Simon Watts

Experience

• 

  DANTE, European Commission

  Mar 2004 - Aug 2007

  Public Relations Officer

  I was responsible for the media relations programme, writing and distributing technical press releases, and organising press briefings held in the European Commission; Copywriting, editing and production of corporate publications such as newsletters and the Annual Report; Deputy Chair of a Europe-wide PR network involving many partner organisations.

• 

  Birkbeck, University of London

  Sept 2007 - Sept 2010

  Media and Publicity Officer

  Responsible for Birkbeck’s external media relations programme, covering both corporate and research areas, working with academics to translate often complex findings into accessible stories for the media. The role had a specific lobbying function, developing a successful campaign to address the inequity of the part-time funding system, helping to position the Master as the lead authority on the issue.

• 

  Imperial College London

  Sept 2010 - Dec 2012

  Media Relations and Communications Manager

  - Managing corporate media relations and communications activity- Issues handling, reputation management and crisis communications- Communications support for the Rector and Senior Management Team- Stakeholder public relations and engagement

• 

  City University London

  Jan 2013 - Mar 2020

  Head of Communications and Events

  Oversee the delivery of Communications and Events activity at City University London, leading a team of 15 staff covering media relations, corporate communications, reputation management, academic and corporate events, internal communications and public engagement.

• 

  Communications and Events

  Mar 2020 - now

  Freelance Communications Consultant and Copywriter

  Freelance consultant with 20 years experience in PR, Communications and Events. Includes almost 15 years specialising in Higher Education for major London universities. Extensive senior level experience supporting and offering strategic advice to Vice-Chancellors and Executive Teams.Consultancy and strategy development – across the PR, Comms and Events mix, including internal and external communications, employee engagement and wellbeing. Copywriting:• Writing press releases, corporate brochures, marketing materials and annual reports• Editor, writer and project manager on alumni magazine for City, University of London https://thisis.city.ac.uk• Web content creator – writing engaging copy which is optimised for SEO. Projects include developing a new website for Bayes Business School Executive Education, alumni profiles, and writing course pages for online prospectus.• Bid writing for fundraising applications and award nominations. Show less