DIT Network’s role is to promote these opportunities to UK businesses and position the UK as the African continent’s largest G7 investor and a key trading partner.
Main Duties and Responsibilities:
Support to the Deputy Trade Commissioner
• Efficiently manage the Deputy Trade Commissioner’s time by organising the diary and daily papers, and prioritising and responding to invitations and requests for meetings.
• Deal with routine enquiries; ensure that all correspondence (letters, emails, faxes, etc) is dealt with correctly and efficiently.
• Plan and support the DIT Africa team’s planning and implementing of the Deputy Trade Commissioner’s travel, including flights, visas, hotels, programme and papers.
• Complete all expenses and other ad-hoc tasks for the Deputy Trade Commissioner accurately and efficiently.
• Commission and collate briefing as required for the Deputy Trade Commissioner events/meetings.
• Act as the Deputy Trade Commissioner’s Information Management Officer, ensuring that information is recorded and stored correctly.
Support to the DIT Egypt Team
• Provide similar support to other seniors as requested.
• Support in organising VIP and senior official visitor programmes, regional visits and DIT Egypt team internal events, e.g. Arranging programmes, organising networking receptions, managing hotel bookings and all dealing with relevant logistics.
• Support to multisector inward & outward missions including logistics, transport, hotel accommodation, etc
• Check, validate and maintain DIT Egypt contacts database. Co-ordinate in case of HMA and embassy events where DIT Egypt need to contribute to guest lists
• Ensure that DIT activity is accurately recorded on the Data hub management information system.
• Manage other corporate tasks including team procurement, leave rotas and DIT participation in embassy corporate activity.
• Work as a flexible and adaptable member of the DIT Africa Network in order to work on varying tasks from both the Hub and across the Network.
Joined the Embassy from February 2014 till September 2019 as Transport and Telecoms Manager, HR Coordinator, This is a challenging role for a high performing. It requires a significant degree of multitasking, organizational skills, and customer focus and relationship management. As well provide support to the HR Operations manager handling all day to day transactional matters of the function.
Job Responsibilities:
• Transport manager:
- Line manages a team of six drivers: manages teamwork, workload, work schedules, provides coaching, agree development plans, set team and individual objectives and run appraisals.
- Receive and process transport fleet booking according to the new transport policy: Maintains the transport excel record, assigns drivers to trips according to policy priorities, work out the logistics of the trips if out of Cairo, sends confirmation email and SMS to the passengers, coordinates with external transport agencies if required.
- Administer fleet car rentals to UK based officers in coordination with procurement: Work out the paperwork for the hires according to policy, records information for the billing and issue the bills to officer and accounts.
- Manages fleet road-worthiness: follows up overall fleet cost and maintenance schedules to make sure the Embassy fleet is continuously in good shape.
• Hotel accommodation manager:
- Obtaining yearly corporate rate at embassy marker hotels.
- Responsible for hotel bookings for embassy visitors: Communicating with hotels via emails and phone, get confirmations and manage changes.
- Arranging all embassy summits and conferences large groups’ accommodation, ensuring rooming list is communicated, arrange with procurement and finance team payments.
• Medical insurance contract manager:
- Responsible for all medical related staff issues, being the point of contact between the medical insurance company and internal staff members.
- Ensuring all new hired staff are scheduled for medical checkup; through booking their appointment, receiving the report, ensuring new hires are fit and update their records in HR.
- Manage updating staff list on quarterly basis to the medical insurance company, as well as quarterly payments.
- Administer all staff claims and reimbursements on weekly basis.
- Maintain good communications and connections with the company to ensure all staff needs are met.
- Obtaining required pre-approvals for Scans, MRIs, doctors’ visits/appointments, surgeries…etc.
- Receive, organize and follow up on staff claims and ensuring the reimbursements are successfully transferred to staff bank accounts.
- Manage and follow up on all chronic cases and ensure staff members are receiving their monthly medication as required.
