What’s your role?

Communications and Campaigns Manager

 

What does it involve?

I am responsible for our communications, press and supporting students in their campaigning work. Oxford is a vast multi-site campus so it’s quite a fun challenge to try and communicate all the amazing work that we do for students. This means I can be one-week creating videos and social media content to putting out a press release to the student newspaper. I am in charge of our marketing work so I work closely with our designer to create and develop a brand that helps us to engage students.

 

What’s the best thing about it?

No day is different so it means that I am always kept on my toes. One day I can be dealing with a national newspaper who want a quote about something that the University has done to taking part in an audio tour to help new students settle in Oxford.

On a professional level, because the audience (students) change so often it means you can develop and try out new ideas without too much fear. Oxford is a pretty intense place to be so you have to be on top of your game to cut through all the other messages that students get so it’s fun to really push ourselves as a team.

 

How did you get here?

I was a sabbatical officer myself and that is where I picked up the bug for the student movement. I then spend ten years working in the charity sector in communications and public affairs for various people such as the trade body for charity shops and more recently Guide Dogs for the Blind, it’s quite a change moving from a disability charity to an SU / Student Associations.

 

What’s was the most helpful piece of learning you picked up along the way?

Don’t take no for an answer. There is always a solution to something and it may take years to achieve that change or deliver something but keep going and understand that people can be won around eventually.