about
me
about
me
I'm a creative team leader that makes a difference
With 10 years experience developing Creative teams of designers, artworkers, copywriters, and content execs into agency standard high-performing teams.
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I'm creative, yet commercially minded
Able to work at pace in a changing environment, I’m experienced in managing and coordinating project timelines
and budgets of all shapes and sizes. I'm efficient yet engaging at managing multiple agencies, accounts, and libraries as well as third party budget responsibilities.
I translate Marketing strategy into Creative tactics
I undertook the Marketing Week Mini MBA and achieved an A grade. It’s been invaluable in my day-to-day work, translating marketing requirements into meaningful creative briefs.
Customer-focused at the heart of all that I do
I'm committed to championing the customer. I worked with Verve research to conduct the most detailed customer
research for over 5 years to ensure Virgin Holidays Retail and customer collateral were best in class.
key skills
software
education
Design & Branding
Art Direction
Project Management
Team Manage
Trafficking & Scheduling
Account Management
Budgets and Finance
Presenting
Mentoring
Adobe for Mac
InDesign | Photoshop
Illustrator | Acrobat
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Microsoft for Mac
Word | Excel | Powerpoint
Oracle
Google Docs
Slack
Marketing Week
Mini MBA in Marketing - A
CPD - Mark Ritson
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BA (Hons) Graphic Design - 2:1
University for the Creative Arts, Epsom
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BTEC ND Graphic Design - Merit
Northbrook College of Art & Design
employment history
Customer
CREATIVE
Manager
Virgin Atlantic Ltd
2019 - 2020
Reporting to: Head of Creative
3 Direct Reports + 1 Freelancer
Budget responsibility £500k+
Overseeing on-brand design output for both Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays I held responsibility and managed the Creative budget, agency and supplier accounts and acted as creative account manager to stakeholders up to, and including SVP level.
• Managed the client relations and team finance, ensuring delivery of work as contracted, negotiating with printers, distributors, third parties, overseas suppliers, image banks and freelancers.
• Acted as art-director and provided viability steering across numerous marketing projects and initiatives. Liaised with cross-channel Heads of, and reported to the Marketing Director as required.
• Owing to my project management skills I earned the role of Programme Lead for the Brand Restage due in Q3 of 2020. Frustratingly I was only able to set up the project timings with the multi-disciplinary agencies.
• Building on the work during my tenure at Virgin Holidays I led a qualitative and quantitative research piece with Verve into brochure use in retail stores. I presented our findings up to CEO level for approval. At which point I art directed the overhaul of all brochure titles into destination guides to revolutionise the customer experience. I then led an internal roadshow to engage the multiple stakeholders and agree budgets and timelines.
• Working for the Sales and Marketing Director I devised a series of trackable sales collateral to understand customer attribution and improve customer communication earlier for the key January sale period.
• Tasked with improving the wider NPS score for families travelling to Florida, I worked with the Customer Experience team to design, produce and manufacture their ‘Kid Crew’ packs to keep children entertained whilst travelling, and add value to their holiday to Disney or Universal.
Customer design
Manager
Virgin Holidays Ltd
2016 - 2019
Reporting to: Head of Creative
5 Direct Reports + 2-3 Freelancers
Budget responsibility £800k+
Directing the full customer design output; updating, improving and implementing the ‘Seize the holiday’ marketing creative collateral throughout the customer journey in the UK and Overseas.
• Responsible for hiring freelance and specialists to support projects, campaigns and initiatives for the Marketing team I ensured costs, deadlines and targets were met. I also assisted writing briefs, problem-solving, generating timelines, sourcing agencies and suppliers, as well as calculating and requesting funding or ad revenue.
• Co-ordinating and art-directing multiple agencies across design, copywriting and print management, I sourced, planned, scheduled and budgeted all Virgin Holidays brochures. Working with the content and product teams I ensured new product inclusions for partners including Disney and Universal were on brand and accurate.
• Having streamlined brochure production, we rolled out a series of collateral for retail stores, to showcase our best offers direct to customers. Improving customer experience and giving sales staff additional sales tools.
• Addressing a director-led request to improve NPS scores in-resort, we generated 10 key destination guides to target 80% of our customers. Negotiating the best print vs price across each region we rose from 40 to 52pts.