- Communicate updated network list to all staff on monthly basis.
- Ensuring all new hired staff are scheduled for medical checkup; through booking their appointment, receiving the report, ensuring new hires are fit and update their records in HR.
• Manage mobiles and telecoms:
- Responsible for issuing mobile phones for staff members according to their business need.
- Receive and organize all mobile requests: maintains the Embassy contact lists, makes transfer of information between mobiles and sim swaps.
- Changes services on line according to policy; adding roaming, international services, change mobile packages according to usage, subscribe for internet and internet roaming packages provides advice on mobile and services usage.
- Ensure bills are paid according to policy and entitlements.
Vodafone
Worked in Vodafone as an International Account Technical Advisor, in VIS (AU) Account, from 18 January 2009 till 01/09/2010.
Worked in Vodafone as an International Account Technical Advisor, in VIS (UK) Account, from 1 September 2010 till present
Job Purpose: Act as a frontline interface with customers of Vodafone companies worldwide. Role involves responding to customers over the phone and resolving their inquiries. The main purpose is to facilitate and provide a Vodafone global customer service standard.
Essence of Role/Key Accountabilities
Own and manage the client relationship: resolving calls efficiently and effectively.
- Ensure service level agreements are met and maintained.
- Work as part of a team to ensure offering world-class Customer Service at all times.
- Be proactive in regards to the improvement of processes and procedures.
- Communicate positively with all involved parties in order to facilitate customer's reception of the expected distinguished service.
- Create and promote an environment that fosters both individual and team advancement to ensure the outstanding delivery of customer service.
- Mentor and support new employees.
- Use the job tools (telephone and computer) effectively.
- Meeting service level in handling all transactions measured through productivity reports.
- Accuracy in handling all assigned tasks.
- Attendance and punctuality.
- Maintain professional work relationships with colleagues, supervisor and manager.
- Teamwork spirit.
- Flexibility.
Sanofi-Aventis Pharma
Travel and Events Coordinator, from 01/10/2007 till 18/01/2009.
Job Purpose: Planning, assisting and coordinating all travel, accommodation and/or various meeting and conventions needs for staff, customers. In addition to all paper work related it (P.O, etc)
Key Responsibilities and Tasks: • Perform all Purchase orders and Admin work.
• Perform routine vendor follow up items, e.g. PO or inquiry receipt verifications, etc.
• Plans itineraries and schedules travel accommodations for employees, management & customers.
Study routes and regulations and consider cost, availability, and convenience in dealing with numerous travel agencies and airlines in developing the most efficient and economical forms of travel.
Coordinate services for events, such as accommodations and transportation for participants. Facilities, catering, gifts, signage, displays, special needs requirements, printing and event security.
Monitor event activities in order to ensure compliance with applicable regulations and laws, satisfaction of participants, and resolution of any problems that arise during the event.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
Studied HR diploma in the AUC (2011-2012) Accomplished in it 1st Module (Strategic Management, Recruitment and Placement), 2nd Module (Training and Development, Compensation and benefits) with grade A- & 3rd Module (Employee Relation and Labour Law and HRIS) with grade A. Accomplished an AUC translation diploma with grade B+ mainly specialized in subtitling (screen translation) that included different types of translations (media editing & journalism translation Methods of research, translation linguistics, Subtitling & Specialized terminology, and other courses .)
B.A. in Foreign Languages and Translation, Faculty of Modern Language and Translation, Misr University for Science and Technology (MUST), May 2007; Major: English Translation, GPA: 3.4 Important Courses: Specialized Translation in Documents, Readings in English Literature, Comparative Literature, Practical Criticism, German Grammar, Study Skills, Linguistics, Consecutive Translation, Methods of Research, Interpretation.
Thanaweya Amma (Literary)
Secondary School Certificate, B.B.C. International School, Ismailia Road, Cairo, Egypt, Literary Section, 2003. Post Graduate Studies