Employment History
July 2018 to December 2024
Ambassador and Celebrity Relations Manager
Guide Dogs
• Developing and implementing Guide Dogs' Ambassador and celebrity engagement strategy, ensuring the charity's objectives were met.
• Researching, developing and maintaining ambassador, influencer and celebrity support, by building strong working relationships with agents, celebrities and their PAs, ensuring they remained engaged
July 2018 to December 2024
Ambassador and Celebrity Relations Manager
Guide Dogs
• Developing and implementing Guide Dogs' Ambassador and celebrity engagement strategy, ensuring the charity's objectives were met.
• Researching, developing and maintaining ambassador, influencer and celebrity support, by building strong working relationships with agents, celebrities and their PAs, ensuring they remained engaged and committed to the charity.
• Planning and implementing yearly programmes of ambassador, influencer and celebrity activity, working with internal and external stakeholders, devising and implementing plans to ensure that their needs were met by using talent in innovative and creative ways, to raise awareness of the charity and the work that it does.
• Acting as an organisation-wide specialist, advising teams throughout the organisation on how to mould viable and attractive opportunities for celebrities and ambassadors to support Guide Dogs. Including advising on the appropriateness of celebrities for specific audiences.
• Briefing celebrities, ambassadors, photographers and journalists prior to any activity taking place, and arranging and attending key events.
• Developing and maintaining a stewardship programme for celebrity supporters and ambassadors, including management of thanking routines and providing regular updates about the charity's work and the difference they had made.
• Maintaining detailed accurate and up-to-date records of all celebrity and ambassador approaches and activity.
• Evaluating and reporting on all celebrity and ambassador activity with Guide Dogs, contributing to wider project evaluations.
Oct 1995 - June 2017 - Celebrity Producer/Live Events/Entertainment Producer/
BBC Birmingham, BBC Bristol and BBC London Events
• Devising, booking and producing celebrity content for prestigious prime time live TV events in London and Birmingham including: Children in Need; RHS Chelsea Flower Show; Springwatch Unsprung; The One Show; the Live 8 Charity Concert in Hyde Park; the Queen's Golden Jubilee Pop Concert at Buckingham Palace; a Royal Gala Evening of Entertainment at the Royal Albert Hall for the Duke of Edinburgh's 80th Birthday; Variety Club Showbusiness Awards; Call My Bluff and the Pebble Mill Chat Show.
• Securing and producing celebrity talent, arranging travel and accommodation, briefing and producing celebrity guests on studio days or on location.
• Generating programme and talent ideas and developing formats for targeted slots and TV channels consistent with editorial guidelines. Identifying Channel Controllers' needs and generating innovative ideas to meet these.
• Scripting and editing programmes for transmission
• Researching, compiling and editing archive film and VT inserts
• Creating, maintaining and updating a database of appropriate contacts
Mar 1994 - Oct 1995 Press and Media Officer, Birmingham Rep
• Publicising, promoting and representing the theatre in all matters relating to the press and other broadcast media
• Maintaining, developing and increasing coverage of the company's work and increasing the theatre's profile locally and nationally
• Maintaining and developing a network of relations with national and local press and broadcast media, agents and actors.
• Producing high quality copy for press releases, publicity and other promotional material
• Organising press launches, press nights, interviews and photocalls
June 1990 - Mar 1994 Press and Publicity Officer, Swan Theatre, Worcester
• Publicising, promoting and representing the theatre in all matters relating to the press and other broadcast media
• Overseeing production of all promotional material, including quarterly season brochures and individual production leaflets and posters, from initial design concept through to distribution
• Commissioning photographers for theatre productions
• Writing, planning and booking all advertising for the theatre
• Writing background information and compiling copy for souvenir programmes for each production
• Promoting and publicising a six-venue tour in the North of England
• Giving presentations to local groups and businesses to promote the work of the theatre