• Managing the Creative team budget of £650k and the wider Marketing team content needs, I achieved a year-end surplus of £25k in 2018/9 through supplier negotiations, material changes and contract improvements.
• Working with the Virgin Atlantic Design and Procurement teams I represented Virgin Holidays to assess a print management tender which saved £150k p/a on a £1m task across both companies.
BRAND
design
SUPERVISOR
Reporting to: Brand Manager
10 Direct Reports + 1 Freelancer
Budget responsibility £100k
Virgin Holidays Ltd
2012 - 2016
Managed the Design and Brochure team across; print, retail, digital, brochure, CRM, overseas and internal channels. Maintaining brand and campaign guidelines at all times.
• Working with the Marketing managers to understand their campaign requirements, I liaised ahead of launches to manage the resource of 5 designers across multiple channels of digital, press and retail.
• Shared ownership rolling out a combined CRM mailing campaign and brochure launch for HIP Hotels to our top sales stores and hottest prospects. Secured funding for enhanced materials and innovative finishes.
• Scheduled, prioritised and hired additional resource to output 13 brochures, plus ad-hoc mini brochures to support retail stores for Cruise, Ski and Tours products and launches.
• Worked with internal H.R., Reward, I.T., and Learning and Development teams to recruit, train, reward and retain staff, maintaining a 100% retention rate over 3 years.
DESIGNER
The Doo Wedding Stationery
2008 - 2012
Designed, created and co-ordinated client designs, orders and payments to ensure deadlines were met.
• Managed the accounting, legalities and tax affairs in the role of Director.
• Liaised directly with printers, national advertisers, wedding coordinators, wedding show organisers and couriers.
• Achieved 20% of sales via word-of-mouth recommendations, and featured numerous times within ‘You and your wedding’, and ‘Wedding Ideas’ national UK bridal magazines inspirational pages as a featured supplier.
creative
CONTENT
manager
Reporting to: Head of Content & Branding
5 Direct Reports
British Airways Holidays Ltd
2009 - 2009 (contract position)
Managed the Creative and Content team at British Airways Holidays, promoting hotels, tours, destinations and experiences through the website and external partner companies.
• Undertook a cost-saving review of all external copywriting and implemented an action plan to ensure 30% budget savings were met with minimal customer impact and the supplier relationships kept intact.
• Improved relations with the Product, Errata and Data teams to ensure consistent content loading. This ensured external clients and customers received the correct information and reduced errors from 12% to less than 5%.
• Planned and oversaw the update and improvement to the copy and photography of 300+ web pages. In turn increased customer awareness, advertising and Google rankings by 40%.
studio
manager
First Choice Holidays & Flights Ltd 2005 - 2008
Reporting to: Brand Manager
8 Direct Reports
Managed and worked alongside the in-house design team on diverse projects such as; branding hotels and retail stores, producing collateral for travel agents and airlines, direct mailers, billboards and regional press campaigns.
• Challenged and won new clients and projects from the CRM, Marketing and Retail teams agencies by improving client relations and design campaign output. Generating time and financial savings for clients as well as a £200k saving to the overall marketing budget in agency fee reductions.
• Forecasted and managed the design and production of a 72-page in-flight magazine (print run 620k) showcased on First Choice airways and Thomson Fly. Eliminated outsourcing costs, delivering a higher quality product with 9.5million reader opportunities.
• Increased the accountability and visibility of design jobs, with the introduction of improved systems to track work across the team. Making financial accounting, and year-end reports faster, more robust and detailed.
creative
designer
Reporting to: Studio Manager
Part of a team of 10
First Choice Holidays & Flights Ltd 2001 - 2005
As part of the in-house design team, I worked on a variety of brands and projects including 2wentys, Weddings, car hire, tourist boards, First Choice and Unijet. This involved taking briefings from clients and developing their ideas into fully finished artwork.
• Produced concepts and designs for the Senior Designers and Design Manager, as well as presenting to key clients for approval and development up to Director level.
• Selected, interviewed and briefed photographers and models for photoshoots in the UK and overseas. Compiled shoot lists, briefs and art directed shots on location for diverse brands, increasing stock photography.
• Designed, produced and implemented the annual branding for 2wentys overseas resorts and winter weekend.