Joanne (Jo) Baker

Experience

• 

  WHSmith

  Sept 2009 - Sept 2013

  Sales Assistant

  I am a team leader and my role is varied. I am on hand to be at any cash desk when needed. This means that I have to have a vast amount of knowledge about the various departments of the store including digital entertainment, books, cards, stationery and the main service counters. I also manage a small group of sales assistants and ensure that they are happy with the tasks set them and not struggling with anything.

• 

  Millets

  Oct 2012 - Jul 2014

  Supervisor

  I am involved in the visual merchandising of the store and ensuring that the products are placed commercially for higher profit. I also deal with the day-to-day running of this medium sized store; stock replenishment, delivery, cashing up, customer complaints etc. Great customer service is my primary objective and this involves dealing with refunds and internet orders quickly and effectively whilst providing a front-of-house face for the customers of Millets. I will often do independent research on new product lines and technological advances to ensure that I can provide my customers with the most accurate information. I feel proud to say that I went above and beyond what was called for to ensure customer needs were met. Show less

• 

  Looking to the East

  Jul 2014 - Jul 2015

  Writer

  I have to consistently write engaging and informative review for films and literature from a variety of cultures. This includes reviews, articles and editing.

• 

  University of Hertfordshire

  Sept 2014 - Aug 2020

  In my current role I am responsible for the successful sales, planning, delivery and post-event analysis of both residential and day conferencing, events and exhibitions within the University of Hertfordshire. Liaising with internal and external clients from academic, public and commercial backgrounds the aim is to drive business and retain existing customers. Working within a small team I aim to ensure that the end product has a customer experience focus. This relies on having a tight hold over the brand and marketing. My primary focus is improving communication channels both internally and externally.I am mindful of budgets and service costs with financial validity at the forefront of everyday thinking. I have responsibility for the creation and implementation of sales and marketing strategies looking at market trends academic conference venues and the product we can offer. I am able to draw sales reporting and statistics from the Kinetic CRM system in order to make commercial decisions. Show less In this role I ensure that events and large scale conferences are run professionally and to the organiser's specifications. This entails being involved in the events from start to finish. I will take delegates through the initial enquiry process to personal site-visit, ensure arrangements for catering are met on the day, provide technical support when required and seek final feedback. I will liaise with the organiser themselves via email, phone or face-to-face and ensure information is disseminated to the reception, catering and relevant management team-members.My responsibilities also include the purchasing of equipment, stationery, catering supplies and the hiring of temporary staff. Alongside organising maintenance and general upkeep of a busy building open to the public.As carried over from my last role where I created several new responsibilities; I also run the Fielder Centre's Twitter, Facebook and Google+ accounts, webpages within ConferenceHertfordshire and create in-house copy. This includes menus, posters and promotions that also get shared digitally. I have been working on a staff-newsletter to maximise communication between departments within the Fielder Centre. Show less The primary goal in my role is ensuring the smooth operational running of day-to-day events. This ranges from establishing that the client’s needs are met, liaising with clients via phone, email or meeting as well as pre-ordering equipment & conference paraphernalia. It also requires a basic knowledge of conferencing AV support and set-up. In order to develop I have created many additional facets of the role. This includes the managing and maintaining of The Fielder Centre’s social media accounts, rewriting the copy for the company's website and initiating a letter marketing campaign. I’ve also created on-site posters & menu redesigns. These projects have involved teaching myself Adobe’s Photoshop & InDesign as well as the Joomla! CMS in my spare time. I have found these latter aspects of the job challenging yet highly rewarding. Show less

  • Sales and Events Coordinator (Comms Lead)

    Jul 2017 - Aug 2020

  • Events & Operations Supervisor

    Oct 2015 - Jun 2017

  • Events Assistant

    Sept 2014 - Sept 2015
• 

  UH Venues

  Aug 2020 - Dec 2021

  Events and Communications Manager

  “We’re not just selling venues, we’re telling stories.”I wrote this line when I started this role and, although disgustingly poetic bordering on cliché, I have tried to incorporate the philosophy behind it into my approach.The role allows me to blend my passion for comms and content with my logistical prowess for events. This role sees me lead on copy & brand development within the B2B commercial events team at the University of Hertfordshire. This has included a full re-brand, new website copy, establishing tones and voices for our social channels, content and collateral development for both print and digital as well as generating new comms procedures within our smaller team and the wider University. I also lead on customer-experience look and feel within our venues and wider logistical challenges for running events within an academic institution.This all takes place whilst continuing to deliver client events to a high standard. Selling, developing & managing large events across several versatile sites.I have been acting in a similar role since 2018. Show less

• 

  South Bank Innovation

  Jan 2022 - May 2023

  Content marketing Officer (Copy)
• 

  Royal College of Occupational Therapists

  May 2023 - now

  Working across a variety of RCOT’s campaigns this has been an excellent opportunity to work in a membership organistaion.I have developed my email marketing, data analysis and newsletter curation skills. I raised the click-through rate on email campaigns from an average of 3.2% - 6.8% within my first six months in post.Key Responsibilities• Email design and copy across multiple membership campaigns including renewals and new member journey.• Audience segmentation and development with customer profile creation and copy proofing.• Automatic journey building and activation in DotDigital’s platform.• Monthly newsltetter design, curation, writing and sending.• Working with social media account managers, proofers and print designers - briefing in work and proofing across multiple campaigns.• Enagaging with analytics and researching methods for improvement.• Stakeholder management.• Process and briefing development. Show less

  • Marketing Manager (acting)

    Jun 2024 - now

  • Marketing Communications Officer

    May 2023 - Jun 2024