United Kingdom
Senior Press Officer at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
• Wide range of responsibilities in a busy parliamentary office which included responding to high levels of constituency casework during the Covid-19 pandemic. • Managed and monitored the MP’s busy parliamentary diary, including Party Conference and other high-profile political events. • Undertook research on relevant constituency or parliamentary matters. Also attended and participated in meetings as appropriate on behalf of the MP. • Managed junior staff and interns in the absence of the Chief of Staff.
• Engaged confidentially and professionally with care and integrity to members of the public via phone, email, and face to face. • Managed the MP’s busy parliamentary diary working closely with ministerial private offices and special advisers. Handled arrangements for events and public meetings. Dealt with administrative tasks including expense claims, record-keeping, and office supplies.
• Working for a grassroots campaign group, my role involved drafting letters to MPs, writing press releases, submitting FOIs, conducting interviews, providing reactive quotes for media coverage, carrying out research for several projects, and answering queries from supporters. • Acquired skills using editing software Camtasia and Adobe. • Also used WordPress to manage website content and MailChimp to organise mailing lists.
• My key responsibilities were proofreading articles and research papers, sending out FOIs to local authorities, and proactively reaching out to a wide range of local and national media outlets to provide news items and press releases issued by the think tank. • Engaged in campaigning and leafleting on action days across the country to promote the aims and strategies of the think tank - establishing discourse with members of the public about issues surrounding taxation at the local and national levels.
• Embarked on the campaign trail which involved listening to the views and concerns of constituents living in the ward and offering my own vision for the area. This helped me gain valuable campaigning experience and engagement with individuals across the political spectrum. • As well as working on my own campaign, I canvassed in other wards where I helped several candidates who were successfully elected to Birmingham City Council.